While Toyota sat just a single point behind rival manufacturer Hyundai after the summer’s Tet Rally Latvia, that gap has mushroomed to 35 ahead of next week’s Rally Chile Bio Bío (26 - 29 September).
Latvala admitted EKO Acropolis Rally Greece had proved a tough moment for the team, with Hyundai locking out the podium with a one-two-three led by drivers’ championship leader Thierry Neuville.
“It was a tough weekend,” said Latvala. “Things went wrong for us and then went wrong again on the final day [when Sébastien Ogier rolled out of second place] and the final stage. Séb needed to try to win the [Wolf] Power Stage and the Sunday standings because with that we would have been able to recover some ground in the championship.
Thu 19 Sep 2024
Latvala: ‘We’ll keep fighting for WRC title’
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala has laid out his squad’s plan for the remaining three rounds of this year’s FIA World Rally Championship, with the defending title holder focusing on individual events.
“What happened in the last stage was unfortunate and we paid a big penalty for it, but at least Séb and Vincent [Landais, co-driver] could bring the car to the finish.”
Looking forward to the rest of the season, Latvala said the team would continue to battle for a fourth straight title and fifth in seven years.
“We keep fighting,” said Latvala. “We will not lose that spirit, and we’ll take it rally-by-rally and see what the results will be.”
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