Latvala’s duties as Toyota’s team principal will once again be limited, as he will be focusing even more on his role as a driver. He is set to defend last season’s European Historic Rally Championship title, and he will also compete in national events in Finland.
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And that’s not all. It is very likely that Latvala will also get behind the wheel in the American Rally Association series.
In December, Toyota announced that it has developed a new GR Corolla RC2 car, which is technically somewhat similar to a Rally2-spec machine. Toyota’s aim is to establish a stronger foothold in the US rally market.
It is certain that American driver Seth Quintero will compete in the ARA series from the second round of the season onwards in a Toyota, together with Finnish co-driver Topi Luhtinen. It is also highly likely that Latvala will make an appearance in the ARA series at some point.
For now, however, Latvala has to keep his mouth shut about Toyota’s major plan.
“Unfortunately, I can’t yet say anything publicly about it. But I hope that at some point we’ll be able to talk about it,” Latvala told RallyJournal.com.
Last year, Latvala was involved in developing the GR Corolla in the United States. Quintero and Toyota WRC team test driver Juho Hänninen also logged mileage behind the wheel of the Corolla.
“I went over there five times last year to test and work with the car. There are some really interesting and good rally roads there,” Latvala praised.
The United States is likely to host its own World Rally Championship round in 2027. Next summer, the country will stage a WRC candidate event.
“Of course, rallying is still a small sport there, but that’s exactly why it would be nice to drive there. The road conditions are really interesting, and the people who follow rallying there are true fans. It would be great to see the sport start to grow there,” Latvala said.
The ARA series features eight rounds this season. The opening event will take place next weekend in Michigan.
