The “Samsonas Rally Utena 2024”, which will take place on September 27 and 28, will not only conclude the Lithuanian and Baltic rally championships. Utena will also be the final chord for the Latvian Rally Championship, which is coming to Lithuania in full force this year, i.e. this competition will be the final stage for all classes of the Latvian Championship. So what is the Latvian Championship and what is the situation there?
Despite the regular ERC and this year’s first WRC events, the Latvian rally is not going through the best times. Until recently, the championship consisted of only a few events, of which the only competition in the country was the ERC Rally Liepaja. The Latvians organized their championship stages in Estonia or Lithuania to ensure that the championship did not consist of just one or two rallies. In recent years, however, the situation has improved – the legendary “Alūksne” and “Sarma” rallies have returned, and the “Rally Cesis” has become stronger. Thus, this year the Latvians collected points at the already mentioned winter rallies in Alūksne and Sarma, the canceled Voru rally was replaced by the European Rally Championship event in Estonia, and in the middle of the summer the competition took place in Cēsis, then the Latvians returned to Estonia to take part in the Paide rally and will finish the season in Utena.
The championship battles are held in eight classes, some of which are similar to the Lithuanian ones. For example, the Latvian classes LRČ2, LRČ3 and LRČ4 correspond to the Lithuanian classes LARČ2, LARČ3 and LARČ4, in which R5/Rally2 – Rally3/Rally2-kit – R2/R2T/Rally4 cars drive respectively. The remaining classes LRČ5, LRČ6 and LRČ7 are for cars that meet the national technical requirements. LRČ5 is intended for cars with four-wheel drive, LRČ6 for cars with rear-wheel drive and LRČ7 for cars with front-wheel drive. The eighth class – LRČ Juniors – is intended for young people up to the age of 27 who drive single-axle vehicles with an engine capacity of no more than 2.0 liters.
One of the main differences between Lithuania and Latvia is the LRČ1 class, which plays the role of overall standings. It includes all cars, including WRC, Proto, N5, and other vehicles that do not fit into other classes.
As for the situation in the championship, more than one crew will have to work hard for trophies in Utena. The situation will be aggravated by the fact that, as in Lithuania, a coefficient of 1.5 points will be awarded in the final round.
The Latvian Emils Blūms (140.2) with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX and the Turk Karem Kazaz (106.2), who has recently started driving a Hyundai i20 Rally2, can become the overall LRČ1 champion. However, the Latvian’s lead is so large that the Turk only has a theoretical chance.
In the LRČ2 classification, the same Turk, Karem Kazaz (106), has every chance of becoming champion, as he has built up a huge lead over second-placed Israeli Sergei Uger (63.3). The situation is similar in the LRČ3 classification, where Ukraine’s Nadiia Soboleva leads with 126.9 points in her Ford Fiesta Rally3. Tymoteusz Abramowski (97.3) with same car and Ilja Zakmans (87.5) in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X can catch up with her. This trio is registered for the Samsonas Rally Utena 2024.
A very interesting battle is expected in the LRČ4 class, as only 5.8 points separate the Finn Isak Hatanmaa (110) with Peugeot 208 Rally4 and the Turk Can Alakoc (104.2) with Ford Fiesta Rally4. Estonian Karl-Markus Sei (77) also has a theoretical chance.
The situation is completely different in the LRČ5, where Emils Blūms (188), who is fighting for the title of Latvian champion. He has secured the title in LRČ5 with a 100-point lead.
In Utena, Zigurds Kalniņš (113.3) with the BMW E46 and Viesturs Tilgass (107) with the BMW 125 will compete for the title of LRČ6 champion. Only 6.3 points separate them. Rolands Jaunzems (67.2) with the Lithuanian BMW M3 has a theoretical chance of finishing in second place. LRČ7‘s Madars Dīriņš (127.7) in a Honda Civic needs to finish to become champion, as second-placed Kristaps Telle (98) in a Ford Focus is 29.7 points behind.
In the juniors, a foursome batlle with Madars Dīriņš (102.7), Isak Hatanmaa (91.2), Can Alakoc (90.2) and Karl-Markus Sei (80) awaits.
We invite you to pre-order the rally passes for the “Samsonas Rally Utena 2024” on the Bilietai.lt platform. The ticket price is 15 euros. The event is free for children under 12 years old.
