Volkswagen Motorsport boss Jost Capito has hailed Jari-Matti Latvala’s win at Rallye de France at the weekend, and hopes the title duel between the Finn and his team-mate Sebastien Ogier will go down to the wire.
Victory and third on the Power Stage netted Latvala 26 points in France, while Ogier salvaged just three, after a faulty gearbox shift sensor dropped him out of contention on the opening day. Latvala headed a VW 1-2, with Andreas Mikkelsen taking second in another Polo R.
Capito said: “It’s impressive to see how quick Jari-Matti’s learning curve is. From Germany to here, there was a great improvement and it was absolutely fantastic to see how he performed here to get his first victory on tarmac. With this historic performance, he has kept the title race alive.
“Andreas also did a fantastic job. He and [co-driver] Ola confirmed that they can get the speed and crowned an outstanding performance with second place. We feel sad for Séb; he couldn’t win the title on his home rally. But in winning the Power Stage he made the best of an unfortunate situation.”
Ogier will head to the next round in Spain with a 27-point lead over Latvala in the drivers’ standings and needing just one more point than the Finn there to seal a second title. Capito confirmed that there would be no team orders there or at the final round in Wales.
“Now, the Manufacturers’ Championship is done and it’s only a fight for the Drivers’ Championship between Séb and Jari-Matti. They can go for it and I will be very happy for Andreas if he wins his first rally. He can definitely go for it. Everything can happen in Spain. It will be great if the Championship would remain open till Rally GB,” he added.