Usually working as Toyota’s team principal, Latvala swapped his suit for a racing suit at the Monza Rally Show in Italy. All WRC teams attended the event, which also marked the farewell to Pirelli as the WRC’s tyre supplier.
Latvala completed demonstration runs on the special stages set up at the Monza circuit.
“It was great. I had never driven here before. They held a WRC rally here in 2021, but I didn’t get to drive much then. Now I finally had the chance to do it,” Latvala told RallyJournal.com.
“And driving on the legendary oval track made of concrete was incredible. You could really feel the speed there. It was nothing but fun.”
While the event was primarily for entertainment and fun, Latvala couldn’t resist pushing a bit harder at Monza, especially when comparing his times to drivers like Hyundai’s Dani Sordo.
Toyota’s Rally1 car occasionally returned to the service park missing side mirrors, and the bumpers bore some scratches after Latvala’s runs.
“The problem is when you start looking at times compared to competitors – that’s when you start to push harder,” Latvala laughed.
“I should have taken it easier and avoided pushing to the absolute limit. But honestly, this was just fun. And it was interesting to see how I might fare against the professionals.”
During his first run, Latvala had Toyota’s newest factory driver, Sami Pajari, as his co-driver, providing pacenotes for his boss.
“I have to say, without Sami’s help, I would’ve been in real trouble. I arrived a bit late and didn’t have time to make my own pacenotes. We headed straight into the shakedown cold, and I had no idea where the stage was going.”
“Thanks to Sami for showing me where to go. Otherwise, there could’ve been some major surprises,” Latvala explained.
