Latvala wins for the Finns

03.08.14

Local heroes Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila restored Finnish honours on their home round of the FIA World Rally Championship by taking victory in Neste Oil Rally Finland. After a nail-biting battle that went down to the final stage, the Volkswagen Motorsport crew racked up a win for the Finns on home soil for the first time since 2010. Team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia fought to the end and ultimately finished just 3.7 seconds adrift. Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle equalled their best result of the season by claiming third in the Citroën DS3 WRC.

Today’s route was by far the shortest, covering just 36.60 competitive kilometres over three stages, culminating in the Power Stage. After his brake problems of yesterday, Latvala started the day with a slim 3.4 second advantage. He won the first stage and while Ogier took honours in the final two stages - including maximum points for the Power Stage win - Latvala’s determination to claim his third win of the season, and most importantly the home victory, remained steadfast. An utterly dominant performance, in which he led from start to finish, rewarded him with his 11th world rally victory and the honour of flying the flag for Finland. Meeke has put in a fine performance, consistently mixing times with the Volkswagen drivers, to claim his third podium this year.

In the FIA World Rally Championship, Volkswagen drivers continue to control the leaderboard with Ogier, Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen topping the table. The German marque also heads the Manufacturers’ Championship with a commanding 175 point lead over the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team going into their home round later this month.

Behind the leading trio, Mikkelsen finished a comfortable fourth ahead of Mikko Hirvonen. Juho Hänninen and Elfyn Evans moved two places up the leaderboard when Hayden Paddon was slowed by power steering problems. He ultimately finished eighth after an impressive performance. Craig Breen was the only leading retirement today, the Irish driver forced to withdraw after hurting his back on one of the notorious jumps.

The ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship takes the contenders to Germany for the first true tarmac round of the series, ADAC Rallye Deutschland (21-24 August).

Neste Oil Rally Finland – Final Unofficial Results (subject to scrutineering)

1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila	Volkswagen Polo R WRC	2hr 57min 23.2sec
2. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia	Volkswagen Polo R WRC	2hr 57min 26.8sec
3. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle	Citroën DS3 WRC	2hr 58min 13.8sec
4. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene	Volkswagen Polo R WRC	2hr 59min 15.7sec
5. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	3hr 00min 12.9sec
7. Juho Hänninen/Tomi Tuominen	Hyundai i20 WRC	3hr 01min 52.2sec
8. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	3hr 02min 49.0sec
6. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard	Hyundai i20 WRC	3hr 03min 41.0sec
9. Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor	Ford Fiesta RS WRC	3hr 09min 30.2sec
10. Karl Kruuda/Martin Jarveoja	Ford Fiesta S2000	3hr 12min 07.9sec

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers (after 8 of 13 rounds)

Sébastien Ogier (FRA)	187 points
Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN)	143 points
Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)	95 points
Mads Østberg (NOR)	66 points
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)	62 points
Kris Meeke (GBR)	54 points
Thierry Neuville (BEL)	46 points
Elfyn Evans (GBR)	42 points
Martin Prokop (CZE)	31 points
Henning Solberg (NOR)	26 points
Juho Hänninen (FIN)	20 points
Bryan Bouffier (FRA)	18 points
Robert Kubica (POL)	12 points
Ott Tanak (EST)	10 points
Benito Guerra (MEX)	8 points
Hayden Paddon (NZL)	8 points
Chris Atkinson (AUS)	6 points
Pontus Tidemand (SWE)	4 points
Jaroslav Melicharek (SVK)	4 points
Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)	3 points
Lorenzo Bertelli (ITA)	2 points
Matteo Gamba (ITA)	2 points
Craig Breen (IRL)	2 points
Yuriy Protasov (UKR)	2 points
Jari Ketomaa (FIN)	1 point
Karl Kruuda (EST)	1 point
Khalid Al Qassimi (ARE)	1 point

FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers (after 8 of 13 rounds)

Volkswagen Motorsport	305 points
Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team	130 points
M-Sport World Rally Team	106 points
Volkswagen Motorsport II	94 points
Hyundai Motorsport	88 points
Jipocar Czech National Team	34 points
RK M-Sport World Rally Team	21 points
Hyundai Motorsport N	12 points

Latvala wins for the Finns

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