Latvala Motorsport
Contests 2004 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007World Championship ralliesPropecia Rally Australia 11-14.11.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. My first time with group N Mitsubishi. On Friday morning`s first stage gearbox broke down after 3 km. We drove stages 2 and 3 on second gear, but then bent axle damaged and we retired. We had a chance to continue on Saturday and Sunday. We drove with normal gearbox. It required a bit learning but driving improved stage by stage. On last stage we drove 10th fastest time. Good ending to very difficult year. retirement Mitsubishi Evo VIII Rally Catalunya, Spain 29-31.10.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. Last round of JWRC. On first SS we had fourth fastest time. On third stage I run wide in one corner and rear hit to parapet. Luckily only exhaust pipe and after-hatch were damaged. On stage 6 I hit again to parapet. Supporting arm twisted and drive shaft snapped. We would have lost lots of time, but driver ahead us had driven off and blocked the road. So rally was stopped for a while but it was only a good thing for us. Everyone got compensated time. Saturday went well, we raised 4th. On sunday we chose wrong tyres again, but luckily we kept our position. On third last stage we slided to the ditch and hit to rock. We drove 50 km with damaged steering. After that front tyres wore out and we had to change them on stage. 22nd overall, JWRC 9th Suzuki Ignis 1600cc Rally Corsica, France 15-17.10.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. My first time in Corsica, what is known for it´s curvy roads. I was near to drive off already on first stage. After that I learned how to brake in this rally. By the end of stages on saturday, we were 5th in group N. On sunday I made an error and choose wrong tyres and we fell sixth. On two last stages we had two punctures and we had to change both of the tyres in the middle of special stage. Embarrasing end to this event. 27th overall, group N 8th Subaru Impreza WRX STI Rally Sardinia, Italy 1-3.10.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. We got a really good time in shakedown, so we were confident. Our tactic was to save tyres. There is regulation in JWRC which set limits to amount of tyres. So there is no room for punctures. We were well prepared, so it was a big disappointment, when rear suspension broke down on first stage. And no-one knows why. retirement SS1 Suzuki Ignis 1600 cc. Wales Rally GB 17-19.9.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. Clutch broke down already on 2nd stage. In service after SS4 it was repaired. On friday´s last stage we had a puncture and lost some time. On saturday car worked well. Only one puncture slowed us down. On sunday we had two good stage times. By the end of the day control arm tore apart from body. So we had to slow down. This was first time in this year in Junior Championship we drove to the finish line. 23rd overall, JWRC 4th Suzuki Ignis 1600 cc. Adac Rallye Deutschland 20-22.8.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. This was asfalt rally. We were aware that this rally is going to be a hard one if weather varies. Predictions turned out to be true already on the first day´s morning. Driving was extremely hard because of rain. There was an lot of mud on the road. Our rally began relatively well. We were 8th in group N and gaps were small. Great start ended to breaking down of driveshaft on stage 6. We had to drive 2 and half stages with broken drive shaft. We lost lot of time. On next day we tried too hard and we had two punctures. Other one we changed on stage and lost again time. On third day it was dry and everything went well. We got some good times. It was a difficult rally. 27th overall, class 13th Subaru Impreza WRX STI Neste Rally Finland 6-8.8.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. We had a competitive car. We started cautiously the two first stages. Then I decided to go faster on stage 3, Mökkiperä. But I did a fatal error. I didn´t brake in one slope and we ended to the ditch. My disappointment was overwhelming, because we had to retire before the rally even started. Retirement SS3 Suzuki Ignis 1600cc Rally of Turkey 25-27.6.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. Our team had been working a lot with the car, so we were confident. On first stage car overheated a bit, yet we were on the right tracks when the speed was concerned. On next stage began mystical running malfunctions. Rally was over on stage 4, when I drove too fast over the hill. Underpan hit to the ground, causing a puncture to water hose and water ran out. Retirement SS4 Ford Fiesta Acropolis Rally 4-6.6.