Ostberg set for Latvia mission

Mads Ostberg will use the break in the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia between this month’s Rally Argentina and the Acropolis Rally at the end of May to contest the fourth running of the Rally of Champions event in Latvia.

Ostberg, who claimed his maiden WRC victory in Portugal at the start of April, will switch from his regular Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car to a production-based Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X for the mainly gravel-based event, which features a competitive distance of 120 kilometres.

John Easton, whose MML Sports preparation firm will run Ostberg in Latvia, said: “I’m very excited about having Mads in one of our cars. He is clearly a very quick driver, as he has demonstrated on numerous WRC events and it was only a matter of time before he took his maiden event win.

“Rally Talsi is always a superb event - the first genuine gravel rally of the Latvian series following the two winter rounds and with something like five national champions entered this year, it’s going to be a very competitive event.”

Ostberg, the reigning Norwegian title winner, will go up against national champions from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. They include Rally Class participant Andis Neiksans and former Production Car World Rally Championship runner Dmitry Tagirov.

The event takes place in the Talsi region of the country from 12-13 May.