Latvala is pressure free for round three

Ford World Rally Team driver Jari-Matti Latvala says his Rally Sweden victory has removed all the pressure which landed on him when he left round one with no points following his crash on Rallye Monte-Carlo.

Latvala’s victory in Karlstad moved him straight into fourth place in the championship standings, helped him forget his troubled start to the season and drew praise from his former world champion team-mate Petter Solberg.

“Definitely,” said Latvala, “this result takes away the pressure from Monte Carlo - it has been lifted from the whole team. We went to Sweden to win the rally and we did that and this was especially important when [Sebastien] Loeb was not having such a good event. There was some moment when it was close near to the end, but eventually, everything was good for M-Sport and Ford’s 50th win. I’m glad I wasn’t thinking too much to that record on the last day, that could have brought more pressure!”

Solberg added: “Jari drove a great rally and brought the team’s first win of the season which is great for everybody. We are close to Citroen now and that’s the aim for this year, we want to beat them.”

Ford World Rally Team is 10 points adrift of Citroen World Rally Team going to Rally Mexico, while Latvala is 13 behind Loeb in the drivers’ championship.