Liepāja, Latvia
October 10, 2018

Beginning with October 12, Liepāja will host an exciting motorsports celebration weekend. One of the main attractions will be Rally Liepāja, a round of the FIA European Rally Championship and the final round of the 2018 Latvian Rally Championship. This event is also part of the Speed Festival Kurzeme programme, where you will also find water motorsports competitions, historic car gathering Youngtimer Cars & Coffee Liepāja, the Rally Liepāja drivers parade, with the weekend concluding Rally Liepāja afterparty taking place at Hot Potato bar.

©FIAERC.com

Action will get underway on Friday in Dunalka, with the Rally Liepāja qualifying stage Latvia-100 taking place on the tricky roads around pond Mazais Bērzu. The rally opening ceremony is set for 19:00 at the newly built Liepāja Olympic Centre (LOC) Manege. There, fans will have an opportunity to listen in on driver interviews and receive autographs from the competitors, before taking in the ceremonial start at 20:30.

©FIAERC.com

On Saturday, October 13, first stage of Rally Liepāja, SS1 NESTE 1 will get underway at 10:00. During the day, FIA European Rally Championship drivers will tackle six stages, located in Pērbone, Laidi, Upītes and Vilgāle, with a total stage distance of 111.55 kilometres, and the day concluding with SS6 ŠKODA at 17:35. Rallysprint crews will also tackle three stages on Saturday. In addition to some familiar stages, even the most experienced crews will have quite a few completely new roads to race on.

Speedboat fans will be treated to the sixth round of the Latvian water motorsports speedboat championship – UPB Energy Cup at the Liepāja Tirdzniecībascanal, starting from 12:00. Awards ceremony is planned for 18:00.

In front of Royal Hotel, in the promenade of Vecā Ostmala, spectators will be able to take in the Latvian Antique Automobile club Youngtimer Rally organized event Youngtimer Cars & Coffee Liepāja. Participants will arrive from 10:00 to 12:00, and spectators will have all day to vote for the most elegant historic vehicle, with the fan favourite being awarded at 18:00.

©FIAERC.com

Rally Liepāja will continue Sunday, with the remaining six special stages taking place. First of those, SS7 CANON BIZNESA CENTRS-IB SERVISS will start at 10:00 in Dinsdurbe. Historic regularity rally (starting 1h30min before the rally cars on stages SS7, SS8, SS10 and SS11) and Historic Sport (competing in SS9, SS10, SS11 and SS12) crews will also tackle some of the Sunday’s stages. After stages in Paplaka, Vecpils and Podnieki, the FIA European Rally Championship round and Latvian Rally Championship season will be concluded with the longest stage of the event – SS12 LIEPĀJA, with the 24.99-kilometre stage including the legendary Stroķacs jump.

Starting from 18:00 at the finish podium, located at Liepājas Olimpiskais Centrs Manēža, the fastest crews of the eighth round of the FIA European Rally Championship and sixth round of the FIA ERC Junior Championship will be awarded, with the awards ceremony for Latvian Rally Championship rounds six and seven, Historic regularity rally and the FIA Baltic Rally Trophy set for 20:30. After an intensive and adrenaline filled rally weekend, the Rally Liepāja afterparty will take place at Hot Potato bar, starting from 22:00.

“We are hosting a FIA European Rally Championship event in Liepāja for the sixth year now, so it is even more impressive that seven of the twelve stages will be completely new, serving as a new challenge for drivers and bringing new thrills for the spectators,” says RA Events and Rally Liepāja director Raimonds Strokšs. “I have to say that there are currently lots of roadworks taking place in Liepāja, which will make getting through the city much more convenient in the future. With that, we must omit the city stage this year, but it will be back! Despite that, the rally atmosphere will be present in Liepāja – on Friday, there will be a drivers’ parade, and we have also put the service park in the Jaunliepājas Annas market square, while Saturday will be filled with Speed Festival Kurzeme activities in the promenade of Vecā Ostmala and in the Tirdzniecības canal. In addition to that, the weather forecast is also looking great, with sunny and relatively warm weather throughout the weekend!”

All times are provisional and subject to change. Follow the latest information on lvrally.com or on Rally Liepāja social media accounts.

No.      Name                                                           Length       Date                Start time           

SSQS LATVIA-100 (Dunalka)                                3,02 km      12.10.2018     15:30            

SS1     NESTE 1 (Pērbone)                                    10,81 km    13.10.2018     10:00            

SS2     LDZ CARGO 1 (Laidi)                                 21,95 km    13.10.2018     10:30            

SS3     RAMIRENT (Upītes)                                   21,89 km    13.10.2018     11:50            

SS4     NESTE 2 (Pērbone)                                    10,81 km    13.10.2018     15:45            

SS5     LDZ CARGO 2 (Laidi)                                 21,95 km    13.10.2018     16:15            

SS6     ŠKODA (Vilgāle)                                         24,14 km    13.10.2018     17:35            

SS7     CANON BIZNESA CENTRS - IB SERVISS (Dinsdurbe)   6,53 km      14.10.2018     10:00            

SS8     SIXT rent a car 1 (Paplaka)                        18,35 km    14.10.2018     10:45            

SS9     SIXT rent a car 2 (Paplaka)                        18,35 km    14.10.2018     12:20            

SS10   PORT OF LIEPAJA (Vecpils)                     15,77 km    14.10.2018     14:50            

SS11   LOC (Podnieki)                                            10,29 km    14.10.2018     15:40            

SS12   LIEPĀJA (Vecpils)                                       24,99 km    14.10.2018     16:30            

FIA European Rally Championship round Rally Liepāja is possible thanks to the support of the Latvian government and the rally city of Liepāja. We would also like to thank our sponsors Neste, Škoda, Ramirent, our partner LDz Cargo, official car rental Sixt and our supporters Liepājas Olimpiskais Centrs, LSEZ, and Swecon. Informative support is provided by news portal DELFI, as well as Kurzemes Radio, JCDecaux, Go4Speed, and Zebra. Rally Liepāja would also not be possible without our rally friends: Dardedze, Esi Draugs, Ezerkauliņi, Flora, FN Serviss, Fristads, Jānis Pūce, Liepājas Datoru Centrs, Red Bull, Rent a Display, SignTech, Sportland, Törley, and Venden. Rally Liepāja is realized with support by the regional councils of Aizpute, Durbe, Kuldīga, Priekule, Skrunda, and Vaiņode. A special thank you goes out to the Latvian Automobile Federation. Rally Liepāja is organized by RA EVENTS and Speed Festival Kurzeme.

Rally Liepāja tickets are available in all Biļešu Serviss locations as well as online HERE. A single ticket costs 25.00 EUR. Children up to 10 years of age and people with disabilities can attend the event free of charge. At the entrance of the stage, you will have to provide a valid document stating the age and/or disability.

Rally Liepāja spectators should remember that, before heading out to the stages, the tickets must be exchanged for wristbands – you will not be able to access the stages without a wristband. Information about the ticket exchange points is available on www.lvrally.com. When exchanging the ticket for a wristband, you will also receive a spectator safety leaflet.