WRC – Latvala did not give up at the Rallye de France

Jari-Matti Latvala took advantage of his teammate's misfortunes Sébastien Ogier to impose itself on the lands of its rival Rally from France-Alsace. If the Championship leader saved the furniture by winning the Power Stage, the Scandinavian prevented the Frenchman from celebrating the title at home with 44 seconds over Andreas Mikkelsen. But above all, the winner of the weekend becomes the first Finn since Tommi Mäkinen in 1999 at the San Remo Rally to win on asphalt.

“This is an important victory. I have worked for years to achieve this first success on asphalt”, comments Jari-Matti Latvala. “Unfortunately I missed a chance to achieve it in Germany, but I have now proven that I have learned from my mistakes and can move forward. I would like to thank Volkswagen with this victory and the whole team for their support. Every rally driver dreams of winning on asphalt, dirt and snow, and I'm delighted to have succeeded. The World Championship remains open and all spectators of the WRC can expect an exciting Rally Spain. »

Jari-Matti Latvala nevertheless only has a slight chance of being titled since Sébastien Ogier will only need to score one more point against his Finnish rival to win a second coronation.

The videos of the Rallye de France-Alsace can be viewed on this link.

Discover the analysis of the Rallye de France-Alsace carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1981 of AUTOhebdo, available from tomorrow evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.