A Finn For The Win: Jari-Matti Latvala's Quest To Win WRC

While the mathematical possibility still remains, 44 points with five rounds to go seems like a gap that would be too much for Jari-Matti Latvala to overcome in his quest to become the first Finnish driver to win a World Rally Championship crown since Marcus Gronholm in 2002.

But his third win of the season – that too at his home event in Finland – definitely would not have hurt his chances.

Five wins, two second places and a ‘stray’ sixth position over the course of the WRC season’s eight rounds so far have allowed Ogier to stay on pace to defend his WRC title but unlike last season, Latvala has kept him on his toes every now and again.

Becoming the first Finnish winner of Rally Finland since 2010 would have meant a lot more to Latvala if he had not dropped the ball to finish fifth in the previous round in Poland and more importantly a disastrous 14th place finish in Portugal.

The fact that this year’s championship is a two-horse race – much like the race for the F1 title – between teammates in equal machinery has made it vital for Latvala and Ogier to not put their guard down.

One is reminded of famous teammate duels like Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz when they battled each other and the rest of the WRC field as teammates at Subaru in 1995.
Just five points settled the WRC title after the eight round season in favour of McRae from Sainz that year that will always be remembered as a turning point in the WRC’s popularity that shot into the stratosphere.

Nineteen years later and after eight rounds of WRC ’14 the tension may not be the same, but the intensity is still top notch.