Latvala Conquers WRC Greece 2013
At first, it looked highly unlikely that Latvala would step up to the challenge, as he was running in third place behind Citroen’s Dani Sordo and
By Team autoX
At first, it looked highly unlikely that Latvala would step up to the challenge, as he was running in third place behind Citroen’s Dani Sordo and Evgeny Novikov from M-Sport Ford. Championship leader and teammate Sebastien Ogier suffered a fuel feed problem on the very first stage and all eyes were now on Latvala, who became VW’s main hope for a podium finish.
It looked like fate was smiling on Latvala as he quickly claimed second place from Sordo and then went on to take the lead as Novikov clipped a bank and picked up wheel, tyre, suspension and brake damage.
Latvala took a 1 minute, 30 seconds lead over Sordo and cruised to the finish. M-Sport Ford was clearly disappointed but did not go empty handed as Thierry Neuville salvaged a podium for the team with third.
Volkswagen’s Andreas Mikkelsen overcame numerous problems and managed to snatch fourth place from M-Sport Ford’s Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Mads Ostberg and Mikko Hirvonen hit trouble and were left several minutes behind before the rally had really begun. They managed to grab onto sixth and seventh place respectively.
Controversy followed the conclusion of the event, however, when Citroen protested against Volkswagen and questioned the presence of a second battery in the boot of all the Polo R WRCs.
The protest sprung out of the FIA Sporting Code, which precludes a competing car from running with two batteries.
Volkswagen explained saying that while the battery is installed in the right-rear corner of the car, it can connected after disconnecting the battery in use.
The team also claimed that they had clarified the use of a spare battery with the FIA Technical Delegate last year and therefore used this installed battery.
After extensive consultation, the sports commissioners dismissed the protests as unsubstantiated and Citroen will not appeal the decision.
Ogier still sits on top of the Championship standings with Latvala in second place with both Citroen drivers, Loeb and Hirvonen rounding out the top four. The German squad will be looking to continue their domination of the WRC at the following event of Rally Italy.
