Jari-Matti Latvala finished WRC Finland 2026 as the fastest Rally2 driver with a 21.4-second victory, while Robert Virves claimed the official WRC2 win because Latvala was not nominated to score championship points.
The result carried particular significance for Latvala as his home event marked his first WRC appearance of the season. The Toyota Team Principal improved on his runner-up finish from 12 months earlier, when he lost out to Roope Korhonen by just 1.1 seconds after a close battle.
“It feels incredible. I didn’t get to end my career the way I wanted to, so I thought I’d like to win something at WRC level again,” Latvala said. “Even if this is a lower category, it has been an incredible battle against young and very fast drivers.”
Latvala moved into the lead during Saturday afternoon’s loop before starting the final day with a 13.4-second advantage. He extended that margin to 20.3 seconds by setting the fastest time on the first pass through Himos-Jämsä, underlining the effectiveness of his preparation for the decisive stages.
Latvala admitted he had prepared meticulously the previous evening by studying footage of the stage. “I was really nervous this morning. I spent a lot of time yesterday preparing for this stage. I watched videos in the evening and again this morning,” he said. He also praised co-driver Juho Hänninen for helping him maintain the right mindset throughout the rally.
On the second run through Himos-Jämsä, Latvala finished 5.1 seconds behind the stage winner, but his existing advantage was sufficient to secure the outright Rally2 victory by 21.4 seconds. However, because he was not registered to score WRC2 points in Finland, the official category victory went to Virves.
The WRC2 battle changed after Teemu Suninen received a 30-second penalty for failing to stop at the scene of Patrick Enok’s accident on SS11 Parkkola 1. The sanction dropped Suninen from first to second in the WRC2 classification and opened the way for Virves to take the victory.
The Finland result preserves Virves’ perfect record from his four WRC2 scoring appearances this season, with four victories from four starts. “It’s a strange feeling. It was a long weekend and everyone had some kind of problem. If this is the reward we get from it, we’ll gladly take it,” Virves said.
Baca Juga
Teemu Suninen dan Janni Hussi kehilangan posisi terdepan WRC2 Finlandia 2026 setelah menerima penalti 30 detik terkait prosedur keselamatan di SS11.
Jari-Matti Latvala memburu kemenangan Rally2 di WRC Finlandia 2026, tetapi mengingatkan dirinya agar tidak terlalu agresif saat mengejar Robert Virves.
Teemu Suninen mengkritik masalah ban setelah puncture di WRC Finland 2026 membuatnya kehilangan lebih dari 30 detik dan menjauh dari pimpinan WRC2.
Lanjutkan dengan Google
Diskusi & Komentar (0)
Mari Bergabung dalam Diskusi!
Masuk dengan mudah untuk mulai memberikan komentar, membalas, dan berinteraksi dengan pembaca lainnya.
Komentar Terbaru
Belum ada komentar. Jadilah yang pertama!