Latvala: “I was convinced that Tänak would win”

Jari-Matti Latvala is one of the good surprises of this start of the season in WRC. After his 2nd place acquired last month in Monte-Carlo, the Finn won his 4th victory in Rally from Sweden, the 17th of his career.

Si le pilote du Toyota Gazoo Racing a profité de l’abandon de Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) dans la deuxième étape, il est parvenu à résister à la pression d’Ott Tänak (Ford) by extending his lead from 4s to half a minute on the final day after winning the three stages on the program.

“This victory is similar to the first one I won in 2008 in this event, confided Jari-Matti Latvala. This result is a real surprise, especially since I was convinced that Ott Tänak was going to win given his performances the day before. But these stages suited my driving style and the car well and I was able to raise my level. I was still surprised to be faster. »

Jari-Matti Latvala hit the nail on the head by winning the five bonus points from the Power Stage, which places him at the top of the Championship with 4 points ahead of Sébastien Ogier before the Rally Mexico (March 9 to 12).

“I spoke to Tommi (Mäkinen, Team Principal of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC) before the start of the stage and he just told me to continue as I was doing. On the course I thought about slowing down, but I was so confident that I continued at this pace”, explained the Toyota driver who gave the Japanese manufacturer the first success since Didier Auriol's success at the 1999 China Rally.

After experiencing difficult times at Volkswagen Motorsport, Jari-Matti Latvala asserted himself as the team's leading driver while his teammate Juho Hänninen only took 23rd place after retiring following a road accident.

“I lost confidence in the second half of the season last year and I found great motivation again by starting from scratch with Toyota. There is a great team spirit which allows me to be at my best level, explained the Finn. I was hoping for a top 6 in Monte-Carlo and a top 5 in Sweden. It's going to get harder as we move onto dirt and we're going to have to work even harder to stay in the fight. »

Discover the analysis of the Swedish Rally carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2101 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.