Wilson tackles Latvala severely

After four days of competition, the super special on Sunday afternoon was just a “parade” to close the rally from Poland, with a 2,5 km circuit without difficulties. Jari-Matti Latvala, second in the general classification, however made a mistake in a turn. However, Malcolm Wilson, boss of Ford, had advised caution to the Finn. “ As there was no service park after this show without any challenges, I took care to ask Jari-Matti not to improve Mikko's (Hirvonen) time., declares Wilson in the Team. So that we can line up our two cars in the right order for the photo and the whole arrival ceremony. Knowing him as I do, I insisted on this point. Despite that, I don't know why, but I felt a kind of apprehension. It didn?t miss, it hit. It’s distressing. He was 53 seconds ahead of Sordo. The result was acquired. He managed to undermine the morale of the entire team. »

However, Ford can at least be pleased to see Hirvonen win and take the lead in the drivers' standings. But the abandonment of Latvala deprives Ford of getting back on Citroën in the manufacturers' ranking. “ We missed a great opportunity to put pressure on them, confirms Wilson. Not only did we lose eight points by missing the double but we offered them a handful as a bonus because of the delay caused by the abandonment of Jari-Matti. He will ride for us in Finland, where he has three successive retirements, since he is registered. But it is clear that we cannot count on him. » From now on, the Finn no longer has the right to make the slightest mistake, having burned all his jokers.