Latvala confirms Rallye du Var bid

Jari-Matti Latvala’s bid for the 2012 World Rally Championship is already underway after the Finn was entered for Rallye du Var, the final round of the French championship from 24-27 November.

The asphalt event uses terrain similar to that found on Rallye Monte-Carlo, which will open the 2012 season from 17-22 January.

Although Latvala’s factory Ford team has yet to confirm its participation in the WRC beyond the end of this year, Latvala said the outing would be invaluable preparation.

“We have been speaking about Var and it looks like we’re going to go there,” Latvala told Wrc.com. “The team is preparing for Monte Carlo even though we don’t have a contract with Ford. But when it comes then we are ready for Monte Carlo.”

Sebastien Ogier, who is set to battle Latvala for next year’s world crown providing he secures a driver for 2012 following his departure from Citroen, has previous Rallye du Var experience and said his rival could gain an advantage by taking part on the event in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

“I have done it one time last year with a Citroen DS3 R3,” said Ogier. “But I have no plan for this year’s rally. It’s good preparation for Monte Carlo for sure. It’s a very twisty rally but it’s on Tarmac and I don’t know if they have a lot of testing days left so maybe it’s an opportunity to drive.”