Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

WRC Rallye de France: Jari-Matti Latvala tops shakedown for VW

Volkswagen driver Jari-Matti Latvala's decision to take a fourth run at Thursday morning's Rally of France shakedown stage netted him the fastest time on the two-mile test

The Finn won the stage by 1.2 seconds from Citroen's Kris Meeke, with Latvala's team-mate Sebastien Ogier and Hyundai's Dani Sordo third, half a second down on the Northern Irishman's DS3 WRC.

Latvala said: "When I went to the pre-event test for France, there was some understeer with the car and there were some things I wanted to try this morning.

"I have got really good confidence with it now. The shakedown was good."

Latvala's last asphalt outing in Germany ended in disappointment when he crashed out of a comfortable lead.

He says he is determined to make up for that mistake in France.

"I want to carry on where I left off in Germany," he said.

"It's still my dream to win an asphalt round of the championship and that's what I will try to do here."

Meeke was the first potential beneficiary of Latvala's slip-up in Trier, before the Citroen man damaged a wheel and was forced out. Meeke has put all of that behind him.

"We're just looking forward to getting out there and driving," said Meeke.

"There's virtually no vineyards on the route for this year's event - the stages are quite different in nature and they are very, very fast."

Ogier will be world champion if he scores six points more than Latvala this weekend.

He said: "It would be nice to win the championship in France, but that's the cherry on the cake - the important thing is to win it."

Volkswagen's Andreas Mikkelsen was fifth fastest, with Germany winner Thierry Neuville sixth.

The rally starts from Strasbourg on Thursday evening, with the first competitive stage running on Friday morning.

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article New push to resolve 2015 World Rally Championship format row
Next article FIA unveils plans for GT Cup in major rallies

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe