The rally hero told the Dirtfish website why his WRC career ended the way it did.
Jari-Matti Latvala told why the last full WRC season of his career ended sadly. Inka Soveri
Jari-Matti Latvala drove the last full-season rally in the World Series 2019. It didn’t go as planned. He finished seventh in the drivers’ World Championship points.
Now the rally hero tells to the Dirtfish sitewhy the WRC career ended in disappointment.
– I lost my passion for driving in 2019, Latvala reveals.
This was especially visible before the Games. Previously, Latvala had always been excited by a new competition, but in 2019 this was no longer the case. Competing for World Championship points didn’t feel like it was in the bottom of my stomach.
– That year it was difficult.
The lack of excitement was due to civil affairs. They are running in the man’s mind instead of the games.
– Then I had a hard time because of my personal relationships, but also with tax work. They got inside my head. And when I arrived at the venue, I wasn’t nervous anymore. It was a bad sign. You might think that’s a good thing, but it’s not.
Latvala broke up with his girlfriend in 2019 Maisa from Torpa. In addition, the man had major disagreements with the taxman. Rally matters were secondary at that time.
– When you are no longer excited, then the nervous feeling disappears. I lost my passion to compete. I understood it only after the season, Latvala says.
The man admits that he did not know how to handle the matter properly.
– If I could have handled the situation better, who knows if I would still be driving.
On the other hand, Latvala is also satisfied with his current situation. As Toyota’s team manager, he has won all the brand championships since 2021.
– When I’ve been in this job and seen the drivers and what they’re like and what they do, I’ve also realized my mistake, what I did.
– Even if I had continued driving, I probably wouldn’t have won the world championship because I would have needed a break to understand the mistakes I made, Latvala analyzed.
In 2023, Latvala returned to the World Rally Championship with Toyota, when he was able to drive the Finnish competition. The same thing happened again in the summer of 2024.
– In 2023, at the Finnish World Rally Championship, the old feeling came back for the first time. And in 2024 it came back even stronger.
With the good race feeling, Latvala wanted to make a comeback as a racing driver. It will happen next season, when he participates in the EC series of historic rallies of the International Automobile Sports Federation.
– One of my favorite cars has been the Toyota Celica ST185 and the year 1993, when Juha Kankkunen won the world championship. This has been one of my dreams to race that car. And now it will happen, Latvala says happily.
The EC series will take up so much time in the coming season that Latvala Toyota’s team manager’s work with Kankkunen.