The most recent round of the 2024 WRC season was once again won by a part-time driver, as the reigning double world champion Kalle Rovanpera claimed victory at Rally Poland following a last-minute call-up to stand in for the injured Sebastien Ogier.
That means the Toyota driver and his team-mate Ogier, who is also contesting part-time in 2024, have won four of the last five rounds leaving a very open championship fight amongst full-time competitors.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville currently leads but he is only 15 points ahead of second-place Elfyn Evans, after the Toyota driver cut his deficit with a runner-up finish in Poland compared to fourth for the Belgian.
Both drivers are vying for their first world title but are struggling to claim victories this year with only one win for Neuville, which came at the season-opener and none for Evans.
The 2019 world champion Ott Tanak is still in the fight though, as the Rally Sardinia winner is only six points behind Evans despite crashing from the lead on the Friday in Poland.
Tanak still scored 11 points that weekend though to keep him in the championship fight, after topping Rally Poland’s Sunday standings and finishing second in the Power Stage under the new points system for 2024.
The fight for the manufacturers’ championship is also very tight with Hyundai leading Toyota by just 10 points, despite the Japanese squad having won more rallies. Toyota will field both Ogier and Rovanpera this weekend in a bid to secure valuable championship points.
So, the WRC arrives in Latvia this weekend with both titles still up for grabs in what will be a series debut for the country, which had been part of the European Rally Championship since 2013.
Local hero Martins Sesks has won the last two editions of Rally Latvia, and he will be driving for M-Sport this weekend, after finishing fifth in Poland on his Rally1 debut that came piloting a non-hybrid powered Ford Puma. This weekend he will have the boost of 130 more horsepower from the hybrid version.
So, will Sesks improve in front of his home crowd? Here is how and when to watch the WRC’s Rally Latvia in 2024.
When is Rally Latvia?
• Date: 18-21 July
• Start time: 4:15pm BST/6:15pm local time on Thursday 18 July
The 2024 Rally Latvia begins on Thursday 18 July at 4:15pm in the United Kingdom and 6:15pm local time in its capital city of Riga. That is for the ceremonial start though, as the opening stage does not start until later that day at 6:05pm BST and 8:05pm local.
But the first session of the weekend is shakedown, which starts early on Thursday at 5:31am in the UK and 7:31am in Latvia giving drivers the opportunity to test various car set-ups ahead of the rally.
| Date | Leg | Leg total | Start time |
| Thursday 18 July | Shakedown | 2.22 miles | 5:31am BST/7:31am local time |
| Thursday 18 July | Ceremonial start | N/A | 4:15pm BST/6:15pm local time |
| Thursday 18 July | Stage 1 | 6.92 miles | 6:05pm BST/8:05pm local time |
| Friday 19 July | Stage 2 - Stage 4 | 31.32 miles | 8am BST/10am local time |
| Friday 19 July | Stage 5 - Stage 8 | 43.81 miles | 12:30pm BST/2:30pm local time |
| Saturday 20 July | Stage 9 - Stage 10 | 22.61 miles | 6:20am BST/8:20am local time |
| Saturday 20 July | Stage 11 - Stage 12 | 22.17 miles | 9:30am BST/11:30am local time |
| Saturday 20 July | Stage 13 - Stage 14 | 14.12 miles | 2:15pm BST/4:15pm local time |
| Saturday 20 July | Stage 15 - Stage 16 | 5.72 miles | 5pm BST/7pm local time |
| Sunday 21 July | Stage 17 - Stage 18 | 19.91 miles | 6:55am BST/8:55am local time |
| Sunday 21 July | Stage 19 | 11.62 miles | 9:55am BST/11:55am local time |
| Sunday 21 July | Stage 20 (Power Stage) | 8.29 miles | 12:15pm BST/2:15pm local time |
How can I watch the WRC?
The UK’s WRC broadcasting rights have belonged to TNT Sports since 2014, when it was known as BT Sport, so the subscription-based platform is live televising every round of the 2024 season.
TNT Sports is available from £20 per month, which includes all four sport channels, Eurosport 1 and 2 and the live streaming platform Discovery+, meaning the championship can also be watched via a mobile or tablet device, as well as a console.
Rally.tv is another destination to watch the WRC with the streaming platform also broadcasting the ERC and World Rallycross Championship. Rally.tv offers two deals: an annual subscription for £119.99 or a monthly pass for £12.99.
How can I watch Rally Latvia?
The Rally Latvia coverage will begin at 5:30am on Thursday with TNT Sports Extra 1 broadcasting shakedown. It will also broadcast that day’s ceremonial start at 4:15pm, before viewers can switch over to TNT Sports 1 for the opening stage at 6pm.
It’s another early start on Friday, as TNT Sports 1 will begin its coverage at 7:15am for stages two to four, while it will also broadcast stages five to eight from 11:45am that day. There are early starts on Saturday and Sunday as well, with TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3 and TNT Sports Extra 1 all sharing the coverage.
Due to the rally’s schedule though, TNT will be on and off with its coverage depending on the start time for each stage. A similar format will be followed by Rally.tv, who will also broadcast every stage starting with Thursday’s shakedown.
| Date | Leg | Channel | Coverage from |
| Thursday 18 July | Shakedown | Rally.tv | 5:30am BST |
| Thursday 18 July | Ceremonial start | Rally.tv | 4pm BST |
| Thursday 18 July | Stage 1 | Rally.tv | 6pm BST |
| Friday 19 July | Stage 2 - Stage 4 | Rally.tv | 7:15am BST |
| Friday 19 July | Stage 5 - Stage 8 | Rally.tv | 11:45am BST |
| Saturday 20 July | Stage 9 - Stage 10 | Rally.tv | 6:15am BST |
| Saturday 20 July | Stage 11 | Rally.tv | 9:30am BST |
| Saturday 20 July | Stage 12 | Rally.tv | 11am BST |
| Saturday 20 July | Stage 13 - Stage 15 | Rally.tv | 2:15pm BST |
| Saturday 20 July | Stage 16 | Rally.tv | 6:15pm BST |
| Sunday 21 July | Stage 17 - Stage 18 | Rally.tv | 6:45am BST |
| Sunday 21 July | Stage 19 | Rally.tv | 9:45am BST |
| Sunday 21 July | Stage 20 (Power Stage) | Rally.tv | 12pm BST |
When can I watch Rally Latvia highlights?
TNT Sports will broadcast various 30-minute highlight programmes throughout the Rally Latvia weekend starting at 10:30pm on Friday.
Red Bull TV is another destination for Rally Latvia highlights, as it will broadcast an hour-long programme at 8pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. ITV4 will also run an hour-long highlights programme, this one being on Tuesday 23 July at 9pm.
Elsewhere, Autosport will offer daily highlights of the action from Latvia, as will the official WRC YouTube channel who upload clips throughout a rally weekend.
| Date | Channel | Time |
| Friday 19 July | Red Bull TV | 8pm BST |
| Friday 19 July | TNT Sports 1 | 10:30pm BST |
| Saturday 20 July | TNT Sports 2 | 4am BST |
| Saturday 20 July | TNT Sports 3 | 5:30am BST |
| Saturday 20 July | Red Bull TV | 8pm BST |
| Saturday 20 July | TNT Sports 2 | 10pm BST |
| Sunday 21 July | TNT Sports 1 | 12am BST |
| Sunday 21 July | TNT Sports 3 | 3:15am BST |
| Sunday 21 July | TNT Sports 2 | 5:30am BST |
| Sunday 21 July | TNT Sports 1 | 7:45pm BST |
| Sunday 21 July | Red Bull TV | 8pm BST |
| Tuesday 23 July | ITV | 9pm BST |
What is the route for Rally Latvia?
Rally Latvia will have 20 special stages covering a total competitive distance of 186.49 miles. It will commence on Thursday evening, where drivers will tackle 6.92 miles of Biķernieki Track on the outskirts of Riga before returning to their cars on Friday morning.
Friday begins with 3.1 miles around the village of Milzkalne before the rally heads south-west to Tukums, where 17.12 miles of the town makes it the weekend’s biggest stage. Drivers will then do 11.1 miles of Andumi to complete that morning’s action, before returning to Milzkalne and Tukums to commence the afternoon’s stages. Following that will be Strazde (10.84 miles) and Talsi (12.75 miles) to finish the day, before an early start kickstarts Saturday’s running with 11.73 miles of Pilskalns.
Drivers will then head to Snepele (10.89 miles) for the halfway stage, yet there will still be six more stages to do on Saturday beginning with Ivande (14.32 miles) and Vecpils (7.85 miles). Stage 13 will see drivers tackle 6.27 miles of Podnieki, before the rally returns west for another 7.85 miles of Vecpils.
Saturday’s running will go into the evening with two stages to finish off the action. It begins with 4.13 miles of Dinsdurbe, while the weekend’s shortest run of 1.59 miles in the city of Liepaja will complete the day.
Sunday features four stages of two identical routes, as it begins with 11.62 miles of Krogzemji before 8.29 miles of Mazilmaja. Drivers then return to Krogzemji before Mazilmaja serves as the Power Stage, where bonus points on a sliding scale of 5-4-3-2-1 are available to the top five finishes for that stage.
Rally1 entry list for Rally Latvia
| Team | Driver | Co-driver |
| Hyundai | Esapekka Lappi | Janne Ferm |
| Ott Tanak | Martin Jarveoja | |
| Thierry Neuville | Martijn Wydaeghe | |
| M-Sport | Gregoire Munster | Louis Louka |
| Adrien Fourmaux | Alexandre Coria | |
| Martins Sesks | Renars Francis | |
| Toyota | Sebastien Ogier | Vincent Landais |
| Takamoto Katsuta | Aaron Johnston | |
| Elfyn Evans | Scott Martin | |
| Kalle Rovanpera | Jonna Halttunen |
