Jari-Matti Latvala(Finnish pronunciation:[ˈjɑriˌmɑtːiˈlɑt.ʋɑ.lɑ];born 3 April 1985) is a Finnishrally driverwho has competed in theWorld Rally Championship(WRC). His co-driver for most of his career wasMiikka Anttila,who co-drove for Latvala between the2003Rallye Deutschlandand2019 Rally Catalunya.He is well known for his aggressive driving style, which earns him many plaudits, and comparisons to the lateColin McRae.With 18 event victories in the WRC, he is one of the most successful drivers to not have won a championship. Latvala is also the driver with the most World Rally starts in the sport which he achieved in 2019, 17 years after his debut.
 Jari-Matti Latvala, Rally Deutschland 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Finnish |
| Born | 3 April 1985 Töysä,Finland |
| World Rally Championshiprecord | |
| Active years | 2002–2020 |
| Co-driver |  Carl WilliamsonMiikka AnttilaJuho Hänninen |
| Teams | Stobart Ford,Ford,Volkswagen,Toyota |
| Rallies | 211 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 18 |
| Podiums | 67 |
| Stage wins | 539 |
| Total points | 1668 |
| First rally | 2002 Rally GB |
| First win | 2008 Swedish Rally |
| Last win | 2018 Rally Australia |
| Last rally | 2024 Rally Finland |
Starting in2021,he served as the team principal ofToyota Gazoo Racing WRT,replacingTommi Mäkinen.[1]
Career
editLatvala began driving when he was eight years old, after receiving aFord Escortfrom his father Jari Latvala, also a rally driver and 1994national championin theGroup Nclass.[2]At the age of ten, Latvala started practicing with anOpel Asconaon a frozen lake.[3]
2000s
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Latvala's first world rally was the2002Rally Great Britainat the age of 17. He finished in 17th position with aMitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI.In2003,Latvala competed in four WRC events with aFord Focus WRC,finishing tenth at theAcropolis Rally,17th at theRallye Deutschland,14th at theNeste Oil Rally Finlandand tenth at the Rally Great Britain.[4]
In2004,Latvala mostly competed with an S1600 classJunior World Rally Championshipcar. His best overall result in the World Rally Championship was 21st with a Group NSubaru Impreza WRX STIat theTour de Corse.In the2005 season,Latvala competed in nine world rallies; six with the Group N Impreza and three with aWorld Rally Car.His best overall result was 16th, which he managed three times; at theSwedish Rallywith aToyota Corolla WRCand at the Tour de Corse and theRally d'Italia Sardegnawith the Impreza.[4]
2006–2007: Stobart Ford
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In2006,Latvala competed in 11 world rallies. He drove the Subaru Impreza WRX STI in six, a Ford Focus WRC in four and a Toyota Corolla WRC at his home event, the Neste Oil Rally Finland. His best results came in the last three rallies. At theTelstra Rally Australia,he won theProduction Car World Rally Championship(PCWRC) class, and finished sixth overall. At thePropecia Rally New Zealand,he finished eighth overall and also won the PCWRC. With the Focus WRC, he recorded his career-best result by finishing fourth at the last event of the season, the Rally Great Britain. Points from these rallies then placed Latvala 13th overall in the drivers' championship.[4]
In2007,Latvala competed a full 16-event programme forStobart M-Sport FordwithMatthew WilsonandHenning Solbergas teammates. He started the season with retirements inMonte CarloandSweden.[5][6]At theRally Norway,Latvala was in contention for his first podium place, but had to settle for fifth after a 90 seconds time penalty. He did, however, take his first stage win on SS5.[7]Latvala later took his first podium at the2007 Rally Ireland.At the last rally of the season,Rally GB,he lost 10 minutes on the last stage of day one due to windscreen wiper failure, but went on to win ten of the remaining 11 stages under the SupeRally rules, finishing 10th overall.
