Two things that I remember from rally Portugal: our car was fast and there were competitors passing each other on the stages. My pace was so good that I could have been able to fight for the victory but this time it was the technical problems that ruined my competition. So the Citroens beat me and Sebastien Ogier and Sebastien Loeb were numbers one and two on the podium. On Saturday I broke my driving axle and I had a “three-wheel-drive” car. While we were fixing the car we didn’t notice that one of the tyres was becoming empty. We started the next stage with a broken tyre and during the stage it became all empty and we had to change it which led into a wild situation. Mikko Hirvonen passed us while we were changing the tyre. And because his rear suspension was broken we caught him and passed him on the stage. It felt like in Dakar (desert rally): dust everywhere and rally cars passing each other. It is rare that such happens in a rally. And it is really rare that you are overtaken by someone and that you overtake that same driver on the same stage. Mikko Hirvonen had also a puncture on Saturday. He changed the tyre and continued the stage but Sebastien Loeb was so close to him that he had to drive in the dust Mikko’s car left behind. Sebastien had to slow down and got really irritated which is why he pushed Mikko’s car in the finish of the stage. I understand that he felt angry but I’m glad he showed good rivalry by apologizing Mikko and his co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen. Sebastien Ogier drove a good rally. He showed already in Mexico that his pace was good but here in Portugal he was especially strong. Ogier won rally Portugal also last year. The differences in times grew a lot. Hirvonen was fourth in the race but he was over six minutes behind the winner. That tells how challenging this rally is: the most difficult rally on gravel in my opinion. Many drivers think that Jyväskylä is the worst but for a Finn this is even worse. There are lots of trees and rocks on the sides of the roads and the roads are difficult to drive. There are many punctures and technical problems in Portugal which cause those big differences in times. I have reached the podium three times this season yet I have had problems in each rally. First my driving was a bit fumbling and then there have been technical problems and punctures. The results have been satisfactory but I wish I could get whole competitions, too. It would be great if I was able to fight for the victory in the coming rallies. Our next race should be in Jordan. There are safety issues in Jordan but the biggest problem seems to be taking the service equipment into Jordan through Syria which has been very restless lately. I don’t want to compete if there is a change that someone has to risk his or her life for that. If the situation is restless we won’t compete in Jordan.

Jari-Matti Latvala’s columns will be published in Ilta-Sanomat freshly after each rally.

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Two punctures and third place

I am pleased with the result of Rally Mexico because I took my second podium there during this season. It is not usual to get onto the podium after two punctures. And even after changing a tyre during a stage. Having a puncture when driving a stage makes you feel lousy. It is the time when you think how much time you will lose changing the tyre. That is why you would like to try and drive with a broken tyre as far as you can. In Mexico my first puncture occurred on the first half of the stage and the tyre started to tear which forced us to stop. My co-driver Miikka Anttila and I tried to be as effective as possible when changing the tyre. We had even practiced that in Mexico right before the race. The changing went pretty well and took only a little over two minutes. Our team and we could not find one exact reason for the punctures. In Mexico the roads have special surfaces made of concrete in several places where water runs across. We suspect that the tyres broke while driving over those bumps. Michelin tyres that we use this year aren’t as strong as the Pirelli tyres used in earlier years. These new tyres don’t take heavy hits as well as the Pirellis did. The specialty of Rally Mexico this year was that the Citroen team mates Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier were allowed to race each other while in top two positions. Someone suspected that the team might “freeze” the situation but that didn’t happen. Loeb and Ogier raced for real and I myself know that it is easier to make mistakes in a situation like that. Ogier wanted to win which in my opinion caused his driving off the road. One of my worst rivals my team mate Mikko Hirvonen drove a very smooth rally this time and took the second place. Loeb for one drove very fast from time to time and he won in spite of his time penalty of 50 seconds. In the beginning of the race the Citroens fled from us. On Saturday I managed to improve my driving and after that I drove the same times as the Citroens. The engines of our cars are pretty much as competitive as the ones of the Citroens but our suspension needs to be improved by more testing. The start of my season has been good. Last year I was third in Sweden and fifth in Mexico. This year I have two third places already. Furthermore my standings in the world championships series is relatively good due to the points having crossed a bit. Our team is also leading in the manufacture’s points. Before rally Mexico I was a bit exited because this was the first rally on gravel with this new car. I had rolled my car twice in the previous tests after driving off the road which really doesn’t improve your touch to the driving but this race increased my confidence. It is much easier to go to Portugal to get another podium position.

Jari-Matti Latvala’s columns will be published in Ilta-Sanomat freshly after each rally.

The most challenging race throughout my whole career.

I was exited before rally Sweden. I had tested the new Ford WRC for the first time at the end of last September. In my opinion our team and I had succeeded well. During and after the shakedown in Sweden the car felt good and its pace was great. Right from the beginning of the rally the car felt so good to me that I thought our development work had gone to the right direction. The race didn’t go so smoothly though. I made many kinds of different mistakes, I had two spins and I hit the snow bank at least three or four times. I was very happy to get to the finish and to be the third. Not one single rally on my career has been so challenging. On Friday it was the difficult road conditions that affected my driving. I didn’t feel as comfortable with the new car as I had thought before this first rally which made my driving difficult in spite of good testing results. I also drove too aggressively. Now afterwards it feels that the pace is right because at least on the last day of the rally I was able to drive some good times on the stages. From now on I have to find a calmer rhythm to my driving. Sebastien Loeb ( Citroen) suffered from the bad driving position at the beginning of the race and furthermore he had a puncture. Problems or not I expected more of him.  I assumed he should have a better start for the season and that he would be more of an opponent. My team mate Mikko Hirvonen for one drove a very even race and won the rally. Last season was very difficult for him but now Mikko got back to his own level. Mikko won and I was third so this was a dream come true start of the new rally season for team Ford. Succeeding in Sweden was the thing because last year we came behind more than half the season. We have worked hard and even during last season we put effort on developing the new Fiesta. It was great to see that our efforts weren’t wasted. Our performance gave team Citroen a bit of a shock. Still we can’t rely on that we are strong in every rally. We have to stay alert because our opponent can and will attack in the next race in Mexico. Something extra happened in rally Sweden when Petter Solberg lost his driver’s license just before the last stage due to over speeding and his co-driver Chris Patterson had to drive the rally car for the first time. He drove the last stage which was broadcasted live on TV. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes and the pressure was huge. And furthermore he had no pace notes. Petter tried to help him by making some signs with his hands. Patterson did surprisingly well. Also Mads Östberg was a surprise to me. He drove a very mature rally and got to the podium. He was second. Some of the rallies of this season will be new to him but some won’t and then he will be a worthy opponent to us.

Jari-Matti Latvala’s columns will be published in Ilta-Sanomat freshly after each rally.

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