Jari-Matti Latvala Explained

Jari-Matti Latvala
Birth Date:3 April 1985
Birth Place:Töysä, Finland
Nationality: Finnish
Years:20022020
Co-Driver: Miikka Anttila
Juho Hänninen
Carl Williamson
Teams:Stobart Ford, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota
Races:211
Championships:0
Wins:18
Podiums:67
Stagewins:539
Points:1668
First Race:2002 Rally GB
First Win:2008 Swedish Rally
Last Win:2018 Rally Australia
Last Race:2024 Rally Finland

Jari-Matti Latvala (in Finnish pronounced as /ˈjɑriˌmɑtːi ˈlɑt.ʋɑ.lɑ/; born 3 April 1985) is a Finnish rally driver who has competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC). His co-driver for most of his career was Miikka Anttila, who co-drove for Latvala between the 2003 Rallye Deutschland and 2019 Rally Catalunya. He is well known for his aggressive driving style, which earns him many plaudits, and comparisons to the late Colin McRae. With 18 event victories in the WRC, he is one of the most successful drivers to not have won a championship. Latvala is also the driver with the most World Rally starts in the sport which he achieved in 2019, 17 years after his debut.

Starting in 2021, he served as the team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, replacing Tommi Mäkinen.[1]

Career

Latvala began driving when he was eight years old, after receiving a Ford Escort from his father Jari Latvala, also a rally driver and 1994 national champion in the Group N class.[2] At the age of ten, Latvala started practicing with an Opel Ascona on a frozen lake.[3]

2000s

Latvala's first world rally was the 2002 Rally Great Britain at the age of 17. He finished in 17th position with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI. In 2003, Latvala competed in four WRC events with a Ford Focus WRC, finishing tenth at the Acropolis Rally, 17th at the Rallye Deutschland, 14th at the Neste Oil Rally Finland and tenth at the Rally Great Britain.[4]

In 2004, Latvala mostly competed with an S1600 class Junior World Rally Championship car. His best overall result in the World Rally Championship was 21st with a Group N Subaru Impreza WRX STI at the Tour de Corse. In the 2005 season, Latvala competed in nine world rallies; six with the Group N Impreza and three with a World Rally Car. His best overall result was 16th, which he managed three times; at the Swedish Rally with a Toyota Corolla WRC and at the Tour de Corse and the Rally d'Italia Sardegna with the Impreza.[4]

2006–2007: Stobart Ford

In 2006, Latvala competed in 11 world rallies. He drove the Subaru Impreza WRX STI in six, a Ford Focus WRC in four and a Toyota Corolla WRC at his home event, the Neste Oil Rally Finland. His best results came in the last three rallies. At the Telstra Rally Australia, he won the Production Car World Rally Championship (PCWRC) class, and finished sixth overall. At the Propecia Rally New Zealand, he finished eighth overall and also won the PCWRC. With the Focus WRC, he recorded his career-best result by finishing fourth at the last event of the season, the Rally Great Britain. Points from these rallies then placed Latvala 13th overall in the drivers' championship.[4]

In 2007, Latvala competed a full 16-event programme for Stobart M-Sport Ford with Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg as teammates. He started the season with retirements in Monte Carlo and Sweden.[5] [6] At the Rally Norway, Latvala was in contention for his first podium place, but had to settle for fifth after a 90 seconds time penalty. He did, however, take his first stage win on SS5.[7] Latvala later took his first podium at the 2007 Rally Ireland. At the last rally of the season, Rally GB, he lost 10 minutes on the last stage of day one due to windscreen wiper failure, but went on to win ten of the remaining 11 stages under the SupeRally rules, finishing 10th overall.

