Latvala was aiming for his eighth victory in Lahti, but that dream was shattered on the second special stage on Friday. Latvala and his co-driver Janni Hussi were forced to retire from the rally when their Toyota Celica suffered a technical failure.
At first, Latvala suspected that the turbo in his car had broken down. The car was repaired in the service area, and the true cause of the issue was revealed.
“We had bad luck and at the same time very good luck. The timing belt had jumped two teeth out of place because it had started to peel, and some of the remnants got stuck in between,” Latvala explained to RallyJournal.com.
“Usually, there’s a risk that the valves could get bent. But we were lucky that the timing belt didn’t break, and the whole engine wasn’t ruined,” Latvala added.
On Friday evening, Latvala took his Celica for a short test run, after which he had good news to share with rally fans.
“Everything is working, and now we’re taking the car to parc fermé. We’ll be restarting the competition tomorrow,” Latvala smiled.
The Lahti Historic Rally, which is part of the European Championship, is currently led by Frenchman Florent Todeschini after the first day. Jari Huttunen, who returned to rallying after a long break, is in second place, one minute behind the leader.
Huttunen is enjoying his time behind the wheel of the Ford Escort.
“It’s been quite fun. Slowly but surely, I’m getting the hang of it. There’s no pressure, so it’s nice to just enjoy it. If I’ve started a slide, I’ve just tried to keep sliding. I haven’t had to think about the clock,” Huttunen remarked, competing for the first time in a rear-wheel-drive car.
Huttunen promised to deliver some spectacular driving on Saturday’s special stages.
“Hopefully, there’ll be some long slides. There’s no pressure, and no plans.”