2008: Ford's factory team
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In2008,Latvala joined Ford's factory team as a number two driver, partneringMikko Hirvonenand replacingMarcus Grönholmwho had announced his retirement from the WRC at the end of2007.[8]The opening round of the season wasn't lucky for the young Finn – he suffered a puncture after cutting a corner too deep on the very first stage and lost even more time because of a non-fully operative pneumatic wrench.[9]Latvala continued to fight and was ninth overall before SS12, but he made another mistake there and heavily damaged the front left suspension in his Focus, forcing himself to retire for good.[10]At the second rally of the season,2008 Swedish Rally,he had good pace from the beginning – he won all regular special stages on day one, pulling away from the runner-up spot slowly, but consistently. He later had some problems[11]and wasn't the fastest on any of the remaining stages, but managed to keep his position throughout the rally. The 22-year-old therefore took his first WRC win to become theyoungest winnerin the history of the World Rally Championship. The previous record was held byHenri Toivonenwho was 24 years and 86 days old when he won the 1980RAC Rally.[12]For his performance during the Swedish rally Latvala was given theAbu Dhabi Spirit Of The Rallyaward.[13] At the first gravel event of the season, the2008 Rally México,despite officially claiming no intentions to win the event,[14]he was the fastest driver on the first two stages and was leading the rally throughout the first day, pulling out from the current World Rally Champion,Sébastien Loeb.Unfortunately for the young Finn, the turbo in his Ford Focus was malfunctioning during the second day, making his car uncompetitive. This, along with having to be the opening driver on the stages 9–16, having to sweep the track of the loose gravel, cost him a substantial amount of time and Latvala finished the rally third.[15]
2009 season
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For 2009 the expectation was for Latvala to progress in his performance as number two driver for Ford's factory team. However the start of the season became a big disappointment for the team, as Latvala went off the road in three of the first four rallies of the year. In Portugal, he and his co-driver Miikka Anttila were lucky to escape injury in the most serious crash in Latvala's career. They went off the road on a left-hand bend and rolled 17 times, 150m down a steep hill, and finally came to rest against a tree. Latvala had specifically been focusing to combat his driver weaknesses going into this rally, so the accident put some extra pressure on him for the future, although he also admitted that he would fully understand if the team did not require his services because of his erratic reputation. However, after a consistent, steady drive in Argentina, Latvala went on to take his second WRC win of his career onRally Sardiniaahead of teammate Mikko Hirvonen. He led from beginning to end, hence driving as first car on the road on both day two and three.[16][17]
2010 season
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Latvala remained with the Ford factory team for 2010. Following his many crashes in 2009, he now had the official position of number two driver whereas in the previous year there was no official distinction between him and his teammateMikko Hirvonen.After Round 1 in Sweden, Latvala came 3rd. In Mexico, Jari-Matti came 5th and in Round 3 - Rally Jordan, he came 2nd. He crashed on stage 10 in Turkey and he took a dramatic win in New-Zealand. In Round 6, Rally of Portugal, he crashed out and in Bulgaria he was 6th. In this year's 8th round, the Finnish Rally, he claimed his second win of the season, while his teammate Mikko Hirvonen crashed out. Latvala was now ahead of his teammate by 19 points in 4th. After his fourth place in Germany, the third place in Japan and the two fourth places in France and Spain, Latvala managed to finish the season on the podium in Wales. His third place brought him the second place in the overall classification behind record-champion Loeb.
2012 season
editFor 2012 Latvala was promoted to Ford's number one after the departure of Hirvonen to Rival's Citroen Total. For the first round in Monte-Carlo Jari-Mati-Latvala took the first stages wins before going off the road at the last stage of day 1, without having rally 2 rules in the event(a.k.a. formidably known as superrally rules) he retired. Round 2 in Sweden and Latvala took his first win of the season and the first as Ford's number one. Mexico saw another retirement of Latvala, and it continued to round 4 in Vodafone Rally de Portugal. Recently Latvala was injured during the testing for the 5th round in Argentina, he is due to be replaced by Prodrive's Dani Sordo, but should be able to compete by the next round in Greece.
2013-2016
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For 2013, Latvala signed a contract with the new Volkswagen WRC team, announced on October 17. He described Ford's decision to end its works programme as the key factor that influenced his decision to change teams.[18]The Finn claimed a win at Greece, and collected seven podiums in 13 races, ranking third in points teammate Ogier and Ford driver Neuville.
In 2014, Latvala won four races at Sweden, Argentina, Finland and Alsace, while collecting eight podiums in 13 races. Therefore, he finished runner-up in the overall standings, behind Ogier who claimed eight wins. In 2015, the driver got three wins at Portugal, Finland and Corsica, while claiming four runner-up finishes. Again he ranked second in points, behind Volkswagen teammate Ogier who won eight races. In 2016, Latvala won at Mexico, and finished second in Italy and Finland, but finished sixth in the overall standings.
2017-2020
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Following Volkswagen's withdrawal from the WRC, Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila joined theToyota Gazoofactory team for the 2017 season. He claimed a win at Sweden, second place finishes at Monte Carlo and Italy, and a fourth place finish at Corsica. He finished fourth in points, behind Ford drivers Ogier andOtt Tänak,and Hyundai driver Neuville.
The 2018 season started well with third place in Monaco, and ended competitively with 4 podiums in the last six events, and a win on the final round of the year,Kennards Hire Rally Australia.[19]This was his first victory in 21 months, having made the best of the tricky conditions of the event.[20]He finished fourth in the 2018 driver championship.
For 2019, Jari-Matti remained with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team. He scored a podium in two events; third place at his home rally in Finland, after colliding with a loose rock during the event.[21]Then third place again at the next round in Germany. Latvala finished the season in 7th position, his lowest since 2007.
The 2020 driver announcements meant Jari-Matti was struggling to find a seat with Toyota. Failure to secure a deal with M-Sport Ford forced him to look at other options. Latvala is confirmed for two events, Sweden and Finland, in a privately-run Toyota Yaris WRC, while looking to finance a further three events at rallying's top level.[22]He is registered under the Latvala Motorsport banner, with Juho Hänninen confirmed as co-driver.
2021 - present
editOn the 18th of December 2020, it was announced Jari-Matti Latvala would become Team Principal at Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2021, to replaceTommi Mäkinen.[23]
In 2023, Latvala announced a one-off return to WRC competition at theRally Finlanddriving aToyota GR Yaris Rally1.[24]
Other ventures
editLatvala Motorsport
editJari-Matti Latvala also manages the private enterprise Latvala Motorsport with his wife and family, administered from a custom-built location in Tuuri. This is home to a museum of rally cars from his personal collection, memorabilia and official merchandise, a rentable business auditorium, and arally simulator.The facility is open to the public during the summer months.[25]
Personal life
editIn 2008, Latvala moved from Finland to Monaco. In 2020, he relocated toTuuri,Finland.[26]
Latvala was engaged to Finnish celebrityMaisa Torppafrom 2017 to 2019.[27]
WRC victories
edit# Event Season Co-driver Car 1 
57th Uddeholm Swedish Rally
2008 Miikka Anttila
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 2 
6º Rally d'Italia Sardegna
2009 Miikka Anttila
Ford Focus RS WRC 09 3 
40th Rally New Zealand
2010 Miikka Anttila
Ford Focus RS WRC 09 4 60º Rally Finland
2010 Miikka Anttila
Ford Focus RS WRC 09 5 67th Wales Rally GB
2011 Miikka Anttila
Ford Fiesta RS WRC 6 60th Rally Sweden
2012 Miikka Anttila
Ford Fiesta RS WRC 7 68th Wales Rally GB
2012 Miikka Anttila
Ford Fiesta RS WRC 8 
59th Acropolis Rally
2013 Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 9 62nd Rally Sweden
2014 Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 10 
34th Rally Argentina
2014 Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 11 64th Rally Finland
2014 Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 12 
Rallye de France-Alsace
2014 Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 13 
49° Vodafone Rally de Portugal
2015 Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 14 65th Rally Finland
2015 Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 15 58ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France
2015 Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 16 
30° Rally Guanajuato México
2016 Miikka Anttila
Volkswagen Polo R WRC 17 65th Rally Sweden
2017 Miikka Anttila
Toyota Yaris WRC 18 
27th Rally Australia
2018 Miikka Anttila
Toyota Yaris WRC
Results
editWRC results
editJWRC results
edit| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Ford Puma S1600 | MON Ret |
13th | 5 | ||||||
| Ford Fiesta S1600 | GRE Ret |
TUR Ret |
|||||||||
| Suzuki Ignis S1600 | FIN Ret |
GBR 4 |
ITA Ret |
ESP 9 |
PWRC results
edit| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | MON 5 |
MEX 9 |
ARG | GRE 6 |
JPN 9 |
CYP | AUS 1 |
NZL 1 |
4th | 27 |
References
edit- ^Cobb, Haydn (18 December 2020)."Latvala named Toyota WRC team principal after Makinen departure".autosport.Retrieved19 December2020.
