Rally1 Finland drive an important learning exercise, says Latvala

Latvala is making his Rally1 debut on the ninth round of the competition in Toyota Gazoo Racing’s fourth GR Yaris and has had the opportunity to familiarise himself with it during a test this week.

The agreement between the 38-year-old Finn and team chairman Akio Toyoda means the latter will take on the role of Team Principal and oversee operations from the service park in Jyväskylä.

In recent weeks, World Rally Championship representatives have been working closely with the FIA to identify the best way to either evolve or potentially move beyond the current rules for top-flight Rally1 cars.

These rely on a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an onboard 100kW energy recovery system that has been developed by German-based company, Compact Dynamics. Combined, the two power sources send over 500 horsepower to the car’s four wheels.

Latvala played his part in helping shape Toyota’s Rally1 challenger, but this week’s Rally Finland is the first time he will have driven it in anger – something he has previously indicated he wanted to do.

“We are here to enjoy but at the same time learn about the future and what we will do in the World Rally Championship,” said Latvala, who has scored 18 career victories, 67 podium finishes and 539 fastest stage times with M-Sport Ford, Volkswagen Motorsport and Toyota Gazoo Racing.

“That way I can understand the drivers’ views and communicate that to the FIA and the Promoter for when we move towards the new regulations. How are the cars now and what is the future?”

Based on the time he has already spent in the GR Yaris, Latvala believes the core ingredients that make up the Rally1 formula are along the correct lines, particularly the ability to pick up and scrub off speed. As one of the fastest rounds in the World Rally Championship, he can expect to experience the former a lot in Finland.

“When you start a stage, you have 12 seconds of hybrid power,” he said. “I can tell you going into the first corner you really feel the car is going extremely fast because you are going close 200kph and you have the power to keep it [the speed that high] so when you come to the first corner with hybrid you have to start thinking about braking early because you really have a lot of speed.

“Then, after that, when the [hybrid] boost comes in, it is more predictable, there are no surprises. It’s just the first time when you launch and you carry that speed you realise there’s a lot of power.”

He added: “The weather can be quite challenging, I think there is going to be some rain, and the small roads can become quite rutted, so that is one of the challenges. The second challenge is that when we start to see our stage times [we might start to think], ‘is it bad or is it good’?”