Latvala drove a Toyota Rally2 car in Rally Finland and performed surprisingly well. Latvala was able to challenge other WRC2 class drivers in Central Finland and even finished second in his class.
The Toyota boss, who will turn 40 next year, couldn’t quite match the speed of Oliver Solberg, but there was certainly no need to be ashamed of his performance.
Toyota’s weekend in Finland ultimately turned out to be quite disappointing, as Kalle Rovanperä retired from a commanding lead on the penultimate special stage, and Elfyn Evans had already been forced to retire earlier. Takamoto Katsuta’s rally had gone awry even before that.
However, Katsuta was pleased for Latvala. The team principal did his job and then some.
“He’s a happy man. I’m really happy for him,” Katsuta told RallyJournal.com.
“His performance was the most positive thing about the whole weekend, and he did a fantastic job,” Katsuta continued.
Latvala last competed seriously in rallying five years ago, but his passion for the sport hasn’t faded. Since then, Latvala has competed in various events, including driving a Toyota Celica. Latvala’s next event will be the Lahti Historic Rally at the end of August, with Janni Hussi as his co-driver.
According to Katsuta, Latvala has done and continues to do excellent PR work for rallying.
“He was so happy and smiled a lot. That’s what this sport is all about. He did more than just the team principal’s job. Big congratulations to him,” Katsuta smiled.