2008: Ford's factory team

In 2008, Latvala joined Ford's factory team as a number two driver, partnering Mikko Hirvonen and replacing Marcus Grönholm who had announced his retirement from the WRC at the end of 2007.[8] The opening round of the season wasn't lucky for the young Finn – he suffered a puncture after cutting a corner too deep on the very first stage and lost even more time because of a non-fully operative pneumatic wrench.[9] Latvala continued to fight and was ninth overall before SS12, but he made another mistake there and heavily damaged the front left suspension in his Focus, forcing himself to retire for good.[10] At the second rally of the season, 2008 Swedish Rally, he had good pace from the beginning – he won all regular special stages on day one, pulling away from the runner-up spot slowly, but consistently. He later had some problems[11] and wasn't the fastest on any of the remaining stages, but managed to keep his position throughout the rally. The 22-year-old therefore took his first WRC win to become the youngest winner in the history of the World Rally Championship. The previous record was held by Henri Toivonen who was 24 years and 86 days old when he won the 1980 RAC Rally.[12] For his performance during the Swedish rally Latvala was given the Abu Dhabi Spirit Of The Rally award.[13] At the first gravel event of the season, the 2008 Rally México, despite officially claiming no intentions to win the event,[14] he was the fastest driver on the first two stages and was leading the rally throughout the first day, pulling out from the current World Rally Champion, Sébastien Loeb. Unfortunately for the young Finn, the turbo in his Ford Focus was malfunctioning during the second day, making his car uncompetitive. This, along with having to be the opening driver on the stages 9–16, having to sweep the track of the loose gravel, cost him a substantial amount of time and Latvala finished the rally third.[15]

2009 season

For 2009 the expectation was for Latvala to progress in his performance as number two driver for Ford's factory team. However the start of the season became a big disappointment for the team, as Latvala went off the road in three of the first four rallies of the year. In Portugal, he and his co-driver Miikka Anttila were lucky to escape injury in the most serious crash in Latvala's career. They went off the road on a left-hand bend and rolled 17 times, 150m down a steep hill, and finally came to rest against a tree. Latvala had specifically been focusing to combat his driver weaknesses going into this rally, so the accident put some extra pressure on him for the future, although he also admitted that he would fully understand if the team did not require his services because of his erratic reputation. However, after a consistent, steady drive in Argentina, Latvala went on to take his second WRC win of his career on Rally Sardinia ahead of teammate Mikko Hirvonen. He led from beginning to end, hence driving as first car on the road on both day two and three.[16] [17]

2010 season

Latvala remained with the Ford factory team for 2010. Following his many crashes in 2009, he now had the official position of number two driver whereas in the previous year there was no official distinction between him and his teammate Mikko Hirvonen. After Round 1 in Sweden, Latvala came 3rd. In Mexico, Jari-Matti came 5th and in Round 3 - Rally Jordan, he came 2nd. He crashed on stage 10 in Turkey and he took a dramatic win in New-Zealand. In Round 6, Rally of Portugal, he crashed out and in Bulgaria he was 6th. In this year's 8th round, the Finnish Rally, he claimed his second win of the season, while his teammate Mikko Hirvonen crashed out. Latvala was now ahead of his teammate by 19 points in 4th.After his fourth place in Germany, the third place in Japan and the two fourth places in France and Spain, Latvala managed to finish the season on the podium in Wales. His third place brought him the second place in the overall classification behind record-champion Loeb.

2012 season

For 2012 Latvala was promoted to Ford's number one after the departure of Hirvonen to Rival's Citroen Total. For the first round in Monte-Carlo Jari-Mati-Latvala took the first stages wins before going off the road at the last stage of day 1, without having rally 2 rules in the event(a.k.a. formidably known as superrally rules) he retired. Round 2 in Sweden and Latvala took his first win of the season and the first as Ford's number one. Mexico saw another retirement of Latvala, and it continued to round 4 in Vodafone Rally de Portugal. Recently Latvala was injured during the testing for the 5th round in Argentina, he is due to be replaced by Prodrive's Dani Sordo, but should be able to compete by the next round in Greece.

2013-2016

For 2013, Latvala signed a contract with the new Volkswagen WRC team, announced on October 17. He described Ford's decision to end its works programme as the key factor that influenced his decision to change teams.[18] The Finn claimed a win at Greece, and collected seven podiums in 13 races, ranking third in points teammate Ogier and Ford driver Neuville.

In 2014, Latvala won four races at Sweden, Argentina, Finland and Alsace, while collecting eight podiums in 13 races. Therefore, he finished runner-up in the overall standings, behind Ogier who claimed eight wins. In 2015, the driver got three wins at Portugal, Finland and Corsica, while claiming four runner-up finishes. Again he ranked second in points, behind Volkswagen teammate Ogier who won eight races. In 2016, Latvala won at Mexico, and finished second in Italy and Finland, but finished sixth in the overall standings.

2017-2020

Following Volkswagen's withdrawal from the WRC, Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila joined the Toyota Gazoo factory team for the 2017 season. He claimed a win at Sweden, second place finishes at Monte Carlo and Italy, and a fourth place finish at Corsica. He finished fourth in points, behind Ford drivers Ogier and Ott Tänak, and Hyundai driver Neuville.

