How to be fast at Rally Latvia - EA SPORTS™ WRC Official Guide

Master the newest addition to the WRC calendar with our official guide

Tet Rally Latvia is the newest addition to the WRC calendar, making its debut in 2024.

For tips on how to set fast stage times, here’s some words of advice from our in-house rally driver and game designer, Jon Armstrong.

Location Overview

Similar to Estonia and Poland, Latvia is a high speed gravel location with mostly smooth surfaces.

Unlike its neighbours however, Latvia doesn’t feature as many bumps and jumps, its flatter and wider roads allow you to carry a lot of speed.

Its long straights allow you to reach the upper end of your car’s performance, before slowing down again to navigate tight chicanes.

Tip 1: Stay away from Ditches and Log Piles

While the roads of Latvia may be wide and smooth, what lies alongside them can prove tricky if you’re not prepared.

Lining the sides of many road sections are deep ditches, where it’s easy to drop your wheels into the ground. 

Be careful not to veer too close to the road edge, as you can easily pitch the car into a spin or roll if you’re caught off-guard.

Additionally, there are numerous log piles on the inside and outside of corners. These will also have an impact on your approach into and out of turns.

Tip 2: Line up for the Chicanes

Latvia’s long straights let you reach incredible speeds, however many of them are punctuated with tight chicanes for driver and spectator safety.

You should be able to see them before the co-driver calls them out in the Pace Notes, but you’ll need to brake quickly when you hear the call. 

Your co-driver will also tell you whether you should enter a chicane from the left or right-hand side of the road.

Slow down to 2nd Gear for these chicanes, focusing on getting a clean exit. You’ll gain more time by braking early and properly lining yourself up for the next long straight, than by braking late to maximise entry speed.

Tip 3: Adjust your Gearing, Stiffen the Car

With the long straights demanding maximum performance from your car, you may find that the default gear ratios are a little too short, with the car’s speed topping out too early.

You can adjust this via the Vehicle Setup > Tuning > Gears menu within the Service Area, before you start driving.

Look for the Final Drive setting and move it towards the right. Your goal here is to have the car reach the top of its rev range just before you brake for a chicane, as that maximises your top speed potential.

Latvia’s stages are also characterised by their relatively flat terrain and wide roads. This allows you to run slightly stiffer suspension than at other rallies, as you won’t be navigating many bumpy roads or jumps.

You can change your setup via Vehicle Setup > Tuning> Springs. Moving Spring Rate and Anti-Roll Bar to the right will tighten them up, making the car more responsive. You may also want to consider lowering Ride Height slightly for the same reason.

Tip 4: Think about the corners you can’t see

With Latvia’s stages being relatively flat there aren’t many reference points to look out for when approaching turns. 

You won’t see as many trees as you would on Poland, Estonia, or Finland, which you would normally use as reference for where to brake and turn.

This places a greater importance on your co-driver, so be extra attentive to their calls through high speed sections.

Tip 5: Analyse your driving on EA Racenet

EA Racenet, our official companion site, features several tools and features with which you can elevate your EA SPORTS™ WRC experience.

One particularly useful feature is our Analysis tool. You can use this to compare your best Time Trial performance with those of your friends, rivals and the game’s fastest drivers.

In addition to seeing your Time Trial ghost and the lines you took through each corner of a stage, you can also compare your throttle, brake, and handbrake inputs to other players.

This is a great way to understand where you are losing time, and where you can potentially make up ground in your next rally.

Tip 6: Build up Experience

As with all rally locations, pace at Latvia comes with experience.

You may find these stages difficult during your first run through, but once you know what to watch out for you’ll quickly improve.

Time Trial is a good way to build up this knowledge, as you can easily restart stages and seek the perfect run. 

Combining your Time Trial attempts with Racenet analysis and the other tips in this guide will see you make rapid progress towards the top of the leaderboard.

With the tips you’ve learned about today you’re well on your way towards the top step of the podium at Rally Latvia, so head back out there and start driving!

For more rally advice check out our Ultimate Beginner’s Guide, and to become a master at another location check out our Poland Guide.