Jari-Matti Latvala proved team management has not blunted his driving skills by winning Saturday’s Mesikämmen Ralli.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing team principal was fastest on all four special stages at the Finnish Historic Rally Trophy round in his own Celica GT-4. He won by almost two minutes after 53km of snow and ice roads near Ähtäri.
It was Latvala’s first competitive drive since taking up the reins at the Japanese squad last December. He was co-driven by TGR test driver Juho Hänninen.
“Perfect day!” said Latvala on social media. “We had really nice winter conditions and it was good fun to drive. I’ve been truly missing that.”
Latvala’s father, Jari, finished almost four minutes behind his son in 11th in another Celica. It was their first direct competition against other since 2004.
Jari-Matti will hope his winning form continues at Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox (26 – 28 February).
After presiding over Sébastien Ogier’s Rallye Monte-Carlo victory last month at his first rally in his new role, he will look for more success at the Rovaniemi-based event with a four car Toyota Yaris team comprising Ogier, Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta.
Aerospace Dynamics 