Kalle Rovanperä convincingly dominated the World Rally Championship in Latvia. The home crowd was disappointed when Martins Sesks fell to seventh place.
Toyota driver Kalle Rovanperä drove to an overwhelming victory in the Latvian World Rally Championship. The first Latvian World Championship on fast gravel in history was from Rovanperä.
Rovanperä celebrated its third win of the season. Rovanperä, which is touring only part of the season, was also number one in the Safari Rally in Kenya and in the WC Rally in Poland held earlier in the summer.
– A great and stronger than expected weekend. This is like my home rally, Latvia is an important place for me, Rovanperä beamed.
French Sebastien Ogier secured a double win for the Toyota drivers. Ogier was 39.2 seconds behind Rovanpera.
Hyundai’s Estonian driver Ott Tänak came third. The home crowd was disappointed after a sensational drive Martin Sesks dropped to seventh on the Power Stage that ended the rally.
The Latvian was third even before the last special stage, but was almost two minutes away from the top on the Power Stage. Serious technical problems appeared in Sesk’s Ford.
However, the 24-year-old Sesks, who only competed in a rally1 car for the second time, made an impression with his performances.
Hyundai’s Esapekka Lapin the show was disappointing. Lappi, who returned from a long break from the competition, finished ninth in Latvia. Lapland’s misery continued on the Power Stage, when the car’s engine started to sputter.
– The engine canceled the contract after just one kilometer, Lappi said briefly at the finish of the Power Stage.
Swedish Oliver Solberg drove to the first place in the WRC2 class. Mikko Heikkilä placed second and Sami Pajari third. Heikkilä achieved his first WRC2 podium on Latvian gravel.