Neuville and Tänak occupy the top two places in the drivers’ championship

At the end of 20 testing stages of Rally Latvia, the eventful eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Hyundai Motorsport now occupies first and second place in the drivers’ standings.

Ott Tänak was resurgent on Super Sunday to put his early Latvian troubles firmly behind him and claim maximum points on Sunday; the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team driver also inherited third place overall to secure his third podium finish of the season. This has moved him into second in the drivers’ standings, eight points behind team-mate Thierry Neuville.

Having provisionally secured fourth – and ten championship points – on Saturday, Tänak was once again on the hunt for a Super Sunday sweep. The Estonian driver claimed back-to-back stage wins on SS18 Mazilmāja 1 and SS19 Krogzenji 2, which saw him head into the Power Stage on level times with Sébastien Ogier in the standings.

Troubles for local driver Martin Sesks suddenly brought a podium finish back into contention, but Tänak was focused only on full points from the day. His superb run through SS20 saw him win his fourth stage of the weekend, full Power Stage and Super Sunday bonus points, as well as third place in the overall classification.

Neuville ends a frustrating weekend in Latvia scoring nine points to maintain a slender margin over Tänak in the drivers’ championship. Much like the two previous days, the Belgian gave the final four stages his all in a bid to best his early road position. His resilient efforts secured three Super Sunday and Power Stage points in addition to those scored with eighth place on Saturday.

A difficult weekend for Esapekka Lappi ended in heartbreak with an engine failure on the SS20 Mazilmāja 2 Power Stage. The Finn was able to nurse his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid to the finish line but was unable to secure his two provisional championship points from Saturday.

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

• Tänak tops Super Sunday and Power Stage battles to score 22 points in Latvia
• Estonian moves up to second overall in drivers’ standings with third podium in 2024

Tänak said: “We can at least say today was a good day. In the end, Saturday was not too bad pace wise. We managed to get back into a rhythm after a difficult Friday, where we definitely had the wrong tyre choice and were struggling with the set up. Losing the brakes on Friday’s final stage meant we didn’t have a good starting position on Saturday, so it felt like the cards were not in our favour, but we have managed to take the absolute maximum from today. Finland is next, and one of my favourite events – those roads are made for rallies. Toyota will be very fast again but we will give it our all – we are always full attack.”

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

• Belgian holds on to lead of drivers’ championship after struggles in Latvia
• Crew claims nine points from most difficult event of the season so far

Neuville said: “We weren’t surprised to be as hampered as we were this weekend; I don’t have anything to add but I want to thank the team for being resilient and supporting me this weekend, which was very important. We will continue to fight as we have done since the start of the season. We have another fast rally coming up in Finland, but it shouldn’t be as bad as this weekend as the repeated stages will be a big change to Latvia. I won’t give up and I will continue to fight, but eight gravel rallies in a row is very challenging, and three fast events back-to-back – which are not the ones I have been stronger at in the past – only adds to this. ”

Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)

• Heartbreaking engine failure loses Finns provisional Saturday points
• Crew looks to bounce back at home event in two weeks

Lappi said: “Sadly, we suffered an engine failure on that final stage, but at least it happens now and not earlier in the weekend. Our settings on Friday were completely wrong on all three cars, but all of us were on much better form yesterday after we made changes. I think we were misled by Poland and my preparation rally, which had much sandier surfaces, and we went the wrong way with the set-up. I think we now have a good base to start from for Finland, and I certainly look forward to it.”

Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said:

“Coming here, we knew it would be a challenge, but it was even greater with the combination of the competitors we faced, the road conditions, and the itinerary. However, we have to take things as they are and make the best of the situation, and that’s exactly what we have done today. I am extremely proud of what Ott, Thierry altogether with the team have been able to achieve to defend our lead in both championships, even if they are much tighter than before. By joining Toyota part-timers on the podium and scoring the perfect Super Sunday, Ott has once again shown what he can accomplish when things are not working against him. Now we look to Finland and how we can push in a slightly better way so we leave this tricky group of gravel rallies as strong as possible.”

Next rally

• Only a short break separates Rally Latvia and the ninth round of the FIA WRC season, Rally Finland, due to take place August 1-4.