Jari-Matti Latvala wants to use Rally Finland this weekend to make his season “take a more positive turn like last year”.
Latvala heads into his home event after a poor start to the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship where he has taken a best result of fifth on both Rallye Monte Carlo and Rally Argentina and the Finn wants that to change beginning this weekend.
He said ahead of his home event: “These are the roads where I feel at home, and I always get a lot positive support during the week of the rally. Last year, it’s where our season took a more positive turn with a podium finish and I hope we can do similar this time.”
“The speed is there on gravel, we know that from the last few events, so now we just need to try and secure a good result.”
He added: “I’ve had a good summer break and I’m feeling ready to restart the season on Rally Finland. I tried to have some time away from rallying, but we also had a couple of days of testing to prepare for this event, and it’s always enjoyable to be back driving on fast gravel roads here in Finland.”
The Finn has won his home event twice in the past in both 2014 and 2015 while he drove for the Volkswagen Motorsport team.
Round nine of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship begins on Thursday evening and continues throughout this weekend.
