Round 9: World RX of Latvia, Riga (LV)

Date: September 15–16, 2018
Track: Biķernieki Sports Complex, 10 km east of Riga 
Track length: 1.295 km (Joker Lap: 1.355 km)
Surface: 60 % tarmac, 40 % gravel
Turns: 8 left, 4 right
Longest jump: approx. 30 m
Top speed: approx. 146 km/h
Lap record: Johan Kristoffersson (S), 48.894s (2017)
Average speed: approx. 95.35 km/h
Winner in 2017: Johan Kristoffersson (S), 5m 06.673s

Race facts
The round at Riga stands for thrilling races and perfect organization. In 2016 and 2017, the organizers received recognition for the best World RX event. The track is part of the Biķernieki Sports Complex and was built from scratch for the inaugural event in 2016. The surface of the gravel sections is similarly hard as the one at Lohéac and the two jumps are neatly incorporated in the layout, resulting in a mix of fast tarmac sections and treacherous turns on both surfaces. The parallel routing of the normal track and the Joker section, which run completely side by side, each featuring a jump, is unique. 

2018 flashback
EKS Audi Sport celebrate a podium finish for the sixth time in the current World RX season: in Riga, Mattias Ekström in the Audi S1 EKS RX quattro finished second, only 2.3 seconds behind the winner and championship leader Johan Kristoffersson (Volkswagen). The road for Mattias Ekström to the silver trophy went very smoothly: by being placed third in the intermediate results, the Swede qualified for the semi-final where he clinched a place in the final after finishing second behind Kristoffersson. In the crucial race for the best six, Ekström was again only beaten by his Swedish countryman and thus claimed the sixth podium finish for EKS Audi Sport in the 2018 season. Andreas Bakkerud and DTM star Nico Müller, who contested his first wild card race of the season in Latvia, also qualified for the semi-finals with the Audi S1 EKS RX quattro. However, they were both out of luck: in a collision at the start, Bakkerud’s Audi was pushed into that of Müller. As a consequence, both drivers missed making the cut for the final.