The World Rally Championship will add the country of Latvia to their calendar with the addition of Tet Rally Latvia in 2024.
This comes of the back of the event’s long run in the European Rally Championship, of which WRC Promoter is also commercial rights holder.
“It has always been our goal to keep at least one slot in the WRC calendar available to enable an event to rotate from the ERC to the WRC,” said Peter Thul, Senior Director of Sport for WRC Promoter.
“Tet Rally Latvia becoming the first to be granted this slot is a clear recognition of its sporting and promotional excellence, and the commitment of the Latvian Government to rallying.
“This decision highlights the strategic importance of the Baltic regions for WRC.
“We have a longstanding relationship with broadcast partner TV3 and look forward to expanded collaboration with them for the 2024 event.
“This as well as our ever-increasing network of over 50 broadcasters in more than 150 countries, makes WRC one of the most widely viewed motorsport championships on the planet.”
Formerly known as Tet Rally Liepaja, this is one of the more challenging rallies in Europe with the reputation of having ultra-fast gravel roads and requiring precision from both drivers and co-drivers.
The round will spread across the country of Latvia and into cities such as Rīga and Liepāja.
“This is a dream come true moment. Our work that started many years ago, has finally concluded with a clear pathway for Latvia to host a WRC event in 2024,” said Raimonds Strokšs, Tet Rally Latvia director.
“For RA Events as an event organiser, this is a tremendous milestone that carries huge responsibility with it. But we have such reliable partners in the Latvian Government, our rally city Liepaja, our capital city Riga, and our general sponsor Tet – plus many more.
“Behind them there is an even broader team of enthusiastic people, with whom we can pull this off and are ready to tackle all the challenges that lay ahead of us.”
Dates are yet to be announced for Tet Rally Latvia and what round it will replace on the calendar. It is also subject to approval by the World Motor Sport Council.