It
was a great day for Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila, a great day for
Volkswagen, and a great day for Finland. The reason for this was obvious as for
the first time in four years, a Finnish duo triumphed in their home event in
the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).
Latvala/Anttila
won ‘their’ rally in the Polo R WRC in clinching victory over their teammates
Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) by just 3.6 seconds. Volkswagen’s
excellent team success in the toughest rally of the year was rounded off by
Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) finishing in fourth place overall. With this
performance, Volkswagen equalled its best team result to date in the WRC, which
it set at Rally Argentina in May.
The
rally is known as ‘Formula 1 in the forest’. The win also marked the twelfth
consecutive rally win for the Wolfsburg-based team, and is also its eighth win
in the current season. Ahead of Rally Germany, Volkswagen is poised to clinch
all three WRC championship titles – for the manufacturer, the driver and the
co-driver.
Dr
Heinz-Jakob Neußer, Volkswagen Board Member for Technical Development, who was
in Finland to support the Volkswagen team said that it was a fantastic weekend
at Rally Finland with Jari-Matti Latvala and Sébastien Ogier dominating 25 of
the 26 special stages. The final day of the rally couldn’t have been more
exciting, he said.
Rally
Finland is considered to be the mother of all WRC rallies. This year, the rally
was very much all about Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila and their Volkswagen
teammates Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia, with 25 of the 26 possible best
times being scored by one or the other of the two Volkswagen duos. Rivals who
kept pace were Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL, Citroën), who picked up one
fastest time and finished in third place overall.