Rally Talsi will take place over 10 special stages, with a total stage distance of 98.94 kilometres. Gravel stages will take place in Mordanga, Pastende, Mundigciems, and Strazde, with two more stages taking place on the Talsi city streets. First special stage will begin at 9:30, but the awards ceremony is set for 21:30 at the Sauleskalns bandstand.

Ukrainian Valerii Gorban (Eurolamp World Rally Team) will be the first on road with the powerful BMW-Mini John Cooper Works WRC. He will be followed by Latvian crew Jānis Berķis / Edgars Čeporjus (Neiksans Rallysport, Ford Fiesta R5), with Lithuanian Benediktas Vanagas (General Financing team Pitlane, Škoda Fabia R5) third on the stages.

Three drivers will be competing for the travelling Champions Cup – a special category in Rally Talsi, where past year’s national rally champions in all-wheel drive classes compete against each other. This year, with the travelling cup returning from Finland where it resided with Kalle Rovanpera, the battle will be between the aforementioned Benediktas Vanagas, Latvian Jānis Vorobjovs, and Russian driver Alexander Mikhaylov.

While all the special stages are set for Saturday, rally activities will begin on Friday. Throughout the day, crews will be doing recce of the stages, while 30 crews will tackle the shakedown stage at 17:00, to test their cars before the event. Starting from 16:00, spectators are invited to come to the Talsi region council, with various activities for fans taking place, including Burgerfests, where you will be able to try various foods and drinks. If the weather is good, there will also be inflatable attractions for the children, a Rally Talsi souvenir shop, as well as a Sportland official clothing stand. At 20:00, the rally opening ceremony will begin at the same spot, while the ceremonial start is set for 20:30.

Eleven countries will be represented in Rally Talsi, including two drivers from India, Sanjay Takale and Amittrajit Ghosh, the last of whom is also planning to compete in the FIA European Rally Championship in the near future. Other notable competitors include current FIA European Rally Championship competitor Mārtiņš Sesks (LMT Autosporta Akadēmija), FIA European Rallycross Championship competitor Reinis Nitišs (Neiksans Rallysport), as well as Oliver Solberg (Sports Racing Technologies), son of motorsports legend Petter Solberg.

Among historic rally cars, the first start number has been given to Ivars Velme / Andris Velme, who will be contesting the stages in a car that is among the fan favourites – a 1985 Audi Quattro A2. Meanwhile, an even larger variance of cars will be available in the historic car regularity event, where the newest car will be a 1993 Mercedes-Benz 190, while the oldest car is a 1958 GAZ 21.

 - The current Latvian Rally Championship standings are available HERE>

 - The full entry list, event results, and official documentation is available HERE>

 - Starting from 8:30 on May 19, news will be aired on the rally radio Kurzemes Radio.

 - Stage maps and viewpoint descriptions are available in the Spectator Guide HERE>

On Saturday, beginning at 14:00, the large summer opening concert Lielais Blieziens Talsos 2018 will take place at the Sauleskalns bandstand, with 10 bands taking the stage at various times – Dakota, Galaktika, Tranzīts, Olas, Dzelzs Vilks, DJ Roberts Lejasmeiers, Transleiters, Klaidonis, Credo, and Līvi.

Rally Talsi tickets are available in all Biļešu Serviss locations, as well as online HERE>. A ticket to attend all the special stages costs 15 EUR. At the entrance of special stages, it will also be possible to buy a ticket to attend that particular stage, at a price of 8 EUR. Children up to 10 years of age and people with disabilities can attend the event for free. Talsi inhabitants can also buy tickets at the Narvesen location next to Talsi Neste fuel station, as well as in the Narvesen next to the Talsi central bus station.

When attending Rally Talsi, it is important to remember that the tickets must be exchanged for wristbands before heading out to the special stages. All information about ticket exchange points is available on www.rallytalsi.lv.

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 the official car rental Sixt. We would also like to thank our supporters Canon IB Serviss, Krauzers, Ramirent, and Swecon. Thanks to our media partners Delfi, JCDecaux, Kurzemes Radio, Talsu Vēstis, and Zebra, for their informative support. The event would also not be possible without our rally friends – Alfa SLS, Dardedze Hologrāfija, Esi Draugs, Flora, FN Serviss, MeFab, Meža Dārzs, Red Bull, Sportland, Törley, Venden, and the Latvian Automobile Federation.

More information about Rally Talsi: www.rallytalsi.lv and http://autorally.lv. News and other information about Rally Talsi can also be found on social media: Twitter @RallyTalsi, Facebook /RallyTalsi, Draugiem.lv /RallyTalsi, and YouTube /RallyTalsi.

FRIDAY, MAY 18>
08:00 Recce
16:00 Activities next to Talsi council – Burgerfests, attractions for kids, souvenir shop
17:00 SHAKEDOWN STAGE (Ģibuļi)
19:30 Prestart area
20:00 Opening ceremony next to the Talsi region council
20:30 Ceremonial start
 

SATURDAY, MAY 19>
09:30 SS1 CANON BIZNESA CENTRS – IB SERVISS (Mordanga)
10:15 SS2 NESTE 1 (Pastende)
12:10 SS3 DELFI – LAI SPRIESTU, JĀREDZ! (Mordanga)
12:55 SS4 NESTE 2 (Pastende)
14:00 Beginning of summer opening concert LIELAIS BLIEZIENS TALSOS 2017
14:40 SS5 TALCE SC GRUPA 1 (Mundigciems)
15:10 SS6 TALSI CITY SPECIAL 1 (Talsi city stage)
16:40 SS7 TALCE SC GRUPA 2 (Mundigciems)
17:10 SS8 TALSI CITY SPECIAL 2 (Talsi city stage)
18:40 SS9 SIXT AUTO NOMA (Strazde)
19:25 SS10 RAMIRENT IS MORE THAN MACHINES (Strazde)
18:00 RALLY TALSI historic regularity rally finish, next to the Talsi region council
20:30 RALLY TALSI finish, next to the Talsi region council
21:30 Awards ceremony at the Sauleskalns bandstand

Jānis Unbedahts, Media officer, RA EVENTS. Photo: RA Events / MVFoto