France: Latvala knows it will be difficult

The Finn is always capable of the best and the worst. On dirt and on asphalt. His fault, or not. During the last asphalt event, in Germany, last August, he led on the evening of the first day. Before being the victim of electrical problems, then two punctures, which did not allow him to rank better than 14th... Despite these difficulties, Latvala is positive. “ We were encouraged by our performance on the asphalt in Germany last month. We set good times and got closer to our rivals. The results did not reflect this because we encountered some problems ».

To prepare for the roads of Alsace, the Ford team carried out a test session in Alès, in the Gard, last week. Markko Märtin was present for the occasion, fast on the asphalt and back-to-back winner of the Tour of Corsica and Catalonia in 2004. “ We want to improve our German performance another notch and that is why Markko has joined us to advise us on certain set-ups. From the first morning of testing, I noticed that our settings in Germany were too flexible. We fixed it and it was immediately better He explained.

In France, this weekend, the Finn will start his 100th rally WRC alongside his co-driver Mikka Anttila. He knows that the task will not be easy to celebrate the event with a victory. “ The French stages are very varied in nature. The Friday loop contains a mix of mountain roads, forests, but also winding between vineyards. Saturday is more mountainous. The weather was wet last year and because of the mud left on the road after the cars passed through the ropes, the surface was extremely slippery. It?s not an easy rally », He admits.

Find the France-Alsace Rally Guide in issue 1823 of AUTOhebdo, still on newsstands.