SS21: Stage win for Latvala

Jari-Matti Latvala has gone fastest on the penultimate stage of the Acropolis Rally, round six of the FIA World Rally Championship powered by Nokia.

Latvala was 0.1s quicker than fellow Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver Mads Ostberg to strengthen his grip on third place in the overall standings. “It was good for us, I was pushing when the road was good but when it was rough I wasn’t,” said the Finn.

After going 1.0s faster than Thierry Neuville, Ostberg said: “You have to survive on this rally because the stages are very hard and very rough. I am pleased to be here.”

Mikko Hirvonen set the fourth-best time for the factory Citroen team with Ott Tanak reporting one wide moment on a hairpin on his way to the fifth quickest time in his M-Sport Fiesta.

Martin Prokop said he was doing his best to reach the finish and bag more world championship points, while Armindo Araujo is continuing to adapt a cautious approach in his WRC Team MINI Portugal entry.

Abdulaziz Alkuwari completed the stage with a punctured front-left tyre on his MINI John Cooper Works WRC. He lost more than one minute in the process but remains in 10th place in the overall standings.

Nicolas Fuchs, who had been dominating the Production Car World Rally Championship category, is still stationary at the finish of the previous stage with damaged rear suspension.