The 2018 season started well with third place in Monaco, and ended competitively with 4 podiums in the last six events, and a win on the final round of the year, Kennards Hire Rally Australia.[19] This was his first victory in 21 months, having made the best of the tricky conditions of the event.[20] He finished fourth in the 2018 driver championship.

For 2019, Jari-Matti remained with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team. He scored a podium in two events; third place at his home rally in Finland, after colliding with a loose rock during the event.[21] Then third place again at the next round in Germany. Latvala finished the season in 7th position, his lowest since 2007.

The 2020 driver announcements meant Jari-Matti was struggling to find a seat with Toyota. Failure to secure a deal with M-Sport Ford forced him to look at other options. Latvala is confirmed for two events, Sweden and Finland, in a privately-run Toyota Yaris WRC, while looking to finance a further three events at rallying's top level.[22] He is registered under the Latvala Motorsport banner, with Juho Hänninen confirmed as co-driver.

2021 - present

On the 18th of December 2020, it was announced Jari-Matti Latvala would become Team Principal at Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2021, to replace Tommi Mäkinen.[23]

In 2023, Latvala announced a one-off return to WRC competition at the Rally Finland driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.[24]

Other ventures

Latvala Motorsport

Jari-Matti Latvala also manages the private enterprise Latvala Motorsport with his wife and family, administered from a custom-built location in Tuuri. This is home to a museum of rally cars from his personal collection, memorabilia and official merchandise, a rentable business auditorium, and a rally simulator. The facility is open to the public during the summer months.[25]

Personal life

In 2008, Latvala moved from Finland to Monaco. In 2020, he relocated to Tuuri, Finland.[26]

Latvala was engaged to Finnish celebrity Maisa Torppa from 2017 to 2019.[27]

WRC victories

 # EventSeasonCo-driverCar
1 57th Uddeholm Swedish Rally2008 Miikka AnttilaFord Focus RS WRC 07
2 6º Rally d'Italia Sardegna2009 Miikka AnttilaFord Focus RS WRC 09
3 40th Rally New Zealand2010 Miikka AnttilaFord Focus RS WRC 09
4 60º Rally Finland2010 Miikka AnttilaFord Focus RS WRC 09
5 67th Wales Rally GB2011 Miikka AnttilaFord Fiesta RS WRC
6 60th Rally Sweden2012 Miikka AnttilaFord Fiesta RS WRC
7 68th Wales Rally GB2012 Miikka AnttilaFord Fiesta RS WRC
8 59th Acropolis Rally2013 Miikka AnttilaVolkswagen Polo R WRC
9 62nd Rally Sweden2014 Miikka AnttilaVolkswagen Polo R WRC
10 34th Rally Argentina2014 Miikka AnttilaVolkswagen Polo R WRC
11 64th Rally Finland2014 Miikka AnttilaVolkswagen Polo R WRC
12 Rallye de France-Alsace2014 Miikka AnttilaVolkswagen Polo R WRC
13 49° Vodafone Rally de Portugal2015 Miikka AnttilaVolkswagen Polo R WRC
14 65th Rally Finland2015 Miikka AnttilaVolkswagen Polo R WRC
15 58ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France2015 Miikka AnttilaVolkswagen Polo R WRC
16 30° Rally Guanajuato México2016 Miikka AnttilaVolkswagen Polo R WRC
17 65th Rally Sweden2017 Miikka AnttilaToyota Yaris WRC
18 27th Rally Australia2018 Miikka AnttilaToyota Yaris WRC

