In the first race, Cipulis with pusher Matīss Miknis started fourth and achieved the seventh best result, Jēkabs Kalenda and Edgars Ungurs took 12th place in the 22 crew competition.
In the second race, Cipulis achieved the sixth best time, and rose into the sixth place as a result is 1.18 seconds behind the leader Friedrich after the first day of competition.
In the second race, Kalenda drove too high in one of the bends at the bottom of the track, and the bobsled finished on the side – but did finish.
The red-hot favorites to win are the German duo of Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schüller who set new track records in both runs Saturday.
The two final decisive races will take place on Sunday at 14.15 and 16.00 Latvian time.
Next week, the world champions will be determined in the four-man crew competition.
You can follow live action and results at the website of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation here.