RallySport Magazine November 2016

INTERVIEW: JARI-MATTI LATVALA
LATVALA TALKS TEAM-MATES A
The day before the start of
Wales Rally GB, Volkswagen
team driver Jari-Matti Latvala
was talking about his rally life
at VW, unaware of the shock
withdrawal announcement
that his team would make
after the event was over.
Clearly this had been an already
difficult season for Jari-Matti up to then,
and it was suddenly going to get very
much worse. First of all, JM told us
about his season leading up to Wales
Rally GB.
JML: It hasn’t just been an unlucky
year. It is a combination of many
different things going wrong for me this
year.
It already started wrong going off the
road in Monte Carlo, and then I had
some technical problems in Sweden. I
tried to fight back in Mexico, but it was
looking good in Argentina. We were
leading the rally, but then a damper
came through the bonnet and we
crashed, and so on.
It was turning into a “good rally-bad
rally” season and when all the time it is
like that you cannot create consistency.
It started to get really frustrating
after Germany when I had a gearbox
problem. My motivation was down.
Then I didn’t get my longed-for good
performance in Corsica. I can tell you
that this year more things have been
happening than ever in my season.
MH: Working as teammate with Sebastien Ogier
and Andreas Mikkelsen has provided a unique
VW’s withdrawal from
the WRC came as a
shock to everyone -
even team mechanics.
78 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2016
By MARTIN HOLMES
close-up glimpse of two other great drivers in
action. What makes four times World Champion
Sebastien so special?
JML: Sebastien really wants to win,
he has a big passion for winning. He
is very motivated to win rallies. Then
there is his ability to save the tyres, he
is very easy on the tyres. His driving
style is very straight line, which also
reduces risks of hitting things.
He is very, very talented driver, and
I think his success is just many, many
little things coming together - there are
so many little things where he is very
good. But tyre management is one of
those things, but it is not telling the
whole story.
I think another big thing is his ability
to feel in the changing conditions. He
can adapt to changing conditions very
well.
MH: Tyre management has been one of the
main rallying characteristics for many years now.
What is the trick in good tyre management?
JML: To succeed in tyre management
I think the trick starts with braking.
You must ensure you are gentle, that
you don’t brake too aggressively. I
think that is where the most benefit is
coming from.
On the other hand you must also
control the acceleration coming out
from the corner, reducing spinning the
wheels with your throttle. See if you
can start to accelerate earlier. And I
have always been quite hard on the
braking.
I think next year the cars will be
different because in a way they will be
a small step back to the old days where
you must be more aggressive with the
car. You will have to play with the car
more to get the most out of them.
MH: And Andreas, what do you think is his
great skill?
JML: I think Andreas physically is
the fittest driver in the whole rally
championship. It is a very good help for
him. He is very good in the fast special
stages and soft surfaces.
On rallies like Poland he is extremely
good. There are still maybe a couple of
events like Rally Finland that have been
difficult for him. If you want to win the
title you have to be able to perform well
on all the surfaces and that is the same
with me. There are a few rallies where I
need to improve.
MH: Even though you are only 31 years old, you
are the most experienced driver currently in the
WRC. The required driving styles have changed
a lot since you started. Is extensive experience
an advantage, or a confusion having to keep
changing your way of driving?
JML: For sure I have a lot of
experience in rallying, it is not a bad
thing, it is not a disadvantage. For sure
there are some bad habits that you
have to keep unlearning.
One of the things that has been
difficult for me is when I had to unlearn
driving the cars sideways. They were
difficult days trying to learn straight line
driving.
MH: Will the new cars be easier for more
experienced drivers or for younger drivers to
adapt to?
JML: I think experience with the old
World Rally Cars, the 2-litre turbo cars,
will help. The feeling with the 2017 cars
is similar to what we had with those
cars. I think if you jump only from a
1.6-litre WRC to next year the step will
be even bigger.
- The devastating announcement
about Volkswagen’s rallying future has
put Latvala’s expectations for 2017 on
ice, but it was interesting to hear what
he had been expecting from the 2017
cars. -
JML: Managing tyres will be more
difficult next year. With more power
you always have more tyre wear.
When we increase the power it will be
necessary to increase the number of
tyres we are allowed to use. We will
have 60 or so horsepower more to
handle, so we will have more tyre wear.