Jari-Matti Latvala was over the moon to end the Rallye Monte Carlo with the runners-up spot, especially after having so little testing with the Toyota Yaris WRC machine.
Toyota are making their welcome return to the World Rally Championship in 2017 after an eighteen-year absence, and Finn Latvala and co-driver Miikka Antitila made the move to the squad after the Volkswagen WRC squad exited the championship at the conclusion of 2016.
Latvala was confirmed just after Christmas to join fellow Finn Juho Hanninen and very limited testing opportunities before his Monte Carlo bow, and was delighted to only finish behind his former Volkswagen team-mate Sebastien Ogier, who now races for the M-Sport team in a Ford Fiesta WRC.
“When you think where I was just over one month ago, before I made the deal with Toyota, I was worried I might not be driving in a factory team and now I am here and second in Monte Carlo – it’s incredible,” said Latvala to Autosport.
“I did so little testing before this rally, especially for these conditions, but I have learned during the event. We have a good car, a good team and very good potential.”
