In Jyväskylä, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda will replace Latvala as team manager. Expert Henri Haapamäki believes that the arrangement will not affect the team’s success in the competition.
Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala announced on Monday that he will compete with the team’s car in the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship.
Sports expert Henri Haapamäki I don’t remember a similar situation where the team manager would jump behind the wheel of a World Championship rally car.
– I’m not a statistics fanatic, but such situations do not appear in recent memory. There aren’t many team managers who you can put behind the wheel of a Rally1 car and expect to drive right behind the hottest front.
Latvala told to the Dirtfish site that he is satisfied with the rankings 5–10 in Jyväskylä.
Haapamäki thinks that Latvala will fight for places 5–7. Latvala has time to test the car for one day on the Monday before the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä. There are a few top players in the World Rally Championship, who would be surprising to beat.
– If we think, for example Kalle Rovanperää, so I would say that about a second per kilometer comes into the jacket. It would be a real surprise if Latvala were to fully reach base time speed, says Haapamäki.
– Cars and guys develop all the time. The level of the drivers who drive Rally1 cars almost every day is tuned to the top. It would be special if the team manager comes after a few years of retirement and pulls the marks on everyone’s back.
Latvala, who has driven more than 200 MM rallies in his career, works as a map reader in Jyväskylä Juho Hänninen. The two have worked together successfully in Historic rallies. The duo won, for example, the 2022 competition organized in Lahti.
– Latvala has gotten himself and Hänninen into a strong state of ecstasy in the Historic rallies. If he gets to such a place in Jyväskylä, he can go really hard there in places, Haapamäki reminds.
– They go there to enjoy themselves. There is absolutely no pressure that you have to succeed now, make the best finish of your career or drive from the stable position. Now you can have fun. Surely there is a smile on his face, even if he is eighth or tenth.
Latvala ended his career in 2019 and still drove the Swedish World Rally Championship 2020 as a rental driver for Toyota. In 2022, the cars in the World Series changed from WRC drivers to Rally1 cars equipped with Hybrid engines. According to Haapamäki, the cars haven’t changed much in the end games, but there are differences.
– There is somewhat more power now. The flex distances are shorter, so yes, you will definitely feel it in the car to some degree. Maybe it’s just a good thing that there’s been a break, because if you jump directly from WRC to a Rally1 car with a slightly lower level of shock absorption, there could be surprises.
Boss sucks
Latvala’s place as team manager is Toyota’s CEO in Jyväskylä Akio Toyoda. Haapamäki believes that the arrangement will not affect the team’s success in Jyväskylä at least negatively.
– It can be a really good bet to get some new winds and perspectives in the middle of the season. With Jari-Mat, the steps have certainly been agreed on how things will be handled.
According to Haapamäki, the opportunity Latvala received is a great indication of a well-managed team manager’s work.
Latvala never won the World Rally Championship in his career and he was harshly criticized at times.
– These speeches have been forgotten. He has shown his skills as a team manager and created a really successful concept. I believe that everyone is behind Jari-Mat’s back to get him a great result and a memory of this rally, says Haapamäki.
The Jyväskylä World Cup Rally will be held on the 3rd-6th. August. conveys the atmosphere from the spot in the application and on the rally tracks.