Jari-Matti Latvala struck by cruel misfortune: “I’m really annoyed”

Celebrating his special anniversary rally, the 40-year-old Latvala showed right from the first stage of the morning in Laukaa that he hadn’t come to Central Finland’s gravel roads just to have fun. The result was an impressive fastest time to open the day.

Latvala battled fiercely throughout the morning loop with fellow Finn Emil Lindholm. On the loop-ending Ruuhimäki stage, Lindholm edged ahead as heavy rain suddenly began pouring from the sky.

Latvala suffered significantly from the dramatically changing weather conditions.

“I’m really annoyed,” said Latvala, who dropped 4.5 seconds off the class-leading time in Ruuhimäki.

“There was massive rain, I couldn’t see anything, and I was really struggling. We didn’t get any air inside the car, so I couldn’t see. Because of that, we lost a lot of time,” Latvala summed up.

Despite the setback, Latvala remains firmly in the fight for the WRC2 lead, trailing Lindholm by just 0.2 seconds. Behind Latvala are Estonians Robert Virves and Georg Linnamäe, followed by Finland’s Roope Korhonen and Mikko Heikkilä. The top six are covered by just over ten seconds.

Latvala set two fastest times during the morning loop, proving the veteran Finn still has strong pace.

“We had a good morning, but then we were unlucky with the weather. It’s frustrating, but that’s rallying,” Latvala commented.

Five more stages remain to be driven on Friday after the service break in Rally Finland.

Rally Finland WRC2 standings after SS5/20: