Latvala won six stages and the 27-year-old Finn described the result as ‘my best driving performance on asphalt’. Latvala has won once and twice finished second in the last three rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship to climb to third in the drivers’ standings after a tough opening to the 2012 campaign.
Team-mates Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson finished 27th in a similar Fiesta RS WRC. After retiring yesterday following a spectacular accident which felled a telegraph pole and provided huge global coverage on TV and video sharing websites, they restarted today to ease through the final leg.
This 11th round of the 13-rally championship was based in Strasbourg, in the Alsace region of eastern France. Drivers tackled four days of competition covering 404.14km, most of it on slippery roads in the Vosges mountains and muddy lanes in the region’s vineyards. Street tests in Strasbourg, Mulhouse and Haguenau provided a contrast and spectacular entertainment for the huge crowds.
Latvala won three special stages during Friday’s first full day of action to pile the pressure on leader and Alsace hero Sébastien Loeb. The Ford driver lost 10sec early in the second leg when he briefly slid into a ditch but added another three stage wins. With no realistic chance of victory and no pressure from behind, he drove cautiously through today’s rain-soaked final leg to secure second.
“My target was to improve on my performance in Germany and I achieved that,” said Latvala. “I made one small mistake yesterday, and when you’re trying to beat a nine-time world champion on his favourite surface over his home roads, that’s one error too many. But I finished only 15sec behind Loeb so I feel there is just one more step to take. I really want to beat him on asphalt!
“This result has given me great hunger for the final two rallies in Italy and Spain. They are both great events, one on gravel and one on both gravel and asphalt. I feel very motivated to finish the season on a high note,” he added.
After initially struggling to find a rhythm, Solberg bounced back to end the first day in fourth. However, he went off the road in the opening kilometres of the second leg, ploughing through dense vines before coming to an abrupt halt against a telegraph pole. Nobody was injured in the incident but the impact damaged the front right of Solberg’s Fiesta RS WRC too severely to continue.
With a 40 minute penalty added, the 37-year-old Norwegian eased through today’s final leg, comprising six stages and 61.54km north of Strasbourg, to secure manufacturers’ points for Ford.
“I enjoyed a good first leg but then the accident happened yesterday,” said Solberg. “I had nothing to gain today so I drove for the fans as much as anything. Conditions were difficult and I knew it would be hard to score bonus points in the Power Stage because I started down the order. There was so much mud on the road.
Ford World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson agreed that this was Latvala’s best asphalt performance. “He kept the pressure on Loeb until the end and that is something he hasn’t been able to do previously. The pace of the Fiesta RS WRC was there for all to see – it was a very strong display from both driver and car,” he said.
Ford Racing senior manager Gerard Quinn said: “In my opinion this was Jari-Matti’s best performance on asphalt. His pace and commitment were fantastic and it was great to see him on the podium. Petter had a difficult rally but his accident yesterday provided the WRC with the best global TV coverage of the season! I would also like to congratulate Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena on retaining their title.”
News from other Ford teams
Adapta World Rally Team’s Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson finished fifth, one of the Norwegian driver’s best asphalt results. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Ott Tänak / Kuldar Sikk won the inter-team battle with Evgeny Novikov / Ilka Minor to finish sixth. Tänak also claimed maximum bonus points by winning the Power Stage. Novikov was seventh after losing almost three minutes when he rolled this morning, while Martin Prokop / Zdenĕk Hrůza were ninth in the Czech Ford National Team car. French pair Julien Maurin / Nicolas Klinger claimed 13th, but Brazil World Rally Team’s Daniel Oliveira / Carlos Magalhaes retired today after going off the road and damaging his car’s suspension.
Elfyn Evans / Phil Pugh won the penultimate round of the Ford Racing-supported FIA WRC Academy. Evans’ victory at the wheel of a Fiesta R2 was his fourth consecutive triumph and guaranteed the Welshman the Academy title* with one round remaining.
Next round
The penultimate round of the series in Italy marks the final all-gravel event of the championship. Rally Italia Sardegna is based in Olbia, on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, on 18 - 21 October.
Final positions
1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen DS3 3hr 32min 53.0sec
2. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 33min 08.5sec
3. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Citroen DS3 3hr 33min 37.1sec
4. T Neuville/N Gilsoul BEL Citroen DS3 3hr 34min 00.3sec
5. M Østberg/J Andersson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 34min 09.4sec
6. O Tänak/K Sikk EST Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 35min 20.9sec
7. E Novikov/I Minor RUS Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 38min 44.6sec
8. C Atkinson/G MacNeall AUS Mini John Cooper 3hr 39min 35.4sec
9. M Prokop/Z Hrůza CZE Ford Fiesta RS 3hr 41min 39.8sec
10 S Chardonnet/T De La Haye FRA Citroen DS3 3hr 41min 52.7sec
Drivers
1. S Loeb 244pts
2. M Hirvonen 173pts
3. J-M Latvala 131pts
4. M Østberg 125pts
5. P Solberg 119pts
6. E Novikov 69pts
Manufacturers
1. Citroen Total WRT 388pts
2. Ford WRT 259pts
3. M-Sport Ford WRT 137pts
4. Citroen Junior WRT 72pts
5. Adapta WRT 71pts
6. Qatar WRT 63pts
* Subject to confirmation of the results by the FIA
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