Latvala momentarily stepped aside from his duties as Toyota’s team principal for a driving gig. Latvala donned his racing suit and jumped into the cockpit of his Toyota Celica in Umeå.
His passenger was none other than the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, with whom Latvala tackled the Umeå supers special stage before the actual WRC crews took to the stage.
“This came as a bit of a surprise. But it worked out nicely, as the Prime Minister was asked for a ride, and I had brought this car here anyway. Thomas Rådström will be driving it as the zero car tomorrow between the WRC event and the historic race,” Latvala explained.
Latvala and Kristersson were all smiles as they roared across the finish line of the five-kilometre special stage.
“It was absolutely fantastic. It’s hard to put into words. He drove really fast,” Kristersson exclaimed.
“I’ve never really experienced anything like this. I can’t compare it to anything else, but it was as thrilling as I had been told. My friends told me I should enjoy the ride. I was just trying to follow where the car was going,” continued the Prime Minister.
Latvala confirmed that Kristersson enjoyed his time in the co-driver’s seat. According to the Toyota boss, the Prime Minister was surprisingly calm before the throttle was fully engaged.
“I once had an English footballer as a passenger, and he was much more nervous before the start of the special stage. The Prime Minister wasn’t nervous, and at the end, he clearly relaxed and started to laugh as we arrived here at the arena. He said that for just half a second, he thought things were out of control. Otherwise, he trusted the driving all the time,” Latvala chuckled.
The fun was also shared by the most experienced driver in the history of the World Rally Championship.
“It was really fun to drive the stage. It was a bit difficult because there was a lot of loose snow, and the snow reflected the lights.
“I must say, you notice in the jumps that you can’t hit them at full speed with the Celica. Age is starting to show in the jumps,” Latvala quipped.
