The World Rally Championship in Greece has been dark for Toyota.
Jari-Matti Latvala did not hide his disappointment. Vesa Pöppönen/AOP
The driving day of Toyota’s rally team on Saturday in the World Rally Championship in Greece was violently minor.
Kalle Rovanperä broke his car and dropped out of the points. Esapekka Lappi on the other hand, had to stop due to a technical fault.
The worst rival, Hyundai, has a triple lead in the rally, as the best Toyota driver Elfyn Evans is fourth in the race, 7.1 seconds behind the third From Dani Sordo.
– In this rally, I knew how to mentally prepare for the challenges, but it always feels bad when your own cars fall away, Toyota’s team manager Jari-Matti Latvala said.
Latvala also opened up about the reasons for Lapland’s suspension.
– What happened to Esapeka, he had a problem with the fuel supply and the engine did not get fuel. That’s why he had to stop, Latvala said.
– I knew that the day would still come when everything doesn’t go according to plan. Saturday has been such a day. It feels bad, of course, but this is the spirit of the game. In motorsport, you have to understand that not everything always goes according to plan.
Keeping the lead
The Rovanperä rally was a success on Saturday. PDO
Tänak is once again catching up with Rovanperä in the World Series, but despite the problems in Greece, the Finnish driver’s lead is still noticeable.
Latvala feels that Rovanperä will not take the pressure of two consecutive zero games.
– Unfortunately, Kalle has now made two mistakes, but they are bound to happen. It’s inevitable that sometimes those mistakes will happen. Unfortunately, now there have been two in a row, Latvala said.
– Kalle is very calm. I’m sure he won’t take too much pressure from the situation.