2024-07-15 23:56:48
Estonia has been ahead of Latvia in this millennium. It had the first WRC superstar Marko Mertins earlier, and the WRC stage was taken sooner (it was not the first WRC visit to the Baltics, because before that the stage was partially held in Lithuania). When Mertin put his career on hold after a tragic accident, he became one of the mentors and coaches of the young talent Tenak. Ota’s road to the top was long and in 2013, when he was not in the WRC for the last time, he also participated in two rallies in Latvia.
It is significant that this time Tet Rally Latvia many roads will be the ones that were included 11 years ago Rally Kurzeme and Rally Talsi on the route where Tenak was driving at that time. The Estonian star says that he does not remember exactly the speed stages of that time, but of course he has a very good idea of what awaits in Latvia.
“I have been to Latvia many times, the nature of the roads is very similar to Estonia. I don’t remember specifically what the stages looked like, but I imagine what they should be like, and that should make my life a little easier,” Tenak said in an interview. Today, the world’s best rally drivers start recording the roads of the upcoming stage. The Estonian driver predicted that the Latvian rally will definitely be one of the fastest in the championship calendar. “A lot can be influenced by the weather. In wet conditions, the best starting position will be completely different than in dry conditions.”
Mārtiņš Sesks in the most prestigious Rally1 debuted in the class at the end of June in Poland, at that time not yet driving the hybrid system, which gives an additional 134 horsepower, but also sensationally won the fifth place in the overall standings. It is significant that Tenak already expressed before this competition that the hybrid system in the rally is only a small exaggeration. “We also quite often have to do speed stages without a hybrid. (Laughs.) It does not give such a big advantage.”
“It’s nice to see that Mārtiņš and the Finnish rider (Sami Pajari – aut.) have found such an opportunity. The participation of two juniors is positive for the entire championship and a great opportunity for them,” says Tenaks about the Latvian received WRC Promouter and M-Sport Ford team support in the young talent program that wants to facilitate the transition from Rally 2 to Rally 1 or the highest level of the WRC.
“We have never met. He seems to specialize on fast roads, so if he drives well, I believe he can achieve a high-quality result.”
Despite several failures, Tenaks and coxswain Martins Jarveoja await the Latvian stage in the middle of the season with 115 points in the high, third place of the world championship overall. For the leader and his teammate Hyundai in the ranks, Thierry Neuville has 21 points more and it is possible to make up such a gap in one weekend. “I started the season again in a new team and in a new car, getting used to it took a little more time than I expected. However, step by step I get to know the car better and better, I get used to it, I understand it more. Rally is a complex sport, each race is held on a different road surface, so it is not easy to do the job perfectly, however, we are working on it and hopefully we will already feel better in the upcoming fast rallies.”
Tet Rally Latvia will begin on Thursday, August 18 with the opening ceremony in Old Riga and a special speed stage on the Biķernieki track. On Friday, speed stages will be held in Tukuma region, Talsu region and Talsi, on Saturday drivers will compete in Kuldīgas region, Dienvikkurzeme region and Liepāja, but the rally will end on Sunday, July 21 with speed stages in Dienvikkurzeme region.
Full interview with Ota Tenaka, as well as extensive insight Tet Rally Latvia read a magazine Sports Newspaper in the July issue.
2024-07-15 23:56:48