Estonia's Karl Martin Volver wins Rally Sprint "Latvija" at Bikernieki
Estonian crew Karl Martin Volver / Annika Sona won Rally Sprint "Latvija", which closed the 2026 Latvian Rally Championship season on 1 November. Poland's Aron Domzala secured the Latvian champion title.
Rally Sprint "Latvija" ended on Sunday, 1 November, at the Bikernieki circuit in Riga, closing the 2026 Latvian Rally Championship season. Estonian crew Karl Martin Volver and co-driver Annika Sona won the overall classification in a Skoda Fabia Rally2, taking all seven stages. Poland's Aron Domzala, who finished second overall, won the Latvian rally champion title.
How the event unfolded
The rally began on Saturday evening with two 20-kilometre gravel stages, followed on Sunday by five stages at Bikernieki. The seven stages totalled 86.90 kilometres. For competitors in the Latvian Rally Sprint Cup, the SSV SRT Cup and the Martins Sesks MRF Tyres Junior Challenge, the event ended after the sixth stage, a 71.90-kilometre competitive distance.
Volver built his lead during the Saturday night stages, where he gained 1 minute 4.77 seconds on Domzala, and extended it on Sunday. The winners' time was 50 minutes 41.81 seconds. Domzala and Michal Kusnerz (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) finished 1 minute 25.59 seconds behind. Estonians Allan Popov and Arro Vahtra (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) took third, 3 minutes 3.24 seconds back. Markus Tammoja / Karol Pert were fourth. The fastest Latvian crew was Martins Locmelis / Harijs Vejins, who after technical problems on Saturday climbed from eighth to fifth on Sunday.
Other classifications
In the Latvian Rally Sprint Cup, Kristaps Laipnieks / Karlis Jansons won, holding off Ugis Dombrovskis / Jurgis Serzans by 2.78 seconds after the final stage. Popov / Vahtra won the Estonian Rally Sprint Cup. In the historic car cup, Latvia's Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs won with co-driver Andis Veinbergs. Rolands Puravs / Ingars Sakne took the SSV SRT Cup.
In the U25 class of the Martins Sesks MRF Tyres Junior Challenge, a young drivers' development programme, Karlis Dzenitis / Janis Strazdins won, despite a four-minute penalty for arriving too early at the final time control.
Volver called the season one of his best, while Kulbergs said the event let him forget about politics for a while.
