Jari-Matti Latvala wins 2014 Rally Finland

Jari-Matti Latvala has kept his faint WRC title hopes alive by scoring a hugely popular victory in Rally Finland. His 3.6 second winning margin over defending champ Sebastien Ogier doesn’t tell the full story. Ogier himself had to fight for P2 after Kris Meeke was very fast early and delivered on his undoubted potential to claim a rare podium for Citroën.

Local hero Latvala dominated the early and middle stages of the rally until a brake issue caused him to slow late on day two. Ogier, having just claimed P2 from Meeke, was able to close up on Latvala to bring the deficit to less than four seconds going into the final day.

Latvala was able to hold his nerve on the final day and even though he was second in the final power stage, only 0.1s behind Ogier, he showcased his driving style during the live televised stage with a masterful display. He was blindingly fast and in complete control at all times.

“This win in Finland is a very special moment for Miikka and me,” Latvala said afterwards. “We last managed to do this in 2010, and this win feels twice as good considering our disappointing result last year.

“I had a good feeling in the Polo R WRC right from the start of the rally, and the car was set up perfectly once again. So a big thank-you to my team for their excellent work. And I would, of course, also like to thank all the fans who supported Miikka and me throughout the rally here in Finland.

“This win was a tough cookie, though. We were in a bit of a predicament on Saturday evening when we were no longer able to use one of our brakes. Nevertheless, we didn’t give up and we kept on fighting. I’m really very happy about this result.”

He’s a likeable guy Latvala, who always speaks passionately and enthusiastically. This would have been a popular win regardless of the fact it was his home race. Add the overjoyed local crowd into the mix and the parties went long into the night.

The win is the eleventh of Latvala’s WRC career and he closes the gap slightly to Ogier, who is 44 points ahead with five rallies left to run. Volkswagen now has a remarkable 175 point lead in the manufacturers’ standings, ahead of Citroën.

Finnish celebrations – Volkswagen driver Latvala triumphs in WRC home event

• Emotional third season win for Latvala/Anttila in mother of all rallies
• Beaten by just 3.6 seconds: Ogier/Ingrassia in second place
• Match balls for Volkswagen in all three championship categories ahead of Rally Germany

A great day for Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila, a great day for Volkswagen, and a great day for Finland: for the first time in four years, a Finnish duo triumphed in their home event in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), giving their compatriots reason to celebrate with abandon. Latvala/Anttila won ‘their’ rally in the Polo R WRC in what proved to be a veritable thriller all the way to the finishing line, clinching victory over their teammates Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) by just 3.6 seconds. Volkswagen’s excellent team success in the toughest rally of the year was rounded off by Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) finishing in fourth place overall. Volkswagen has therefore equalled its best team result to date in the WRC, which it set at Rally Argentina in May. The rally known as ‘Formula 1 in the forest’ marks the twelfth consecutive rally win for the Wolfsburg-based team, and is also its eighth win in the current season. Ahead of Rally Germany, Volkswagen therefore has match balls to clinch all three WRC championship titles – for the manufacturer, the driver and the co-driver.

“It’s been a fantastic weekend at Rally Finland,” said Dr Heinz-Jakob Neußer, Volkswagen Board Member for Technical Development, who was in Finland to support the Volkswagen team. “Both Jari-Matti Latvala and Sébastien Ogier dominated 25 of the 26 special stages and the final day of the rally couldn’t have been more exciting. There was no knowing who would actually win the rally until they finally crossed the line. The Power Stage once again demonstrated what the team and the Polo R WRC are capable of. We are very happy with the result in Finland and congratulate Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila on this huge success in front of a home crowd.”

Recipe for success: good self-confidence and a healthy dose of ‘sisu’

The Finnish word ‘sisu’ is the most accurate way to describe the key to Jari-Matti Latvala’s success in his home event. ‘Sisu’ is said to be untranslatable, but can be loosely translated as power, stamina or tenacity, and also intransigence or fighting spirit. And Jari-Matti Latvala demonstrated all of these during Rally Finland. On the second day of the rally, Latvala, who is second in the championship, dominated the proceedings in the morning, but had something of a setback in the afternoon. Having hit a large pothole during the 20th special stage, a damaged brake line left him with no braking power on the front right-hand wheel, which caused him to lose around 27 seconds of his lead. Latvala therefore tackled the final three special stages on Sunday with a very slim lead of just 3.4 seconds, and demonstrated not only his driving skills, but also his mental strength.

Since the start of the 2014 season, Jari-Matti Latvala has also been drawing on the support of mental trainer Christoph Treier. Latvala was therefore relaxed during the special stages in his home event, in spite of the huge public expectations and his extremely high motivation. And this resulted in success, with Latvala/Anttila securing 14 of the 26 possible fastest times in the rally.

Prestige duel to the very last metre: Latvala vs. Ogier

Rally Finland, which is considered to be the mother of all WRC rallies, was very much all about Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila and their Volkswagen teammates Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia this year, with 25 of the 26 possible best times being scored by one or the other of the two Volkswagen duos. The only rivals who were able to keep pace were Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL, Citroën), who picked up one fastest time and finished in third place overall. The Latvala vs. Ogier duel narrowed to a difference of 3.7 seconds ahead of the final Power Stage, and was then reduced further to 3.6 seconds at the finishing line. On multiple occasions during their high-octane duel, Latvala and Ogier hit a top speed of 200 kilometres per hour, at which point their speed was kept in check by the speed limiters. With countless jumps, some as far as 60 metres, and also plenty of blind hill crests and corners, the WRC drivers had to deliver maximum precision. And for the 38th time in the history of the WRC, a rally was won with a margin of less then ten seconds.

Great success, part two: match balls for Volkswagen head of home event in Germany

Thanks to its one-two victory in Finland, Volkswagen has extended its lead in the manufacturers’ standings in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) to 175 points over their closest rival Citroën. This therefore gives Volkswagen its first match ball ahead of the brand’s own home event, Rally Germany: if it succeeds in defending a 172-point lead, the manufacturers’ championship title will go to Wolfsburg for the second year in a row. The German rally could also be a decider in favour of Volkswagen in the drivers’ standings too: following Rally Finland, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have a lead of 121 points over the best non-Volkswagen duo, Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S, Citroën). If they still have a lead of 112 points after Rally Germany, it will definitely be a Volkswagen duo who will celebrate victory in the drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings. Ogier/Ingrassia are currently in the lead on 187 points, followed by their teammates Latvala/Anttila (143 points) and Mikkelsen (95 points).

Facts, facts, facts: actual and potential records

With Rally Finland now over, Volkswagen has racked up a total of 19,996.66 kilometres during 391 special stages since it joined the WRC with the Polo R WRC in January 2013. This is equivalent to driving half way round the globe – at a rally pace, of course. During this period, Volkswagen has scored 269 fastest times and a total of 618 top-three times. Volkswagen has celebrated victory 18 times out of 21 WRC rallies, twelve of which it has scored in succession across two seasons. And by winning in Finland, Volkswagen has matched the previous best of eight wins in the same season, which Citroën achieved in 2011. For Volkswagen, the eighth rally of the season gave it its fifth one-two win of the year, and the seventh such win overall. Jari-Matti Latvala celebrated his 44th podium finish in the WRC, twelve of which he has achieved with Volkswagen. It was also his eleventh outright win, and his fourth such win in the Polo R WRC.

The icing on the cake: bonus points for Volkswagen drivers in the Power Stage

To date, Volkswagen has picked up Power Stage bonus points on 37 occasions – in the 20 Power Stages held so far. In addition, Ogier/Ingrassia gave Volkswagen its 15th consecutive Power Stage win in Finland. Latvala, the winner of the 2014 Rally Finland, has won five Power Stages in his WRC career, two of which with Volkswagen. Ogier meanwhile has a tally of 15 Power Stage wins, eleven of which with Volkswagen. And Mikkelsen also has one Power Stage win to his name, a victory he scored in the Polo R WRC.

Quotes, day 3, Rally Finland

Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
“I think the fans and also we will remember this Rally Finland for a long time to come. I may not have won, but it was still a fantastic final with a great battle all the way to the very last second. Congratulations to Jari-Matti and Miikka, who really deserved this win in their home country. They were simply unbeatable this time. I already knew this morning that reducing their lead would be difficult. When you drive almost an entire stage at full speed, you can’t even make good a 3.4-second deficit if the driver in front doesn’t make any mistakes. Julien and I took all the risks we could in the penultimate stage, but Jari-Matti matched our pace. Overall, it’s been a fantastic weekend and I’m perfectly happy with the points we scored for coming second in Finland.”

Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
“This win in Finland is a very special moment for Miikka and me. We last managed to do this in 2010, and this win feels twice as good considering our disappointing result last year. I had a good feeling in the Polo R WRC right from the start of the rally, and the car was set up perfectly once again. So a big thank-you to my team for their excellent work. And I would, of course, also like to thank all the fans who supported Miikka and me throughout the rally here in Finland. This win was a tough cookie, though. We were in a bit of a predicament on Saturday evening when we were no longer able to use one of our brakes. Nevertheless, we didn’t give up and we kept on fighting. I’m really very happy about this result.”

Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
“Once again, Rally Finland was a very special rally, and is considered to be one of the most demanding rallies in the WRC calendar due to its particular traits. Ola and I are therefore very happy with fourth place. From Saturday, we were in a comfortable position overall, with a good time buffer to hold off our closest rival. We were therefore able to tackle the final day in a controlled manner, but we still wanted to attack during the Power Stage in order to be in with a chance of scoring a few bonus points for the championship. In the end, we finished in fourth place, but are happy with our performance overall. Congratulations to Jari-Matti and Miikka on winning Rally Finland. They very much deserved to win.”

Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
“To my knowledge, there’s no one in the service park who doesn’t think Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila deserved this emotional home victory. I’m especially delighted for them today because they worked hard for this success and achieved it on the basis of immense willpower – in spite of some minor setbacks. We experienced the best Jari-Matti Latvala of all time, with an entirely new attitude towards rallying – highly focused, but relaxed at the same time. He was in his own world while he was driving and only his teammate Sébastien Ogier was able to keep up with him to the end. Andreas Mikkelsen likewise drove brilliantly and clinched fourth place in this highly demanding rally – fantastic. This one-two victory gives us the opportunity to secure the manufacturers’ championship title before the end of the season during Rally Germany. And we would obviously like to do that in style, preferably with a rally win. We have to make up for last year’s result at home. And Jari-Matti Latvala has shown us here in Finland how to win in front of a home crowd in spite of pressure and huge expectations.”

And then there was …

… a very loud wake-up call. All the teams’ drivers were awoken by a fire alarm at the central hotel for Rally Finland on Sunday morning. The high-pitched alarm was set off by Luis Moya, two-time world champion alongside Carlos Sainz, who now works in the Volkswagen team. Moya put a slice of bread in the toaster, then forgot about it, and the toaster was soon churning out smoke and turning his toast into charcoal. It cannot, however, be confirmed as to whether Moya really did say “For Heaven’s sake, Carlos, please turn the toaster off”.

FIA Rally World Championship (WRC),
Rally Finland – Final Results

1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen 2h 57m 23.2s
2. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen + 3.6s
3. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL), Citroën + 50.6s
4. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N), Volkswagen + 1m 52.5s
5. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Ford + 2m 49.7s
6. Juho Hänninen/Tomi Tuominen (FIN/FIN), Hyundai + 4m 29.0s
7. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt (GB/GB), Ford + 5m 25.8s
8. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (NZ/NZ), Hyundai + 6m 17.8s
9. Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor (N/A), Ford + 12m 07.0s
10. Karl Kruuda/Martin Jarveoja (EST/EST), Ford + 14m 44.7s

Rally Finland – Power Stage Results

1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen 3m 16.0s
2. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen + 0.1s
3. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL), Citroën + 2.1s

Overall Standings, Drivers’ Championship

1. Sébastien Ogier 187
2. Jari-Matti Latvala 143
3. Andreas Mikkelsen 95
4. Mads Østberg 66
5. Mikko Hirvonen 62
6. Kris Meeke 54
7. Thierry Neuville 46
8. Elfyn Evans 42
9. Martin Prokop 31
10. Henning Solberg 26
11. Juho Hänninen 20
12. Bryan Bouffier 18
13. Robert Kubica 12
14. Ott Tänak 10
15. Benito Guerra 8
16. Hayden Paddon 8
17. Chris Atkinson 6
18. Pontus Tidemand 4
19. Jaroslav Melichárek 4
20. Nasser Al-Attiyah 3
21. Lorenzo Bertelli 2
22. Matteo Gamba 2
23. Craig Breen 2
24. Yuriy Protasov 2
25. Jari Ketomaa 1
26. Khalid Al-Qassimi 1
27. Karl Kruuda 1
28. Dani Sordo 0

Manufacturers’ Championship

1. Volkswagen Motorsport 305
2. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 130
3. M-Sport 106
4. Volkswagen Motorsport II 94
5. Hyundai Motorsport 88
6. Jipocar Czech National Team 34
7. RK M-Sport WRT 21
8. Hyundai Motorsport N 12