Rally Spain 2012

I reached my goal in Rally Spain. Being second in the race lifted me to the third place in the whole series. I have one silver medal and three times I have been fourth. I have enough fourth places so I do appreciate my bronze medal. This has been a very difficult season so it’s good to end it like this. Now I can leave team Ford with a good feeling. The season ended on Father’s day and my father Jari was in Spain to watch the race. He met me in the finish and was very happy for my success. I gave the bottle of champagne that was given to me on the podium to him as a Father’s day present. I was happy but also sad. After the race all the team members wrote their names on my car and in the last service I was very emotional. It would be nice to have that hood with all the autographs as a souvenir. I was interested to buy the whole car but didn’t have enough money. At the beginning of the season Malcolm Wilson said that if I won the Title I’d get the car which did not happen, unfortunately. During my last day in Ford I drive customers in a WRC car and after that there is a new beginning for me. I start in a new team, VW, which gives me lots of motivation and new things to learn. The end of the year will be very busy. M-Sport has given me a permission to start testing VW’s rally car. I also need permission from Ford’s marketing division. If I get that permission I can participate in the huge testing project by VW in Mexico and France. Furthermore, there is getting to know the team and physical exercises; all in all so much to do that I only have about five free days before Christmas. My team mate for now on is Sebastien Ogier who seems like a nice fellow. While he was in team Citroen he came into quarrelling with Sebastien Loeb but I don’t think that we’ll have problems. I trust that VW will control the situation between us two drivers. The most important thing is that we are equal, no number one or number two driver. We both want to succeed individually but we have to think of the team, too. Back to rally Spain: one man was once again too fast. Loeb won although I managed to get very close. I was only seven seconds behind. Next season is going to be a very interesting one because after ten years the Title winner can be anyone else, not Loeb who is only driving a few races. This increases us other drivers’ hunger and brings more color to the series.

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

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Rally Sardinia

Rally Italy had not much to offer for me. I went to Italy to win because I had always liked this race. The start was promising because I won the qualification. After that we made a huge mistake: we chose a wrong starting place. And we also had a puncture which left us 40 seconds behind the lead. I tried to attack on Friday but that was over on the fourth stage when I hit an iron gate plus an iron pole and the car stopped. The car was not very badly damaged but so much all together that we had to stop competing on Friday. We continued the rally on Saturday due to Rally 2 rule but we had no chance to succeed because we had 25 minutes of time penalty. I drove trying to find a good rhythm for the ending race in Spain. This season has been a disappointment. I have made more mistakes than during two previous seasons. Too many mistakes but also two victories. Before this season I had high hopes because our car was competitive but I wasn’t able to put the pressure aside. I have forced the car and I have forced myself too much which caused trouble. Next season I drive a Volkswagen and try to succeed in that team. We also negotiated with my current team, M-Sport, but Team Volkswagen could offer me a longer contract. I know that Team Volkswagen is highly motivated and that they want to win the manufacture’s title. Sebastien Loeb drives only a few races which grows us other drivers’ hunger for the title. There is still one rally left, Rally Spain which is considered a tarmac rally although this year there will be one day driven on gravel. I have always dreamt of winning on tarmac so I try to win there. I just have to be more balanced in Catalonia than I was in Italy. Even more important than the victory in Spain is to gain the third place in the series for which I owe a good chance for being only four points behind Mats Östberg. It has been hard for our team to hear that Ford will not continue in the series which makes me even more determined to be third in the series as a final favor for my current team.

