Next trip of the Eurolamp World Rally Team to the Baltic region is of extreme importance.
Ukrainian team is going to simultaneously compete for the titles in overall standings of two national rally championships – Estonian and Latvian. These rounds take place within the same weekend, but in different countries, and it will not be so easy to pass them.
Organizers of two championships failed to reach a consensus last December, and, thus, appointed two final races on the same dates.
Rally Saaremaa is held as the final stage of Estonian rally championship. More than a hundred crews will come to the start. To define the strongest crew – both in the overall race standings and at the season end, the two-day competition traditionally takes place on the high-speed gravel paths. Crews of Valery Gorban from Eurolamp WRT and Ranno Bundsen from A1M Motorsport will be the front-line players at the 51st Saaremaa Rally, as they are the only contenders for the champ title in overall standings of Estonian Rally Championship.
Just these two crews are going to meet in the west of Latvia after the Estonian Championship finishes.
Rally Liepaja has the status of European Championship stage. However, its every day (Saturday and Sunday) represents a separate stage of Latvian Championship.
The 6th stage of Latvian Championship is held simultaneously with the Saaremaa Rally finals. As such, the Eurolamp WRT has to miss it, whereas the final 7th stage of Latvian Championship will be decisive for Valery Gorban and Sergei Larens. This particular Championship defines the winners and medalists, as the number of credits given during the event will be much bigger compared to traditional championship stages.
Ukrainian Eurolamp WRT is going to send two Mini JCW WRC with two separate pit crews to participate in both races. These two events will be particularly difficult for the Eurolamp WRT and its engineering staff, as immediately after the finish of final round in Estonia, they have to go to Latvia and appear at the local final stage Sunday morning. There is a long distance to be overcome to get from the finish of one race to the start of the other.