Latvala’s race started poorly when his Toyota suffered a turbo failure on the very first special stage. However, he managed to get his car back together and drove exceptionally well afterwards.
In the overall classification, the WRC veteran finished second. He ultimately lost to rally winner Esapekka Lappi by 35.8 seconds.
“It turned out to be quite an incredible day in the end. When the turbo pipe broke in the morning and we were 47 seconds behind, I wondered what kind of day this would be. But you just have to keep going until the end and try. When the conditions are so difficult, it creates opportunities,” Latvala summed up.
“Timo Aaltonen once told me during the Tampere Finnish Championship Rally that when conditions are tough, that’s when you attack,” Latvala laughed.
The conditions in the Savonlinna Finnish Championship Rally were almost unique.
“It reminded me of the 2018 WRC Rally Australia. Of course, there was no mud like there, but there was slushy snow. When the weather is like that, you just have to dare to push the front into the ruts, into the clean line, and let the rear follow however it comes. If you start hesitating even a little, the clock keeps ticking. You just have to go in bravely,” Latvala explained.
Latvala was satisfied after the race, but the happiest man of the day seemed to be his co-driver, Juho Hänninen. Hänninen achieved a great result in his home rally.
“Juho was really happy! He already told me that he is so delighted we made it onto the podium in the end. In his opinion, it couldn’t have gone any better. Juho told me that this was almost like a victory,” Latvala smiled.
