The FIA World Rally Championship rounds in Germany and Australia seemed like they must have been unpleasant for Jari-Matti Latvala.
In the Volkswagen world rally team’s home country he looked set to take a win as defending world champion and teammate Sebastien Ogier retired early in the World Rally Championship. But the Finn himself failed to finish and score any points, which was followed up by a second place behind Ogier in Australia.
The glimmer of hope that Latvala had in the race for the drivers’ title was gone in the space of two rallies, until the dust settled in Rallye Alsace in France.
Well, not that much dust as the event is held on tarmac as opposed to rallying’s signature gravel events. But a 13th place finish for Ogier at his home event and a win for Latvala resulted in the gap between the two reducing to 27 points.
With 25 points available to the winner of a rally and another three if a driver wins a power stage, the gap between the warring teammates has now come to the point where their place in the points standings could change after just one event.
But expecting Ogier to come away from a rally empty handed is hardly the cornerstone of a successful title winning strategy.
With just two events remaining - one of which will be done by the time you read this – a long shot like another duck is pretty much Latvala (and WRC fans’) only hope for a classic last rally shootout in the vein of Colin McRae’s many title showdowns.
Known for his spectacular, but often crash inducing driving style, Latvala has become a lot more consistent and has pushed Ogier a lot harder this year.
However, the running of the French round of the WRC made it clear how gut wrenching it is to not have Sebastien Loeb behind the wheel of a Citroen anymore.
The former nine-time champion was the undisputed number one for the French marque’s team and seeing him go head-to-head with one-time teammate Ogier - who was on the receiving end of team orders in 2012 – was an anticipated clash as both drivers were set to be number one drivers for their respective teams.
Loeb’s decision to participate in just four rallies last year and then retire came at a bad time for the WRC that was looking for someone to really push Loeb to his exceptionally high limits.
Kris Meeke’s third position for Citroen at their home event was a stark example of how the team has become a shadow of its former self.
Hyundai’s challenge to Volkswagen has not yet materialized although they have announced that they will continue competing with the i20 WRC they have been using and developing this season in the early stages of 2015.
Thierry Neuville’s surprise win in Germany, Dani Sordo’s second place in the same rally and fourth place in France has Hyundai 18 points shy of Citroen for second place in the manufacturers’ championship. It’s all down to the last two rallies of the year.
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