Latvala inspired by McRae onboards
Volkswagen’s Jari-Matti Latvala says onboard videos of Colin McRae have helped rebuild his motivation ahead of the upcoming Rally Argentina (23-26 April).
The Finn sought inspiration after no-scores on the rounds in Sweden and Mexico dented his title hopes and left him trailing championship leader Sébastien Ogier by 62 points after three rounds.
Interviewed for the new WRC ‘Regroup’ podcast, Latvala said he felt revitalised after a holiday in the six weeks since Rally Guanajuato Mexico, and that watching the 1995 world Champion had reignited his determination on the stages.
“When you are going on a holiday, you are in a completely different environment, with different things to do and see. For two weeks I didn’t think about rally,” he told WRC Live presenter Becs Williams.
“Then I had a one day test in Spain. I got back in the car and it felt really good. Then just a week ago I was watching a classic onboard from the 90s with Colin McRae in a Subaru Impreza WRC and a Ford Focus WRC. And you look, and you think, ‘wow - I want to do it like that. I want to do the stages like he’s doing - those perfect stages when everything goes so well. I want to do that!’”
“Okay, it’s been a very, very hard time. When you do two mistakes in a row it’s mentally hard,” he added. “But I’ve had a good break and I’m motivated to come back to Argentina and start driving - going for good results again and trying to get myself back in the fight.”
Hear more from Latvala, including how he plans to turn his season around, in the Regroup podcast. This episode also features Hayden Paddon, who shares his thoughts on his time in the top flight of WRC, and interviews with new Australian WRC2 crew Scott Pedder and Dale Moscatt.
After some McRae inspiration yourself? Here's a classic from 2001.