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

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Rally France 2012

I had tested a Formula Renault F4 on Le Mans Bugatti track with Didier Andrcn as my teacher. I wanted to become a better driver on tarmac. We concentrated on braking and using the throttle in different kinds of corners. I had an opportunity to drive in rain, too, which was good but I also realized that I will need more practice of wet conditions. This was my first time in such a small formula car and it increased my knowledge of how to drive on tarmac but all in all a formula car is rather different from a WRC car. I like the tarmac event in France because the grip on the roads is good and the roads are smooth both in the mountains and in the vineyards. The race was good for me. I was even able to challenge Sebastien Loeb on clean sections. The muddy and dirty sections were bad for me. This was Loeb’s home race so I knew that I had to succeed 110% if I wanted to beat Loeb. I knew that the long stages were the crucial ones. On the longest stage of the rally one damp corner succeeded to surprise me and I went into a ditch. There was not much damage in my car but mud started to gather into the rims and made the driving very difficult and shaky so in the braking it felt like my eyes were not following the driving. This happened on Saturday morning and I lost over 20 seconds which was a safe enough gap for Loeb. I tried to push as much as I could but Loeb did not make any mistakes, not even on Sunday when it was pouring with rain. Loeb won the race and the ninth Title plus team Citroen won the manufacturer’s title. I was number two some 15 seconds behind Loeb (my best result on tarmac in the series) and Mikko Hirvonen was third. In the finish the celebrating of Loeb was unparalleled in the world championships series.

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

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Victory in my second home

The race in Wales was very important to me. I could say that this is my second home rally because it was my 11 th time there. I drove my first rally there at the age of 17 after getting a British driver’s license. This was my second victory in Wales and my seventh all together in the series. I celebrated my victory with my Welsh friends who have delivered me the parts that I have needed in my Historic Ford Escort. I am extremely relieved and confident at the moment. Self confidence has been hiding every now and then during this season but eventually I still know how to do this job. The start of Rally Wales was not a very good one. I made a minor mistake on stage two and hit a stub. I calmed myself down after that stage and the driving started to succeed. I was able to put a twenty second gap between Sebastien Loeb and myself during that day. The Citroen drivers could not understand how that happened. During the season I have won two rallies and I have been leading four races: Monte Carlo where I went off, Mexico where I hit a rock, Portugal where I also hit a rock and Rally Acropolis where I had a puncture. Especially Monte Carlo was crucial for my dream of winning title because I lost so many important points there and losing points led to over trying. My self-confidence was not very good either. After the summer I turned a new leaf which led to two podiums, in Jyväskylä and in Germany. That lifted my spirit. In Wales I knew that I can drive all the way to the finish and that I am able to fight for the victory. Now it feels that everything is where it should be. I feel the same I felt in Sweden at the beginning of the season. After Sweden I for some reason lost my calmness. I don’t have a chance of winning the title anymore but I am still aiming at good results in the last three rallies. I am relaxed so that should be possible. The gravel event in Sardinia suits me and even in Rally Spain the third of the race is driven on gravel. France is Loeb’s cup of tea being a home rally for him. I didn’t want to think of my next year’s team negotiations during Wales. Now it is time to think of that and discuss with my manager Timo Jouhki. I promise that I’ll make my decision during next month.

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

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Once again I noticed that Rally Germany is definitely one of the most difficult rallies in the series. However, I was able to drive my best tarmac position. Leaving Monte Carlo aside Rally Germany is the toughest tarmac event in the series. What makes it so difficult is the cutting in the corners which brings mud and gravel onto the roads. Even the test roads lack character in Germany. For example in Catalonia there are much nicer tarmac roads. Losing two minutes to Sebastien Loeb is a lot but one must remember that Rally Germany has always been very difficult to me. My aim was to get to the podium. I was second so I did what I expected and I’m content. Once I went a bit off the road but all in all it didn’t matter so much. This result certainly increased my self confidence. In the afternoon on Saturday we started to make sure we will be second in the race. All we had to do was to keep Mikko Hirvonen behind. My performance was too uneven; there were good but also bad moments. I sincerely hope that I will be able to challenge Loeb in coming events, especially in Rally Catalonia. I also hope that Loeb won’t finish his career this season. Team Volkswagen is coming to the series with big budget and it would be nice to see how a German make is competing with the Citroens and Loeb. My aim is to be on podium in the last rallies of the season. I was third in Jyväskylä, second in Germany, first in …? In the score I have a possibility to be third which interests me a lot because I have been fourth so many times. Thierry Neuville made once again a positive impression in Germany although he went off like in Jyväskylä. Neuville and an Estonian Ott Tänak are the young drivers who will more and more challenge us top drivers. There have been lots and lots of rumors on my next year’s team. My manager Timo Jouhki is still negotiating. If I will drive in Team Volkswagen like so many papers say is still uncertain. We will see.

