Q&A with Jari-Matti Latvala after Rally Sweden

Jari-Matti Latvala’s victory in Sweden marked the 50th World Rally Championship win for the Ford and M-Sport partnership since it started in 1997.

Sweden was also the place where the Finn took his very first world championship win in 2008, when he became the youngest driver ever to triumph on a WRC round. So this rally win is very special to Latvala, as he explained back in Rally HQ at Karlstad...

There was a drama on the final afternoon of the rally when you picked up a puncture: how did you cope?

JML: "I think I need to get to hospital to check my heart rate... it’s incredible how exciting this sport can get. We had a good lead on Saturday night, but then it changed like a thunderstorm and we only had an eight-second lead at the end. I knew Mikko would push and we really had to go hard, but then we managed to take another four seconds on the penultimate stage, so we could breathe a little bit! To win here for the second time felt very special; the feeling now is just a big relief."

So was it maximum attack through those last two stages?

JML: "Yes. I got zero points in Monte Carlo and I knew Sebastien Loeb was not having a great weekend. Points-wise, this was very important and so there was a lot of pressure. The team has done so much good work and there was no way I was going to disappoint them. I needed to make it work. Somebody mentioned to me yesterday that it was going to be the 50th win for Ford with M-Sport, but I tried just to put that to the back of my head and concentrate on the job I needed to do."

Does this result make up for the disappointment of retiring from Monte Carlo?

JML: "Of course, things would be different if I had taken away points from Monte Carlo but we have to forget it. That’s history, and I’ve already learned from it. This victory takes the pressure away from the disappointment of Monte: it feels like a heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders now. I’ve learned to stay calm when things go wrong and that paid dividends."

What is your aim this season?

JML: "I guess our target is to really challenge Citroen in the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships. I will be 27 years old and driving more than 100 rallies now so I need to be in the position to fight for the drivers’ title. It’s a long year and many things can happen, but if I can beat these guys then it’s okay whatever happens!"