- ^"Jari Latvala".RallyBase.Retrieved2007-02-18.
- ^"Jari-Matti Latvala, Suomi".MTV3(in Finnish). Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-30.Retrieved2007-02-18.
- ^abc"Jari-Matti Latvala".RallyBase.Retrieved2007-02-18.
- ^"Latvala 'so disappointed' to retire".Crash.net. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-02-06.Retrieved2007-02-18.
- ^"Chilling end for both Latvala and Wilson".Crash.net. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-30.Retrieved2007-02-18.
- ^"Latvala claims first WRC stage win".Superwheels. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-10-07.Retrieved2007-02-18.
- ^"Ford confirms line-up".Crash.net. 2007-12-17.Retrieved2007-12-18.
- ^"Puncture costs Latvala".Crash.net. 2008-01-24.Retrieved2008-02-11.
- ^"STOP PRESS: Latvala retires".Crash.net. 2008-01-26.Retrieved2008-02-11.
- ^"Latvala: It was a long, difficult weekend but..."Crash.net. 2008-01-28.Retrieved2008-02-11.
- ^"Latvala claims historic Swedish win".Autosport.2008-02-10.Retrieved2008-02-10.
- ^"Jari-Matti Latvala awarded 'Abu Dhabi Spirit Of The Rally'".WRC. 2008-02-12. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-04-12.Retrieved2008-02-16.
- ^"Latvala: Another win isn't a realistic aim for R3".Crash.net. 2008-02-24.Retrieved2008-03-02.
- ^"Latvala out to 'save' his podium".Crash.net. 2008-03-02.Retrieved2008-03-02.
- ^"World Rally Championship - News - SS17: Latvala wins Rally d'Italia - Sardegna!".wrc.Archived fromthe originalon 2010-01-16.
- ^"Latvala wins Rally of Sardinia in Ford 1–2".USA Today.2009-05-24.Retrieved2009-05-26.
- ^"Ford exit key to Lavala's VW move".Autosport.Haymarket Publications.18 October 2012.Retrieved19 October2012.
- ^"Jari-Matti Latvala:" The First Six Months We Won't Think About The Championship "".The Checkered Flag.January 18, 2019.
- ^"Sunday in Australia: Six of the best for Ogier".WRC.November 18, 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^"Sunday in Finland: Double delight for Tänak".WRC.August 4, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^"Ex-WRC driver Hanninen to co-drive for Latvala on 2020 Rally Sweden".autosport.January 14, 2020.
- ^"Latvala named Team Principal of Toyota - wrc".wrc.Retrieved2 January2020.
- ^"Latvala to drive Rally1 car on Rally Finland".dirtfish.DirtFish, LLC. 2 July 2023.Retrieved8 July2023.
- ^"Latvala Motorsport Oy Passion for Rallying".Latvalamotorsport.January 14, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 7,2020.
- ^Kanerva, Juha (12 December 2020)."Jari-Matti Latvala muuttaa takaisin Tuuriin – tyhjensi Monacon asuntonsa:" Olihan se surullinen hetki "".Ilta-Sanomat(in Finnish).Retrieved12 December2020.
- ^Kirssi, Elina (14 October 2019)."Jari-Matti Latvala ja Maisa Torppa erosivat lopullisesti:" Koska rakastamme toisiamme äärettömästi, annamme toistemme mennä "".Seura(in Finnish).Retrieved12 December2020.
External links
edit
- Official websiteArchived2019-05-23 at theWayback Machine
- Latvala Motorsport
- Profile at WRC