Rally “Sarma” ends with Asunma victory, Sesks finishes seventh – Motor sports – Sportacentrs.com

Asunma and Gorban are fighting for victory

Within the framework of the Latvian and Estonian rally championship stage, six special stages were completed on the still snowy roads of the Gulbene side. After the first dopa, the crew of the Ukrainian driver Valeria Gorba (“Mini John Cooper Works WRC”) became the leader, but already in the second special stage he won and took the lead in the rally in the Asunma (“Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo”). He won the SS3 again, then Gorban was the best in the SS4 again, but at that time they were both separated for almost 12 seconds. Asunma won another SS5, but Gorban – SS6 and the distance to the finish remained less than 12 seconds.

The two crews had no real competition to win. Asunma won the LRC2 group, but Gorban was the first in the LRC1 standings. Estonian Karl Martin Volver overtakes Lithuanian Vladas Jurkevičs (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) with the self-built Škoda Fabia Proto, reaching third place. They were more than a minute behind the winners.

The highest among Latvians is Sesks / Francis

Meanwhile, the winners of the fifth to seventh place finished a short distance from each other. PROSPEED’s new driver Denis Rostilov (“Škoda Fabia R5”) took fifth place, defeating Roland Murak (Ford Fiesta Proto) in less than a second, but less than three seconds later the duo Mārtiņš Seska / Renārs Frančs finished with the first race with Škoda Fabia R4 all-wheel drive car. Even before the final dopa, they were the sixth, but in the last kilometers they gave in to the Estonian Muraka crew. Sesks / Francis won the LRC3 group.

Bergman / Dragon also wins in his group

Edijs Bergmanis / Ivo Pūķis (“Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX”) finished his second joint race in 11th place, but became the winners of the LRC5 group. The second in the test, more than six seconds behind, was the Estonian Aiko Aigro (“Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX”), and the third was Sime Livamegi (“Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VII”). Edgars Balodis / Maksims Juzikevičs (“Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII”) took the fourth place, and Jānis Vorobjovs / Guntars Zicāns (“Mitsubishi Mirage Proto”) took the fifth place. For the old masters, it was the first joint start since 2013, but Vorobjov had not started in winter rallies for several years.

In the other test groups, Karl-Marcus Sei (Peugeot 208 Rally4, LRC4), Martin Samson (BMW M3 E36, LRC6) and Karel Telps (Ford Fiesta R2, LRC7) won.

A loop / lilac overturns on the roof

Kalvis Blūms / Jurģis Meisters (“Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI”) withdrew due to technical problems, but Normunds Otomers / Dāvis Arājs (“Opel Askona”) did not stay on the road in the third stage, while Jānis Liepa / Mārcis Dzenis (“Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX”) and Ivo Ķilpis / Artis Ceriņš (“Toyota Corolla”) crashed in the same turn in the fourth stage. The machine piloted by Loop had overturned on the roof after the accident. The crew of PROSPEED pilot Igor Bulancev (“Škoda Fabia R5”) also left after the accident, which was also experienced in the first stage.

The fastest Schwarz-Schwampan / Lukin crew in the rally sprint

The first stage of the Latvian Rally Sprint Championship took place within four special stages. Mareks Schwarz-Schwampan / Armands Lukins (“Subaru Impreza”) took the first place in the absolute test, beating Kristaps Sarma / Sandi Druk-Jaunzeme (“Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX”) by almost a minute, while Vigo Rubenis / Gundars Berķis (“ Subaru Impreza ”), with the winners losing 1 minute and 48 seconds. These three crews were the fastest in the RK8 group. In the RK9 group, Matīs Mežaks / Miķelis Mežaks (“BMW 325”) won, and in the RK10 – Jill Membrando (“Ford Fiesta Rally4”), who reached the high fourth place in the overall standings. For Mežak, it was a return to the rally after a long break, but in the absolute classification, his crew was the fifth fastest.

Results of the rally “Sarma 2022”:

All results: https://autorally.lv/?m=4