Latvala tempted by WRC Finland comeback

Toyota Gazoo Racing team principal Jari-Matti Latvala is hoping he can land a second successive outing in a GR Yaris Rally1 at this year’s Secto Rally Finland.

The Finn was back in the sport’s big time to drive a Rally1 car competitively for the first time on his home round of the WRC in 2023 and now he wants another shot at August’s Jyväskylä-based event.

He is talking to Toyota senior management about the outing. Latvala admitted he had hoped to drive one of last year’s world title-winning cars on his home round of the Finnish Rally Championship, last weekend’s SM Tuuri Ralli.

“We are talking about what is possible,” he said. “Let’s see what we can do. We had some discussions about using the car on my home rally, but it was not possible due to the Safari test schedule.

“It would, of course, be really nice to go back to [Secto Rally] Finland again.”

Latvala is a three-time Secto Rally Finland winner and last season – on his maiden competitive Rally1 outing – he brought the hybrid-powered Yaris home in fifth place.

His outing on his local rally last weekend wasn’t quite so successful: unable to run a factory car, he wheeled out his own Celica Turbo 4WD and rolled into retirement after cutting a corner fractionally too tight.