After occasionally harrying his Volkswagen Motorsport teammate Sebastien Ogier last year and winning four WRC rallies, Finland's wild but fast Jari-Matti Latvala was expected to keep the two-time defending champion honest at least; as suggested by his second place finish behind the Frenchman at this year's season opening Monte Carlo Rally.
However, that second place was followed by two retirements and a 15th place finish in the next three rounds. Latvala rediscovered the pace and consistently that allowed him to be a factor in last year's WRC season on Sunday, however when he emerged triumphant at Rally Portugal after three days of competition.
It was only the second time this season that Ogier failed to win a rally; finishing second to Latvala, after having to retire from the previous round in Argentina where he Latvala and Mikkelsen all failed to finish, leaving Chris Meeke to win the rally for Citroen.
In WRC Portugal, however, VW locked out the podium with Latvala leading Ogier and Mikkelsen home.
WHO'S THE BEST?
Ogier managed to kick off a slight controversy, though, when he made a statement at the end of the rally that implied him thinking himself to be the best driver in the field and Latvala's win came as a relief to neutral WRC fans.
"I know that it's a happy day for many people, because it looks like it's boring when it's always the best which is winning," said Ogier when interviewed by the official WRC TV crew at the end of the rally. "So, this weekend it's not the best winning - but it's still a fantastic rally for me."
The statement was a response to a change in running order regulations for the WRC that saw Ogier having to be the first driver on the stages - due to his position as championship leader - which meant that he invariably 'cleaned up' the gravel stages for the drivers that followed.
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