Toyota’s team manager Jari-Matti Latvala was satisfied with the weekend’s performance, even though Finland did not win.
According to Jari-Matti Latvala, Hyundai underestimates the performance of its car. PDO
Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala questioned the comments from the Hyundai team at the end of the Finnish World Cup rally during the week, according to which they had no chance against Toyota.
– Was a skillful tactical game played here? Was it the case that the car was better but different comments were made?
– Yes, to be honest, we went a little crazy, Latvala admitted.
According to the scoreboard, the underestimation was obvious, because in the end it was the fastest car in the race Ott Tänak too Hyundai.
– Tänakista saw that he was not interested in the series situation. They did everything to win the competition, Latvala praised his opponents.
– However, there can’t be a bad car in Jyväskylä if you win. You can’t run the whole series like that, but here it works now.
The success of the stable
Latvala said that he was satisfied with his team’s weekend, despite not winning.
– We lost the rally, but we will try to win the championship. That was the tactic we used here, Latvala said.
Toyota took the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th places in the rally. Latvala thought the performance of Kalle Rovanperä, who is firmly in the world championship, very reasonable.
– Kalle is a very smart young guy. He knew how to look at the whole and think about things in the longer term.
– I sensed from him that the attack required for victory was not there in Oittila. He interpreted the situation sensibly when the mood was not on, Latvala estimated.
Latvala, however, did so much that if Saturday had continued like the morning with a lot of rain, Rovanperä would probably have overtaken Tänak.
– On a slippery surface, Kalle would certainly have been able to close the gap. On a dry and fast road, we couldn’t make any difference.
In the Manufacturers’ World Series, Toyota continues to have an overwhelming lead, even though Tänak won. The World Series continues in two weeks in Belgium.