BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila won a thrilling Rally Finland today to earn a place in the history books. The Finns won this eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship for the first time by 10.1sec in a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car, joining a long list of Finnish greats who have triumphed in their home event.
Latvala and Anttila were mobbed by their fellow countrymen as they took to the podium in Jyväskylä this evening. Twenty-five-year-old Latvala, already the youngest driver to win a world rally, became the youngest winner of Rally Finland since the WRC started in 1973. It was Ford's second consecutive victory in the legendary event following the success of Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen in 2009, and the manufacturer's fourth win in five years.
After a short opening speed test on Thursday evening, organisers packed 18 more stages and 310.05km of action into just two long and demanding days instead of the usual three, providing a blend of sprint and endurance. The rally was fought out over dauntingly fast roller-coaster forest roads in central Finland, and it lived up to its reputation as the fastest in the championship with average speeds reaching 133.09kph.
The weather was as hot as the action on the stages. The rally began on a day when the thermometers recorded Finland's highest-ever temperature of 37.2ºC. The heatwave gave way to thunderstorms which left much of central Finland without electricity yesterday while many roads were blocked by fallen trees, but the rally ran without interruption.
Latvala moved into the lead yesterday afternoon, building a 9.1sec overnight advantage. He extended that to 22.5sec this morning before road conditions turned against him. Overnight rain, which bound together slippery surface gravel and provided more grip, died out and a stiff breeze quickly dried the roads. Latvala was first in the start order and faced the unwanted task of sweeping loose stones from the surface to leave cleaner and faster conditions for those behind.
His lead dropped to 10.6sec with two tests remaining, but Latvala remained unflustered in the face of huge pressure to record his fourth WRC victory and second win of the 2010 season.
"It's amazing to win my home rally and it's something I have dreamed of since I was a small boy," he said. "The first time I watched this rally was in 1992 when I was seven and the only thing I could think about then was that I would never be able to drive as fast as the stars I was watching. In 2003 I drove this rally for the first time and still I never thought I would win. To win in front of my home fans, in a country where rallying means so much to everyone, is a dream.
"The team had some difficult times in the summer but both drivers led this rally and I won. It's a hugely important victory for the team and Ford. It was only during the final two stages that I really thought I could do it. I've learned that if you relax and make no mistakes then you can have a good rally. There have been so many people watching and it was a fantastic atmosphere – this is the best rally in the world," he added.
Team-mates Hirvonen and Lehtinen retired from the lead yesterday morning after crashing heavily following a jump, while the third car of Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi and Michael Orr also rolled into retirement yesterday afternoon. Neither crew was injured.
BP Ford Abu Dhabi team director Malcolm Wilson was delighted to oversee victory in his favourite rally. "After a difficult few months, the team has dug deep and bounced back to win the most celebrated rally in the calendar. There has been so much effort and commitment from the entire team in recent weeks and this is our reward. It was a stunning drive from Jari-Matti. There was a lot of pressure on his young shoulders when Mikko Hirvonen crashed out yesterday but he handled it superbly and displayed great maturity in a difficult situation," he said.
Ford of Europe motorsport chief Gerard Quinn said: "There is no better place for Ford to win a rally than Finland. It is one of motorsport's classic events and to triumph here, after leading for virtually the entire event, is a dream come true. Jari-Matti joins some of Ford's great Finnish drivers who have won their home event, world champions like Marcus Grönholm, Ari Vatanen and Hannu Mikkola. He faced intense pressure here for two days but the mature way in which he handled it shows how well he is progressing as one of the sport's rising stars."
News from other Ford teams
Stobart M-Sport Ford's Matthew Wilson and Scott Martin finished sixth in a Focus RS WRC, two places ahead of Finnish rally legend Juha Kankkunen and Juha Repo. The four-time world champion returned to the sport for a one-off guest appearance almost eight years after his last WRC event. Henning Solberg and Ilka Minor crashed out yesterday in the team's third car.
Next round
The championship returns to asphalt next month when drivers tackle vineyard tracks and military roads in Rallye Deutschland. The rally is based in Trier on 19 - 22 August.
Final positions
1. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 31min 29.6sec
2. S Ogier/J Ingrassia FRA Citroen C4 2hr 31min 39.7sec
3. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 2hr 31min 55.6sec
4. P Solberg/C Patterson NOR Citroen C4 2hr 32min 00.3sec
5. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 2hr 33min 14.6sec
6. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 2hr 37min 13.3sec
7. M Østberg/J Andersson NOR &nb
sp; Subaru Impreza 2hr 37min 20.4sec
8. J Kankkunen/J Repo FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 39min 18.6sec
9. J Hänninen/M Markkula FIN Skoda Fabia 2hr 40min 34.6sec
10 P-G Andersson/A Fredriksson SWE Skoda Fabia 2hr 41min 45.3sec
Drivers
1. S Loeb 166pts
2. S Ogier 118pts
3. J-M Latvala 105pts
4. P Solberg 90pts
5. M Hirvonen 86pts
6. D Sordo 77pts
Manufacturers
1. Citroen Total 265pts
2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi 210pts
3. Citroen Junior 155pts
4. Stobart M-Sport Ford 108pts
5. Munchi's Ford 40pts
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