26 Jun 12

Latvala: wins
will ease pain
of title setback

Jari-Matti Latvala has vowed to fight for as many victories as possible on the remaining six rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship after he conceded this year's drivers' title following a troubled Brother Rally New Zealand.

After topping the times on Thursday’s Qualifying Stage, the 27-year-old Finn was in third overall nearing the end of day one only to hit a hole in the road and spin into a fence where a wheel on his factory Ford Fiesta RS WRC became entangled in wire.

He fought back up to seventh position and bagged three bonus points by winning the event-closing Power Stage. But it wasn’t enough to prevent Citroen’s eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb moving 91 points clear of him in the drivers’ standings, a deficit Latvala believes is too great to make up.

“I struggled on Friday and after my spin I focused on testing,” said Latvala. “That brought some good ideas for the next round in Finland. Looking at the points, I have no chance for the drivers’ championship now but the main thing will be to keep fighting for victory on every rally. I started to regain my speed and confidence [on the final day] and I’m happy to earn bonus points for winning the Power Stage.”