Two rally drivers will represent Latvia in this year’s Rally of Champions. One of them will be Guntis Lielkājis, for whom it will be the first time battling for the Champions Challenge Cup after his successful 2015 season. Lielkājis will be co-driven by Ivars Grošus, and will be driving a Mistubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

Even though his 2015 title was won in Lithuania, the last year’s Champions Challenge Cup winner Jānis Vorobjovs is also representing Latvia. He is also, mathematically, the most successful participant of the Rally of Champions – he has competed twice, winning both times. Vorobjovs will be co-driven by Andris Mālnieks and they will be racing a Mitsubishi Mirage that has been built from the ground up in the team workshop.

Battle for the Champions Challenge Cup would not be imaginable without the experienced Lithuanian champion Vytautas Švedas. This will be the eighth time Rally of Champions takes place, with record five times of which have seen Švedas as the competitor. He has also managed to take home the Champions Challenge Cup twice. His co-driver will be Žilvinas Sakalauskas, and they will be driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

Last but not least, the Belarussian rally champion Siarhei Viazovich will be competing here for the second time in a row. He will surely want to add the Champions Challenge Cup to his list of trophies. Siarhei will be co-driven by Dzmitry Akhremchyk and they will also be driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

“Rally of Champions battles are often very close and exciting, adding to the nature of rally, where the fight is not only for the win in the overall classification, but in every class or category. In this case, it will be a battle among last season’s national rally champions, who will go head to head on the same roads to see who is the fastest!

This year, we have four experienced and very fast competitors fighting for the Champions Challenge Cup. Vorobjovs and Švedas have each won the Cup twice, totalling four of seven possible victories since the inception of the Rally of Champions in 2009. The other two champions – Latvian Lielkājis and Belarussian Viasovich are also no strangers to the roads of Talsi! Lielkājis will be racing here for the sixth time, while Viazovich will be competing in the rally between nine hills for the second year in a row, and, this year, will be driving an Evolution X, which is better suited to the Talsi road configuration than last year’s Subaru.

In addition to that, I can say that two of the Champions Cup competitors – Vorobjovs and Švedas – will have some added motivation: if any of the two Champions Challenge Cup drivers win this cup for the third time, it will remain with the team permanently!” RA Events director Raimonds Strokšs.

Since 2009, Rally Talsi has also been known as the Rally of Champions, and the battle for victory takes place not only in the overall classification and each class, but also for the prestigious travelling Champions Challenge Cup. In this battle, national rally champions from the previous season are invited to battle it out on the same stages and see who is the fastest among champions. In past years, the Rally of Champions has attracted champions from the Baltic States and Scandinavia, as well as Belarus, Russia, Great Britain, and Slovakia. Some drivers currently competing in the FIA World Rally Champion (WRC) have also battled for the Champions Cup – Norwegians Andreas Mikkelsen (Volkswagen Motorsport II) and Mads Østberg (M-Sport World Rally Team), and Estonian Ott Tänak (Dmack World Rally Team). Who will bring home the travelling Champions Cup this year?

RALLY OF CHAMPIONS 2016 COMPETITORS>

Rally of Champions WINNERS>

Tickets to Rally Talsi are already available, with a single ticket price of 12.00 EUR if bought on or before May 15. Spectators who buy a ticket to attend all the stages will also receive a souvenir – a lanyard with the Rally Talsi 50 year anniversary logo!

In collaboration with Nissan Norde, who will provide the official car of Rally Talsi, it is also possible to receive the Rally Talsi stage maps free of charge in all the ticket sale locations. It will be an A5 size leaflet listing all the spectator areas for the stages with the pacenotes along those areas, and other useful information!

Working together with internet store easyshop.lv, we are also giving you an exclusive opportunity to buy souvenirs with the Rally Talsi fiftieth anniversary logo! Has anyone seen a true rally fan without the proper fan accessories? Of course not! For this reason, we are offering the chance to buy kerchiefs, sunglasses, hats and even notebooks! Stickers are also available, both in small and large sizes! Anniversary souvenirs are available HERE>

Rally Talsi would not be possible without our supporters, so we would like to thank the rally city of nine hillocks – Talsi, sponsors Neste and Talce / SC Grupa, as well as Nissan Norde, who provide the official car of Rally Talsi. We would also like to thank our supporters – Canon IB Serviss, Krauzers, Lakalme, Ramirent and Swecon. Thanks to our media partners Delfi, Kurzemes Radio, Go4Speed, Talsu Vēstis, FHM, Zebra, Talsu Televīzija and What Car?, for informative support. The event would also not be possible without our rally friends – Alfa SLS, Dardedze Hologrāfija, easyshop.lv, ecoRent, FN Serviss, Ingrid D., Niedrāji MR, Red Bull, RMS Group, Skrīveru Saldumi, Torley, Venden and the Latvian Automobile Federation.

More information about Rally Talsi: www.rallytalsi.lv and http://autorally.lv. In addition to that, news and other information about Rally Talsi is available on social media Twitter @RallyTalsi, Facebook /RallyTalsi, Draugiem.lv /RallyTalsi and YouTube /RallyTalsi.

Jānis Unbedahts, Media secretary, RA EVENTS. Photo: Reinis Grinvalds