Tänak said after the first outing of three that: "Estonia, Poland, Latvia – they are all similar. The character of the roads is alike. We'll see how it goes here."

The Estonian put in a time of 1:36.6 on the 3.58 km section at his first attempt., which all the Hyundai drivers shone on – Tänak was followed by Esapekka Lappi (+0.6) and Thierry Neuville (+0.7), the latter in joint third place with Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier.

Reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) was fifth, 0.8 seconds behind Tänak, while local driver Martinš Sesks (M-Sport Ford) was eighth in the initial shakedown run.

Tänak improved his time by exactly three seconds on the second attempt. Neuville rose to second place (+0.3 slower than Tänak) and third place was taken by Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta (+0.4).

The Estonian said after this lap that: "It took me a few kilometers to find the right driving feeling and rhythm. The second pass was significantly better than the first, but that's completely normal. That's what the shakedown test is there for."

Tänak added he put his crash in Rally Estonia earlier this month behind him and is concentrating on the upcoming weekend.

The third pass saw Tänak and several other drivers giving select VIP passengers a fast paced tour of the circuit.

The race proper starts at 8.05 p.m. today with the first stage.

Rally Latvia replaces Rally Estonia on the WRC calendar this year, but the slot is coming back to Estonia in 2025.

The race takes place close to Liepaja on the west coast of Latvia.

Rally Estonia went ahead as a European Rally Championship stage this year.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include the full shakedown test results.

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