SS9: Ketomaa makes it four in a row in Latvia

Jari Ketomaa has completed day two of Rally Liepāja-Ventspils with his fourth stage win of the FIA European Rally Championship counter.

Ketomaa, in a Ford Fiesta Regional Rally Car, set the pace through the 3.40-kilometre Ventspils kalns spectator stage, going 5.0s faster than Jan Černy and 5.1s quicker than Craig Breen. It means the Finn’s overnight lead ahead of Peugeot driver Breen stands at 12.1s heading into Sunday’s final six stages.

“It’s a very good day and I’m very satisfied,” said Ketomaa. “I enjoyed the stages and I knew the pace would come when I got into the rhythm.”

Breen reported being caught out by a few patches of fog, which meant he wasn’t as committed as he would ordinarily have been in certain corners.

Based at Ventspils’ Adventure Park and using part of the venue’s artificial ski slope, the stage provided crews with a rare respite from the high-speed stages this afternoon. “The stage was fun, just for spectators,” said top Lithuanian driver Vytautas Švedas, who was the fastest ERC Production Car Cup contender in his Mitsubishi Lancer. “There was fog and some unusual things but I liked it.

Leg three begins with the second run of Ventbunkers at 08:30hrs local time on Sunday 3 February. The finish is scheduled for 15:35hrs in Ventspils.