Jari-Matti Latvala competed in the Tunturiralli with an old Toyota Celica.
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi and the significance of the Arctic Lapland Rally, or the more familiar Hill Rally, which was driven around Kemijärvi over the weekend, was particularly important for the Toyota WRC team this year.
Those who achieved a double victory in the World Rally Championship last season Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans tested and are testing the stable's GR Yaris Rally1 hybrid on both sides of the Tunturi rally. The importance of the rally itself is also great.
“This is a really important race in the sense that this rally fits the profile of the Swedish rally better than before”, Toyota's team manager Jari-Matti Latvala told.
“Before, when it was run in Karlstad, the roads were a bit different. Now the rally is in Umeå and the roads are very similar to here. Differences are usually made there in long and fast corners.”
Latvala also said that Rovanperä spent a lot of time on his car's impact performance.
“At first he wasn't quite happy with it, but work has been done all the time and I think the car has moved forward.”
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“This rally fits the profile of the Swedish rally better than before.”
Jari-Matti Latvala participated in Tunturi rally for the third time as a driver. Latvala, who is Toyota's team manager, emphasized the importance of the rally to his team.
February The Swedish World Rally Championship, which is held in the middle, is of great importance to the team led by Latvala, just like the Mountain Rally. He emphasized in Rovaniemi that Toyota must be strong in Sweden. Only success will do.
“We couldn't win the first race of the season, so Sweden is really important to us,” said Latvala of Hyundai by Thierry Neuville to win in reference to the Monte Carlo Rally.
What can be expected from Toyota in Sweden based on the tests and the Hill Rally?
“I hope that this will give the drivers the same confidence that they will be able to drive for victory,” the team manager replied.
Latvala's role in the Tunturirall was different from the norm, as he spent the rally weekend competing behind the wheel of a Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD instead of managing.
“I have seen our sons. We went to see the Japanese juniors already on Monday in the test, and my map reader Juho Hänninen is their koutsi. Yes, we have been in contact the whole time.”
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“We couldn't win the first race of the season, so Sweden is really important to us.”
Jari-Matti Latvala drove a 1992 Toyota Celica in the Tunturiralli. His map reader was Juho Hänninen.
Latvala During the week, my own care has mainly focused on the team's Rally2 drivers, with whom the team manager has exchanged ideas about the new car.
“I have also given some advice about the engine, i.e. how to get the best feeling from it and how to drive that engine,” he said.
“There is no need to do anything for the WRC men, i.e. Evans and Kalle. Juho has given instructions to the guys in Japan, and if something comes up or they want to ask, I'll give them instructions.”
Latvala said that nowadays he can drive four to five rallies a year, so he said that he started the third Tunturi rally of his career with a good feeling.
“In the first year, 2006, I drove for the project and in 2022, the machine broke down. This is a great race and the driving has been reasonably good. You could say that there have been a few small mistakes here and there,” he said.
“The lack of driving can be seen in the sense that when you don't drive as often, you make more small mistakes like that. If I could still remove them, I would be satisfied.”
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“In the first year, 2006, I drove the project and in 2022, the machine broke down.”
The Siikakämä–Kivalo speedway was filled with spectators. Rallikansa also filmed Jari-Matti Latvala's driving with enthusiasm.
Toyota boss gave the stars of his team a handicap in addition to driving experience with his equipment.
“This represents 1992, and with a car like this Carlos Sainz won the world rally championship. The car has 400 horsepower and a six-speed manual gearbox,” Latvala introduced at the service.
“The suspension has been able to be improved since that era, but the limits are coming. Flexible travel is the biggest difference to today's cars. You just can't drive the bounces as hard with this, even if the engine has power.”
Latvala compared his own pace to today's going games and calculated that he was behind by three seconds per kilometer.
“That's three decades. Those cars have advanced one second per decade.”
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