Initial details around Latvia’s first ever World Rally Championship itinerary have been revealed, with a new superspecial opening the event in the capital city of Rīga among the changes.
Rally Latvia is making a step up to the WRC after a decade on the European Rally Championship calendar, where it was known as Rally Liepāja.
That event has evolved in several phases down the years, including the switch from a winter snow rally to a regular gravel event in 2016. Three years later it expanded northwards to Talsi and then further eastwards again last year to Tukums. For 2024 it goes a step further, incorporating Latvian capital Rīga with a spectator stage.
Rally1 cars will be seen on Latvia's stages for the first time in 2024
That setup adds logistical complications, which means an extra challenge for the WRC crews this July: there will be no service after the Thursday superspecial, nor a midday service on Friday.
Once the crews complete the Thursday evening superspecial, they will be held in parc fermé overnight in Riga, then spend all of Friday completing stages in the Talsi and Tukums regions.
Only then will competitors head back to the host city Liepāja. The remainder of the competition runs through the Dienvidkurzeme and Kuldïgas regions which have been part of the rally since its European debut.
Last year's Rally Liepāja began with the ceremonial start at Liepāja's Concert Hall
“This being our debut event, we looked for the best way to introduce the FIA World Rally Championship to as many people in Latvia as possible,” said Raimonds Strokšs, rally director. “And so, we opted for the most widespread rally we have ever organised – making way to meet the spectators, and giving way to challenge the most picturesque special stages around Latvia.”
A lack of Friday midday service is a practical choice rather than an ideological one; in previous editions, there has been a remote service located in the town of Talsi, a two-hour drive from host city Liepāja.
Shakedown will take place on Thursday, July 18, followed by the Rīga superspecial. The rally finishes on Sunday, July 21 in the Dienvidkurzeme region.