Results

WRC results

YearEntrantCar12345678910111213141516WDCPoints
2002Jari-Matti LatvalaMitsubishi Lancer Evo VIMONSWEFRAESPCYPARGGREKENFINGERITANZLAUSGBR
17
NC0
2003Ford Motor CompanyFord Focus RS WRC 02MONSWETURNZLARGGRE
10
CYPGER
17
FIN
14
AUSITAFRAESPGBR
10
NC0
2004Jari-Matti LatvalaFord Puma S1600MON
Ret
NC0
Subaru Impreza WRX STISWE
Ret
MEXNZLCYPGER
27
JPNFRA
21
Ford Fiesta S1600GRE
Ret
TUR
Ret
ARG
Suzuki Ignis S1600FIN
Ret
GBR
23
ITA
Ret
ESP
29
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIIIAUS
Ret
2005Jari-Matti LatvalaToyota Corolla WRCMONSWE
16
MEXFIN
Ret
NC0
Subaru Impreza WRX STINZL
Ret
ITA
16
CYPTURGREARG
Ret
GER
21
FRA
16
ESP
19
AUS
Ford Focus RS WRCGBR
Ret
JPN
2006Jari-Matti LatvalaSubaru Impreza WRX STIMON
41
SWEMEX
25
GRE
22
JPN
69
CYPTURAUS
6
NZL
8
13th9
Toyota Corolla WRCFIN
17
Stobart VK Ford Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 04ESP
16
FRA
Ret
ARGITAGER
34
Ford Focus RS WRC 06GBR
4
2007Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 06MON
Ret
SWE
Ret
NOR
5
MEX
7
POR
8
ARG
4
ITA
9
GRE
12
FIN
Ret
GER
8
NZL
5
ESP
7
FRA
4
JPN
25
IRE
3
GBR
10
8th30
2008BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 07MON
12
SWE
1
MEX
3
ARG
15
JOR
7
ITA
3
GRE
7
TUR
2
FIN
38
4th58
Ford Focus RS WRC 08GER
9
NZL
Ret
JPN
2
GBR
2
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 07ESP
6
FRA
4
2009BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 08IRE
14
NOR
3
CYP
12
POR
Ret
ARG
6
4th41
Ford Focus RS WRC 09ITA
1
GRE
3
POL
Ret
FIN
3
AUS
4
ESP
6
GBR
7
2010BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamFord Focus RS WRC 09SWE
3
MEX
5
JOR
2
TUR
8
NZL
1
POR
Ret
BUL
6
FIN
1
GER
4
JPN
3
FRA
4
ESP
4
GBR
3
2nd171
2011Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamFord Fiesta RS WRCSWE
3
MEX
3
POR
3
JOR
2
ITA
18
ARG
7
GRE
9
FIN
2
GER
14
AUS
2
FRA
4
ESP
3
GBR
1
4th172
2012Ford World Rally TeamFord Fiesta RS WRCMON
Ret
SWE
1
MEX
Ret
POR
13
ARG
GRE
3
NZL
7
FIN
3
GER
2
GBR
1
FRA
2
ITA
12
ESP
2
3rd154
2013Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Polo R WRCMON
Ret
SWE
4
MEX
16
POR
3
ARG
3
GRE
1
ITA
3
FIN
17
GER
7
AUS
4
FRA
3
ESP
2
GBR
2
3rd162
2014Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Polo R WRCMON
5
SWE
1
MEX
2
POR
14
ARG
1
ITA
3
POL
5
FIN
1
GER
Ret
AUS
2
FRA
1
ESP
2
GBR
8
2nd218
2015Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Polo R WRCMON
2
SWE
Ret
MEX
15
ARG
Ret
POR
1
ITA
6
POL
5
FIN
1
GER
2
AUS
2
FRA
1
ESP
2
GBR
50
2nd183
2016Volkswagen MotorsportVolkswagen Polo R WRCMON
Ret
SWE
26
MEX
1
ARG
16
POR
6
ITA
2
POL
5
FIN
2
GER
48
CHN
C
FRA
4
ESP
14
GBR
7
AUS
9
6th112
2017Toyota Gazoo Racing WRTToyota Yaris WRCMON
2
SWE
1
MEX
6
FRA
4
ARG
5
POR
9
ITA
2
POL
20
FIN
21
GER
7
ESP
Ret
GBR
5
AUS
Ret
4th136
2018Toyota Gazoo Racing WRTToyota Yaris WRCMON
3
SWE
7
MEX
8
FRA
Ret
ARG
Ret
POR
24
ITA
7
FIN
3
GER
Ret
TUR
2
GBR
2
ESP
8
AUS
1
4th128
2019Toyota Gazoo Racing WRTToyota Yaris WRCMON
5
SWE
21
MEX
8
FRA
10
ARG
5
CHL
11
POR
7
ITA
19
FIN
3
GER
3
TUR
6
GBR
Ret
ESP
5
AUS
7th94
2020Latvala MotorsportToyota Yaris WRCMONSWE
Ret
MEXESTTURITAMNZNC0
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRTToyota GR Yaris Rally1MONSWEMEXCROPORITAKENESTFIN
5
GRECHLEURJPN16th11
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRTToyota GR Yaris Rally2MONSWEKENCROPORITAPOLLATFIN
6
GRECHLEURJPN17th6

JWRC results

YearEntrantCar1234567Pos.Points
2004Jari-Matti LatvalaFord Puma S1600MON
Ret
13th5
Ford Fiesta S1600GRE
Ret
TUR
Ret
Suzuki Ignis S1600FIN
Ret
GBR
4
ITA
Ret
ESP
9

