BP Ford Abu Dhabi Team driver Jari-Matti Latvala is prepared to sacrifice his own chances of winning Rally Mexico in order to give his team-leader Mikko Hirvonen a better chance.
Latvala, the Ford team’s number two driver, says he is ready to try and lead Rally Mexico at the end of day one, so his team-mate will be freed from the disadvantageous position of running first on the road and sweeping the stages clean of loose gravel to the benefit of those behind.
It’s a task Latvala succeeded with in 2008 when Hirvonen was again first on the road. On that occasion, however, Latvala lost the lead the following day due to a turbo problem.
"It’s something I’m prepared to do," Latvala told wrc.com during Thursday’s shakedown. "I’m the team’s second driver, so it’s my job in places like this to support Mikko. If there’s a benefit, then of course we have to look at the possibility and try to help Mikko by going first car on the road."
After the pre-event recce, Hirvonen acknowledged that tactical driving was likely to be a feature of the opening day, in order to avoid going first through though the loosest roads on days two and three.
"The stages are really similar to last time, so the road position issues are the same," explained Hirvonen. "Friday is not so bad, but Saturday and Sunday are the days which matter the most and people will play tactics for those days. As championship leader I’ll be first through the stages on Friday and I can’t do much to affect things. At the end of Friday I hope I’m not leading, but it’s in everybody else’s hands."