Rally drivers are considered by many petrolheads to be the real men of motorsport, running flat out through a wide variety of stages on surfaces that range from snow through gravel and dirt to tarmac.
Finnish driver Jari-Matti Latvala has been plying his trade at the very top levels of the sport since the age of 17. The current VW works driver doesn’t just compete in WRC events, though. Occasionally he can be found tearing up the forests in a classic rally car.
In 2012, while still a Ford works pilot, he contested the Historic Lahti Rally in a rear-wheel drive Ford Escort Mk2. Watch the master at work in his office as he monsters this stage spending (relatively) long stretches of time flat out in top gear. Even if you don’t get to the end be sure to catch his amazing car control at 3 min 36 sec – simply breathtaking. If you watch all the way to the end you’ll notice he loses a gear and has to carry more speed into corners to make up for the broken cog…
It is a display of car control like few others.