PWRC results

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Latvala named Toyota WRC team principal after Makinen departure. Cobb. Haydn. 18 December 2020. autosport.com. 19 December 2020.
  2. Web site: Jari Latvala . RallyBase . 2007-02-18.
  3. Web site: Jari-Matti Latvala, Suomi . . 2007-02-18 . fi . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930191659/http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/ralli2007/tiimitjakuskit.shtml?latvala . 2007-09-30.
  4. Web site: Jari-Matti Latvala . RallyBase . 2007-02-18.
  5. News: Latvala 'so disappointed' to retire . Crash.net . 2007-02-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070206023015/http://www.crash.net/news_View~t~Latvala--so-disappointed--to-retire-~cid~4~id~142367.htm . 2007-02-06.
  6. News: Chilling end for both Latvala and Wilson . Crash.net . 2007-02-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023726/http://www.crash.net/news_view~t~Chilling-end-for-both-Latvala-and-Wilson-~cid~4~id~143097.htm . 2007-09-30.
  7. News: Latvala claims first WRC stage win . Superwheels . 2007-02-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071007135913/http://www.superwheels.co.za/default.asp?id=205281&des=article&scat=superwheels%2Frallying . 2007-10-07.
  8. News: Ford confirms line-up. . 2007-12-18 . 2007-12-17 . Crash.net.
  9. News: Puncture costs Latvala. . 2008-01-24 . 2008-02-11 . Crash.net.
  10. News: STOP PRESS: Latvala retires. . 2008-01-26 . 2008-02-11 . Crash.net.
  11. News: Latvala: It was a long, difficult weekend but... . 2008-01-28 . 2008-02-11 . Crash.net.
  12. News: Latvala claims historic Swedish win . . 2008-02-10 . 2008-02-10.
  13. News: Jari-Matti Latvala awarded 'Abu Dhabi Spirit Of The Rally' . 2008-02-12 . 2008-02-16 . WRC.com . 2009-04-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090412034246/http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=101&id=329&desc=Jari-Matti%20Latvala%20awarded%20%E2%80%98Abu%20Dhabi%20Spirit%20Of%20The%20Rally%E2%80%99 . dead .
  14. News: Latvala: Another win isn't a realistic aim for R3. . 2008-02-24 . 2008-03-02 . Crash.net.
  15. News: Latvala out to 'save' his podium. . 2008-03-02 . 2008-03-02 . Crash.net.
  16. Web site: World Rally Championship - News - SS17: Latvala wins Rally d'Italia - Sardegna! . wrc.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100116153445/http://wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=101&id=5007&desc=SS17:%20Latvala%20wins%20Rally%20d%E2%80%99Italia%20-%20Sardegna! . 2010-01-16.
  17. Web site: Latvala wins Rally of Sardinia in Ford 1–2. 2009-05-24. USA Today. 2009-05-26.
  18. News: Ford exit key to Lavala's VW move. Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. 18 October 2012. 19 October 2012.
  19. Web site: Jari-Matti Latvala: "The First Six Months We Won't Think About The Championship". January 18, 2019. The Checkered Flag.
  20. Web site: Sunday in Australia: Six of the best for Ogier. November 18, 2018. WRC.com.
  21. Web site: Sunday in Finland: Double delight for Tänak. August 4, 2019. WRC.com.
  22. Web site: Ex-WRC driver Hanninen to co-drive for Latvala on 2020 Rally Sweden. January 14, 2020. www.autosport.com.
  23. Web site: Latvala named Team Principal of Toyota - wrc.com. www.wrc.com. 2 January 2020.
  24. Web site: Latvala to drive Rally1 car on Rally Finland. 2 July 2023. 8 July 2023. dirtfish.com. DirtFish, LLC..
  25. Web site: Latvala Motorsport Oy Passion for Rallying. January 14, 2020. Latvalamotorsport.com. February 7, 2020.
  26. Web site: Jari-Matti Latvala muuttaa takaisin Tuuriin – tyhjensi Monacon asuntonsa: "Olihan se surullinen hetki" . Kanerva . Juha . 12 December 2020 . . fi . 12 December 2020.
  27. Web site: Jari-Matti Latvala ja Maisa Torppa erosivat lopullisesti: "Koska rakastamme toisiamme äärettömästi, annamme toistemme mennä" . Kirssi . Elina . 14 October 2019 . . fi . 12 December 2020.