Q&A with Jari-Matti Latvala

Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala takes a lead of 23 seconds into the final day of Rally Sweden, after extending his margin over Citroen’s Mikko Hirvonen following an intense battle over Saturday’s eight stages.

WRC.com caught up with him as he ate his dinner at a chilly Hagfors service park to ask him how it had gone:

Congratulations on a great day. You must be really pleased with the result?

JML: “It’s good to have this lead but I really didn’t extend it much today and most of all it was nice to have a good fight. It was just a really fun day driving the car. We made the right decisions with the tyres and no big mistakes. Really it was the second run of the Sagen stage that was decisive for us because that was the biggest advantage over Mikko Hirvonen that we had all day.”

What was the condition of the stages?

JML: “I have seen them better and I have seen them worse, but it was important to look after your tyres so that you would not lose too much time at the end of the loop: this was the key thing. That’s something I think we did well today and it will be important tomorrow as well.”

Was it fun to fight with Mikko in different teams, after so many years of being team mates?

JML: “Definitely! We are still good friends but there is a bit more banter now: we wind each other up more instead of talking about set-ups. He’s been pushing me very hard and I’m sure that he will continue to do so tomorrow. I think he has enjoyed the fight as much as I have, and it’s been very good for the spectators too. But in the end I am determined to try and win: this was where I won my first WRC rally and it’s very special to me.”

How safe is your 23-second lead?

JML: “I wouldn’t say it was safe at all. Tomorrow we still have six stages and absolutely anything can happen, particularly on the second loop when the roads are not in perfect condition. Mikko is the biggest threat I could have behind me because he has won the rally for the last two years and he is incredibly fast here. So it means that I’m going to have to be flat-out all the way to the finish.”