Despite this year’s championship fight looking increasingly like a duel between Sébastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville, fourth-placed Jari-Matti Latvala refuses to give up his title hopes.
The Finn was right in the thick of the battle two rounds ago. But his challenge faltered on the following events in Poland and Finland when his Toyota Yaris was twice brought to a standstill by technical problems.
A combined total of just seven points from those rallies leaves him 56 points off the lead. But with four rounds still to go, and a maximum 120 points up for grabs, Latvala refuses to rule out a late comeback and a maiden world title.
"If I had scored good points from Poland and Finland we could have been in a situation now where we were very close to the lead. But it’s always if..." he told wrc.com.
A faulty engine ECU forced Latvala to retire from the lead in Finland, but he returned to action on Sunday and took fourth on the Power Stage to claim two additional championship points.
"In fact I managed to get two points closer to the championship lead in Finland. So there is a little chance. It’s not very great anymore, but there is a little one still," he said.