Latvala entered as a clear favourite for the European Historic Rally Championship event, but the experienced driver’s dream of an eighth victory in the Lahti Historic Rally was shattered already on the second special stage due to a technical issue.
Latvala showed his true pace on the second day of driving when he was able to rejoin the competition. The Finnish driver, who now works as Toyota’s team principal, was by far the fastest in his Celica on every special stage.
“Saturday was definitely a lot better,” Latvala chuckled to RallyJournal.com
“Friday started off great, and the first stage was really nice. But then it quickly ended with a retirement,” Latvala added.
Latvala praised his service crew, who managed to repair the Toyota Celica in time for the second day of the rally.
“We were finally able to drive together with Janni and gain some shared experience.”
“The car worked perfectly on Saturday, and so did the teamwork inside the car. We’re now eagerly waiting to see what the in-car videos look like,” Latvala said enthusiastically.
Latvala’s comment suggests that the duo could be seen together in the same car in the future.
“We were already discussing which rallies we might enter next,” Latvala laughed.
Hussi’s co-driving career began exactly two years ago at the Lahti Historic Rally. Since then, she has quickly advanced all the way to the WRC, where she co-drove for Lauri Joona in the WRC2 category this season. After Rally Finland in early August, Hussi announced that her collaboration with Joona would not continue. However, Hussi’s rally career appears to be moving forward.
Hussi made a strong impression on Latvala during the weekend. Latvala gave the co-driver a highly positive evaluation.
“Janni has progressed quickly and is a very professional co-driver. She’s calm, doesn’t stress, and has strong pressure tolerance,” Latvala assessed.
“When you have a deep passion and a strong desire to do things well, that alone takes you very far. I’m positively surprised by the level Janni is at,” Latvala emphasised.
