A highly important rally victory for Jari-Matti Latvala and Janni Hussi – “I must admit, there was pressure”

Following their victory at the Historic Acropolis Rally in September, the duo claimed another first place on Friday and Saturday at the Asturias Histórico Rally in northern Spain. They took the top spot in dominant fashion, as Andrea “Zippo” Zivian, who finished second, trailed the Finnish driver by more than two minutes.

“The rally went very well for us. I must admit, there was a bit of pressure because only by winning here could we keep ourselves in the championship fight. I did the pacenotes four or five times. I did Friday’s stages five times and Saturday’s four times,” Latvala laughed to RallyJournal.com.

“We prepared very carefully, and the car was serviced to perfection. This asphalt car was different from the one we used in the Acropolis Rally, and it had a new engine as well as a freshly serviced transmission.”

Competing with a Toyota Celica, Latvala and Hussi have also won this season’s Costa Brava Rally in Spain and the Vltava Rally in the Czech Republic at the beginning of the year. In addition, they have recorded three retirements due to technical faults.

This time, however, the rally went completely without problems. As Latvala mentioned, he and Hussi had put in an enormous amount of preparation for the event, which clearly paid off.

“In the rally itself, we didn’t really have any problems, nor any real moments either. I did complain a bit about the rear brakes — we had some issues with them. They lock up quite easily. It’s tricky when braking downhill,” Latvala explained.

“The weather was dry throughout the rally. The special stages were really beautiful. Grip was generally good, but there were some variable sections. A few surprises too, where it was damp in the shade, and then the car started understeering. Looking back, I’m really happy that the thorough preparation paid off.”

Latvala’s rival for the championship, Poland’s Maciej Lubiak, finished third in the Asturias Histórico Rally. However, he was a hefty four and a half minutes behind the leaders. The top five also included Seb Perez and Richard Genesca.

This weekend’s victory strengthened Latvala and Hussi’s position in the battle for the championship title. The season finale will take place in Portugal. The Fafe Rally, held at the beginning of November, will offer extra points – meaning that a win in the final round could very well secure the title for the Finnish duo.

“The championship leader Will Graham retired from this rally. In the standings, (Maciej) Lubiak will now certainly move into the lead, and Graham will drop to second. I will remain third,” Latvala explained.

“Graham already has points from six rallies, as does Lubiak. Since the six best results count, I only have points from four. To win the championship, I need to win in Portugal. Because there are extra points available, I still have a chance. A win would make up for one of the retirements.”

Latvala has confirmed that he will compete in the Fafe Rally, meaning he will miss Toyota’s home event in Japan, held at the same time. This year, Latvala has only been able to act as team principal in the World Rally Championship a few times. On other occasions, the team boss role has been filled by Laukaa-born rally legend Juha Kankkunen.

Rally Asturias Histórico, final results: