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Friday qualifying opens Rally Liepaja
16.09.2016

Liepāja, September 16, 2016

Ninth round of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), Rally Liepāja, officially got underway today with the qualifying, which was won by Alexey Lukyanuk (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X), who was 0.751 seconds ahead of current championship leader Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Ford Fiesta R5). Latvian driver Ralfs Sirmacis (Škoda Fabia R5) set the third quickest time, 1.85 seconds behind Lukyanuk.

Fifteen drivers who set the quickest times in the qualifying then took part in the start position selection, with each of the leaders choosing the lowest available position. Latvian driver Mārtiņš Svilis will be first on the road on Saturday’s stages, while Lukyanuk will start fifteenth, Kajetanowicz fourteenth and Sirmacis – thirteenth.

“I am happy to have won the qualification stage, and would not mind if this is how the rally ends. We have gotten the best possible start position, but the fight with R5 class cars will not be easy. Latvia has always been very welcoming, and, if I was not competing, Liepāja would be a fantastic place for relaxation!” says Lukyanuk, who set the fastest time on the qualifying stage, and received NPK Expert special prize for doing that – one tonne of Ad Blue petrol delivered to any place in the world!

- Alexey Lukyanuk, ©FIAERC.COM

Among Latvian drivers, Raimonds Kisiels (Škoda Fabia R5) impressed with a top ten time, while Nikolay Gryazin (Peugeot 208 R2) was third quickest in the ERC Junior class.

“Not bad, but I could have been faster! I made some mistakes in the last few corners, losing quite a bit of time, but you cannot always be perfect! Our start position is good. Of course, Lukyanuk will be very fast in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, and we will also need to keep our eye on Kajetanowicz and Norwegian driver Larsen. There is some added pressure with this being my home event, but I will do my best!” says Sirmacis.

- Ralfs Sirmacis, ©FIAERC.COM

Estonian drivers also showed great pace – Siim Plangi (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) was fifth fastest, while Sports Racing Technologies crew of Raul Jeets was just one spot behind in sixth. Miko-Ove Niinemae (Peugeot 208 R2) was fastest among ERC Junior class drivers.

First stage of Rally Liepāja is set to begin at 9:25 on Satuday, September 17, near Kuldīga. Day one will consist of seven special stages with a total stage distance of 102 kilometres, the last two of which will take place in Liepāja, near the newly built Great Amber concert hall! Start of the stage SS6 / SS7 Great Amber is set for 18:40.

Spectators can follow all the news and action on both the rally radio StarFM, and through mobile apps FIA ERC and Rally4Now. All news and other information about Rally Liepāja is also available on the official website www.lvrally.com and on social media: Twitter @LVRally, Facebook /LVRally, YouTube /RallyLiepāja and Instagram /lvrally.

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, NPK Expert, Vivus.lv, our partner Kuldīga city, the provider of official cars Autobrava, as well as supporters Baltijas Helikopters, Blue Shock Race, Canon IB Serviss Rīga, Castrol, Fontaine Royal Hotel, Liepājas Olimpiskais Centrs, and SweCon. Informative support is provided by the official news portal DELFI and media partners StarFM, FHM, Go4Speed, JCDecaux, Kurzemes Radio and Zebra. Rally Liepāja would also not be possible without our rally friends: Dardedze, easyshop.lv, FN Serviss, Grandeg, Guard Systems, Holography, Jānis Pūce, N&J, Liepājas Datoru Centrs, Ramirent, Red Bull, SidusNet, SignTech, Skrīveru Saldumi, Venden, Veselīgas Uzkodas, and Törley. A special thank you goes out to the Latvian Automobile Federation.

 

Rally Liepāja programme:

Saturday, September 17

09:00   First rally car starts from Kuldīga

09:25   SS 1 KULDĪGA 1

10:05   SS 2 CASTROL EDGE SUPERCAR

10:40   SS 3 NESTE 1

14:40   SS 4 NESTE 2

15:30   SS 5 KULDĪGA 2

18:40   SSS 6 GREAT AMBER 1

18:53   SSS 7 GREAT AMBER 2

Sunday, September 18

08:15   First rally car starts from Liepāja

09:30   SS 8 VIVUS.LV 1

10:00   SS 9 LIEPĀJA IEDVESMO 1

10:30   SS 10 NPK EXPERT

13:30   SS 11 VIVUS.LV 2

14:00   SS 12 LIEPĀJA IEDVESMO 2

14:30   SS 13 BLUE SHOCK RACE

16:00   Rally Liepāja finish at Great Amber concert hall

20:00   Rally Liepāja awards ceremony at Great Amber concert hall