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. We had new Fiesta. I was 6th and 7th fastest on two first stages, so everything seemed to go well. But after that various problems started to bother us. Then on saturday clutch broke down. However we could continue on sunday due to new super rally regulation. After two stages we had to retire when charger failed. Retirement SS11 Ford Fiesta Uddeholm Swedish Rally 5-8.2.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. We took part in the rally with a new car. There was little time to test the car before the rally and only managed to test of 40 kilometres and that was our base to compete in group N. I had a very cautious first stage but felt much more confident going into stage two and increased my pace. My confidence in the car was building but when we go to service oil leak was found from the engine. There was nothing we could do and our rally was over. Retirement SS2 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo 22-25.1.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. Rally started catastrophicly. On road section to first stage, car engine started to malfunction and it continued during first stage. A little before halfway it stopped altogether. After really serious hunt we found the problem. Fault was in ECU, which was full of water. We suspected it was result of yesterday´s car wash. We lost time over 20 minutes and we dropped to the last in the race. After that we just tried to drive good stage times and made it too in some of them. On Sunday we made a fatal tyre choice. We presumed there is ice in road and we chose studded tyres in the front and slicks to the rear. When the road was dry, I drove too hard to tight curve and we hit slightly the cliff wall and broke front suspension. Irritating end to this difficult rally. Retirement SS12 Ford Puma. International ralliesAdriatico Rally, Italy (gravel) 10-11.9.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. This rally was a round of Italian Rally Championship. Start was excellent. We were 4th overall on first stage. Car was working and driving felt good. After first leg we were 6th, we dropped down due to dust problems. The beginning of second day went as good as first one and we raised even 4th place. But after wrong tyre choise, we were again 5th I tried to fight 4th place back on two last stages, but I made a mistake and rear tyre hit a bank. So rear suspension was damaged and I had to drive peacefully to finish. 5th overall, class 1st Subaru WRX, group N. Rally San Martino di Castrozza, Italy (tarmac) 8-10.7.2004Co-driver Carl Williamson. Round of Italian Rally Championship. First rally with group N car in tarmac and mountain roads. We started carefully but on middle of SS5 we had to change a tyre. Because of that we lost 3,5 minutes. It rained on next day, which I preferred. Unfortunately engine started to leak and power vanished. Luckily we were able to drive to finish. Surpise, surprise we got a huge trophy, as we were the best foreign drivers. 15th overall, class 8th Subaru WRX, group N. Rally Costa Smeralda, Italy (gravel) 6-8.5.2004Co-driver Carl Williamson. We tested the new car. We had problems already in the beginning. We didn´t have enough grip and engine performance was weak. When schock absorber broke down, we had to retire on SS4 because of factory defect. retirement SS4 Ford Fiesta, Super 1600cc -04. Rally Prealpi Trevigiane, Italy 26-27.3.2004Co-driver Carl Williamson. We had every chance to compete tough and car felt good in tests. On stage 3 I made an error. When car slided in junction, it poked in to furrow and it rolled upside down in the middle of the road. It took only a minute to continue but then on SS4 we retired because differential lock broke. retirement SS4 Subaru VRX 4 four-wheel drive, group N. National ralliesSM Exide rally, Tampere, Finland 3.7.2004Co-driver Timo Hantunen. We had a really fantastic car. In the beginning I was far too nervous and that´s why I nearly drove off the road. After that I got my confidence back and I improved my pace towards the finnish. Even if weather was rainy and slippery, we were truly happy in finish. 3rd overall, Class 3rd Ford Focus WRC -03, group A. SM Itäralli, Joensuu, Finland 12.6.2004Co-driver Miikka Anttila. Fathers against sons rally. It was really fantastic feeling to get into WRC car again. Rally began relatively well. I had a small mistake on super special stage, but it didn´t harm us. I was third but I dropped to 5th when I had to drive on heavy dust. I was really pleased with my performance especially when I drove second fastest time on last stage. 5th overall, Class 4th Toyota Corolla WRC 99, group A. |
Jari-Matti |