Jari-Matti Latvala was always the most upfront of drivers. When he made a mistake, he called it. He hid behind nobody and told it the way it was.
Nothing’s changed. Was allowing Kalle Rovanperä to take the year off a mistake?
“Yes, we would have been stronger to have three [full-time] drivers during the full championship,” he confessed to DirtFish.
“We knew the start of the season was going to be challenging on this topic, but, of course, we have realized it now.”
Sensing where the conversation’s going, Latvala’s quick to counter: “But, saying no to Kalle, I think would have paid negatively to his motivation. For all fans and people in WRC it was a bummer to see Kalle on half a season, but with the time he’s had to relax he will come back stronger.
“I think the decision for Kalle to do what he wanted this year will help bring him the motivation to fight with us for years into the future.
Latvala has no regrets letting Kalle Rovanperä do a part-time season
“It’s been a weakness for us this year that we haven’t had those three drivers to fight for the championship. We need this [next season].”
Last week’s Acropolis was undoubtedly the nadir of what has so far been something of an annus horribilis for Toyota. Latvala admits, however, that he might have been a bit quick to write his team’s title hopes off.
“I was maybe a little bit too frustrated when I was talking with Luke [Barry, DirtFish],” he said. “Those first comments were soon after [the powerstage]. Thinking more on it now, it’s not over and we definitely have not given up.
“We go out and we try to win every one of the last three events. If the opportunity comes up then we will very definitely take it. We go event-by-event and step-by-step and we think only to the rallies, we don’t think about the championship. Nothing is impossible here.”
