Though he now serves as Toyota’s WRC team principal, Latvala is once again competing in Jyväskylä — this time in the WRC2 category. And on Friday, it became very clear that the 40-year-old from Tuuri wasn’t here just to enjoy his anniversary rally.
At one point on Friday, Latvala held a ten-second lead in class. But on the Saarikas stage, he was hit hard by the changing weather conditions and dropped to fourth place.
He arrived at evening service still holding that fourth position, now 13.8 seconds behind WRC2 leader Roope Korhonen. Despite showing excellent pace throughout the day, the result was clearly a disappointment for the Finnish veteran.
Latvala stayed seated in his Toyota cockpit for several minutes before heading to the media zone. When he finally emerged from the car, he still wasn’t ready to speak. Instead, he leaned quietly against the rear wing of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
When Latvala finally approached the microphones, he took a deep breath and explained the reason behind his visible frustration.
“It’s been quite a tough day,” Latvala sighed.
“There’s been a lot of fighting with the conditions constantly changing. We were in a really good position at one point, but we lost a lot in Saarikas. I tried to fight back, but then we had a small technical issue on the final stage. It got under my skin — I had to take a moment to calm down.
Latvala ended his full-time career five years ago and took over as Toyota’s team boss in early 2021. But clearly, the desire to compete hasn’t faded one bit.
That much was obvious on Friday — Latvala truly wants to win WRC2 at his home event.
“Looks like I’m taking this a bit too seriously! I got a little too excited. Things were starting to look really good, and that brought out the competitive spirit. So when a small setback hit, I took it a little too personally.”
“But it is nice to know I can still deliver that kind of pace.”
Latvala’s co-driver Janni Hussi witnessed his determination firsthand from the passenger seat.
“We’re both so competitive — we don’t give up an inch. We always give it our best, but of course it’s frustrating when things don’t go our way — especially after all the hard work we’ve put in,” Hussi said.