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

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A disappointment in home rally

A pretty hard weekend in rally Finland. Third place is not what I expected but I could not do more this time. The Citroens simply went too fast. They had clearly invented something new. The good thing in this weekend was that we were able to drive a whole rally. There haven’t been many of those this year. My feelings weren’t the best when this rally started. I was pretty stressed out because I had been so busy before the race. No time to relax before the start. Only on Friday I was able to get the right rhythm but then the set up of the car started to be troublesome. In the tests we had tried to make some changes and had made new shock absorbers for this rally. But the changes didn’t work the way they should have worked and we had to go back to the old set up. Fortunately I realized that at an early state of the race. The car was really stable and it jumped nicely but there was no traction which wore the tyres a lot. Thinking of the whole rally I lost perhaps ten seconds because of the set up and the mental lock I had at the beginning of the race. So these were not the actual reasons for me being the third in the finish. The Citroens had simply taken a huge step forward and I was truly surprised of how fast they were. They had clearly improved their suspension and they were much faster here in Finland now than they were last year. No matter how fast and well I drove I was barely able to drive the same times as Loeb and Hirvonen. We have to improve our suspension a lot before the next event on gravel; on tarmac I think the difference won’t be so big. It was really great to be able to drive Ouninpohja stage again. It is such awesome a stage! Our notes were pretty accurate although there were a couple of long jumps – and a few jumps that came as a surprise, but that is a typical feature of Ouninpohja stage especially I you haven’t driven there for a while. My previous time there was in 2006. Ouninpohja should be driven in every rally Finland and Myhinpää in the north of Jyväskylä, too. Team Citroen seems strong right now but I’m still extremely motivated and want to drive for the victories. The next event is a tarmac rally in Germany. Before that my team mate Petter Solberg and I will test in Germany and I will drive Lahti Historic rally with our Ford Escort BDA. During the summer we have tested on tarmac and the car is better now than earlier. I have a positive feeling on driving on tarmac and I’m sure we can find the right punch for the car.

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

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Fences fell down

Seventh position in Rally New Zealand is much less than I wanted. The beginning of the season has been ups and downs for me. After each and every up there has been a down. The roads in New Zealand are the second best (the best are in Finland). The race started well. I was the fastest in the qualification but I chose a wrong starting position. I decided to be number 13 on the road but because of the rain it would have been best to drive first or second. The car was oversteering on Friday which didn’t give me a good feeling in driving. I was third though but then came the stage number seven which ruined my rally. It was an easy spot but there was a bump on the road and the car jumped to the field. I’m sure we would have been able to get back to the road fast but there was a barbwire fence and our car got stuck in that. A local farmer started to cut the barbwire but it took almost four and a half minutes to do that. Once again I had such bad luck. If the front tyre had hit the bump in a direct position none of this would have happened. The rest of the race was more or less just testing for us which was also good because now we were able to improve the car. I won the Power Stage and that made me a bit happier. I have to admit that this time I would have been unable to fight for the victory with Mikko Hirvonen and Sebastien Loeb but I would have been able to take the third place. This season has been much too easy for the Citroens. I have lost my chances for the Title. Loeb is 91 points ahead of me and he who has won the Title for eight times does not lose such lead. During the end season I still try to fight for the victories but the most important for me is now to try and stop going up and down. I was on sick leave for eight weeks after fracturing my collar bone and that still affects my driving. Driving in Greece where the roads were more slippery was easier than driving in New Zealand. The arm is not one hundred per cent okay and the bone has not yet ossified properly but after a couple weeks it will be fine. The next rally is in Finland and it is extremely important to have good tests before that. Last year I had to set up the car too much during the race. Now it has to be ready when the home race starts. Before Rally Finland I will drive Rally Estonia with my Historic class Escort. The media has already told that I would drive Team Volkswagen’s car the next two seasons. My manager Timo Jouhki negotiates both with Volkswagen and Ford about my future. Team Ford is continuing in the series only till the end of 2013, Team Volkswagen instead could offer me longer contract.

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

Victories are needed now

Without victories we won’t rise in the series. After rally Greece I felt pretty good because I went there to be on the podium which I was. After my sick leave a podium position was a good thing and I have to be content. Yet I am a bit annoyed because I had a chance to win. The puncture on Saturday took away that chance. I was only two seconds behind the leader, Sebastien Loeb, when the puncture happened and we were really fighting hard. I increased my pace a bit and came to a corner slightly too fast. Coming out of the corner went a little too wide and the tyre hit a bank. I went on because I thought there was no harm done but obviously one rock went into the tyre and four kilometers later the tyre went off the rim. I tried to drive with the rim only but it didn’t last. The tyre tore off in pieces and the rim split into two because of all the rocks on the road. The rim came off and split the brake plate. Now I had no rear brakes which forced us to stop and change the tyre when there were only three kilometers to the finish of the stage. In Greece it has usually been dry and hot while driving the rally but this year made an exception. There were small showers of rain in each day of rallying. Because of the rain there was mud on the roads which added up some spices into driving. I was able to challenge Loeb for long but once again this race showed that Loeb, while competing seriously, does not make any mistakes. He is capable of controlling the risks better than anybody. These are the moments which show why he has won the title eight times. On the last day of the rally Loeb had a puncture but that didn’t matter. He was leading so much no one could reach him while he changed the tyre. I had to be aside in the previous rally because I was injured. In Greece my injured shoulder gave me no worries while driving. Only the changing of a broken tyre and lifting it (it weighs 25kilos) was bad for my shoulder. No pain while driving but sometimes my other arm was more tired than the other. I have titanium and some screws in my shoulder but I didn’t have time to think of that because I was so focused on driving. My fight for the title was bad when I started rally Greece and now it is even worse although I was on the podium. My only goal now is to drive for the victory in every event to come. We need to win; two-three positions are not enough for us. Our car is good which makes it nice for us to go to New Zealand during Midsummer. It is a great country with a fine race.

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

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A top result on a silver platter

The result of rally Portugal was not at all the one I was hoping for. Honestly I must say that both to Petter Solberg and me a top result was offered on a silver platter. After Thursday everything was more than well. The leader of the series Sebastien Loeb retired on Thursday and we, Petter and I, had an excellent chance to reach him in the series. Loeb drove off the road so heavily that the roll bar of his car got damaged and he couldn’t continue his race. On Friday the conditions changed drastically. It hadn’t rained in three or four months but now it started pouring with rain. The water stayed on the surface of the roads and was absorbed slowly. The roads turned into mud and the surface was really slippery. This was not all; there was fog, too, which made the conditions even more difficult. I, too, tried to drive as carefully as possible because I knew that patience was needed. The heavy rain brought down rocks from the hills and I hit one of those rocks on Friday’s first stage. The front tyre got the hit in a fast left corner and the bolt of a suspension arm snapped. The tyre twisted under the car and the rear of the car slipped into a ditch. One bolt ruined the whole race. Six cars stayed on that stage. My teammate Petter Solberg had to retire on the next stage. That was a really dark moment for our team and felt very bad. On Saturday we both were able to continue the race due to Super rally rule. Petter managed to be fourth in the finish and I could have been fifth but there was an electric fault in my car. The gasoline system didn’t work properly because of this fault. My co-driver Miikka Anttila and I fixed the car for 12 minutes and managed to get it running. We were finally number 14 in the race. On Power stage we were the second and gained two extra points. We were only 0.3 seconds behind Dani Sordo who was the fastest. If there was anything positive in rally Portugal maybe it was my pace which was right in the beginning of the race. Another positive thing was to reach Loeb with two points. My car is fast but other things have been problematic in the first rallies of this season. Still I will go to Argentina feeling fine and confident. We try to catch the Citroens there. It is no use for me at this point to think about the title. Instead I try to drive one rally after another and then check at the end of the season where I stand in the fight for the title.

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

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