Jari-Matti Latvala has vowed to put the accidents he has suffered on Vodafone Rally de Portugal in the past firmly behind him when he resumes his bid for world championship glory on the gravel roads of the Algarve this week.
The factory Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team ace is third in the drivers’ table on the back of podium finishes in Sweden and Mexico.
However, he has crashed out in Portugal on the last two occasions - including a terrifying multiple roll down a hillside in 2009 - and also overturned his car during a test in the country last month.
“Crashes are part of the sport and my accidents in Portugal are in the past,” said the 25-year-old from Finland. “I prefer to focus on the future rather than what happened previously. The accidents there in the past two years will not affect my performance.”
Despite his determination to put the crashes to the back of his mind, Latvala concedes Portugal is the most difficult gravel event of the season. “The roads are narrow with many blind crests,” said Latvala. “Trees and stones line the stages, both on the inside of corners where a driver looks to make cuts, and on the outside where a car slides wide if a driver approaches too quickly. The roads have a clay surface, which is hard in dry conditions and demanding on tyres. However, if it rains they quickly become muddy and slippery.”
Although Latvala is still adapting to his all-new Ford Fiesta RS WRC, his strong start to the year, allied to team-mate Mikko Hirvonen’s victory in Sweden and second place in Mexico, has enabled the Blue Oval to race into a 26-point lead in the manufacturers’ championship battle heading to Portugal. However, Ford has yet to win in Portugal since the country returned to the WRC in 2007 following a lengthy absence from the series.
To prepare for the event, Ford conducted a four-day test in Portugal last week with Hirvonen testing on Thursday and Friday and Latvala taking over for Saturday and Sunday.
Credit: World Rally Championship (www.wrc.com)
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