Rovanperä vs. Tänak Prediction on July 21, 2024

Match info

The sole completely new event on the schedule for this season of the 2024 World Rally Championship is Tet Rally Latvia, within Round 8. Amidst a series of rallies across Europe, the first-ever Rally Latvia is another gravel event. This race has been held in the European Rally Championship for over ten years under the name Rally Liepāja. However, for several Rally1 crews, it will be their first time participating in a gravel contest in the summer, while for others it will be their first time visiting Latvia.

The roads are fast and flowing, and the gravel surface in Liepāja is sandy; there are many similarities to the previous round in Poland. Does that imply that Hyundai can bounce back, especially in light of Ott Tänak’s early setback the last time out, or does it suggest that Toyota and Kalle Rovanperä will be the ones to beat again?

This is our form guide for the second of three fast gravel rallies (Sunday, July 21, Power Stage at 3:15 p.m. local time) that will take place this summer, and our suggested offshore online gambling sites to wager on it.

Meeting statistics

Once again, a part-time driver won the most recent round of the 2024 WRC season: double world champion Kalle Rovanperä triumphed in Rally Poland after being called up at the last minute to replace the injured Sébastien Ogier. As a result, the championship battle between full-time racers is wide open after the Toyota driver and his teammate Ogier, who’s also competing part-time in 2024, have won four of the previous five rounds.

Thierry Neuville of Hyundai is leading the ranking at the moment, but he’s just 15 points clear of Elfyn Evans of Toyota, who closed the gap with a second-place finish in Poland as opposed to the Belgian’s fourth. Both drivers are fighting for their first world championship, however, Neuville has only won once this season, in the opening round, and Evans hasn’t won any.

Despite losing the lead on Friday in Poland, Ott Tänak, the 2019 world champion, is still in title contention; the victor of the Rally Sardinia is only six points behind Evans. Despite this, Tänak managed to secure a spot in the championship race that weekend with 11 points after leading Rally Poland’s Sunday standings and placing second in the Power Stage using the new 2024 points system.

Even though Toyota has won more rallies than Hyundai, the Japanese team is only 10 points ahead of Hyundai in the manufacturers’ championship battle. This weekend, Toyota will field Ogier and Rovanperä in an attempt to win crucial championship points. In light of this, the World Rally Championship will make its series debut in Latvia this weekend, a nation that has participated in the European Rally Championship since 2013. Both championships will be up for grabs.

Local hero Mārtiņš Sesks, who won the previous two Rally Latvia events, will be competing this weekend for M-Sport after placing fifth in Poland during his Rally1 debut while driving a Ford Puma without a hybrid engine. He’ll have an additional 130 horsepower this weekend thanks to the hybrid version. Will Sesks perform better in front of his supporters at home? Probably, yes.

Match analytics

In Poland, Rovanperä became victorious after substituting for Ogier at the last minute. In 2024, he won twice in a part-time capacity, the last time by 28 seconds. This season, the Finn has only participated in four races, winning two (in Kenya and Poland) and finishing outside the top 30 twice (in Sweden and Portugal, respectively). While Latvia may be a newcomer to the WRC schedule, Rovanperä isn’t. As a teenager, the two-time reigning champion raced throughout the neighborhood for years. He’s the clear favorite after his strong performance in Poland, and he ought to be aiming for more victories during the rally program.

Tänak’s poor performance in Poland swiftly sapped the momentum from his victory in Sardinia. On the first day of the race, he was severely damaged and dropped down the rankings after coming into contact with a deer. His final classification of 40th was his second-worst performance of the year. He experienced yet another horrific crash in the Rally Estonia last week. In order to restart his title campaign, he needs to have a good performance this week. In the WRC standings, he’s third, barely 21 points behind leader Neuville. Tänak has a good start and might take full advantage of it if he can return to his pre-Poland form.

Probably because Rally Latvia is new to the schedule, bookies haven’t yet released the odds, even though the first stage set off on Thursday, July 18. However, it’s expected that betting platforms that are prominent for numerous motorsport markets, such as Betway or STS, release the odds until the main day.