The fans call him “La Bala” – the bullet. Jari-Matti Latvala and his co-driver Miikka Anttila really lived up to this affectionate nickname in the first third of the distance at the Rally Mexico. The Finnish duo snatched the lead ahead of their Volkswagen team-mates Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) on Friday at the third event of the season in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).
Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger rounded off the strong team result with fourth place. The cornerstone of success – all of the day’s best times went to Volkswagen – the three Polo R WRC duos opted for a clever and daring tyre selection. Ogier and Mikkelsen went for soft Michelin competition tyres as the first drivers to take to the track in the morning. Latvala, who was eighth to take to the special stages, went for a combination of soft and hard tyres. All three of the drivers went for hard tyres in the afternoon. And considering their starting position, this was the perfect choice for the Volkswagen duos.
Two passes of “El Chocolate” with its ascent to 2,743 metres above sea level, two passes of “Las Minas” and three passes of the spectator stage nearby the service park in Léon – the Rally Mexico really put man and machine to the test. Latvala/Anttila take an advantage of 32.1 seconds over Ogier/Ingrassia into the rally Saturday, which with nine special stages and 152.40 kilometres against the clock is the longest day of the Rally Mexico. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (E/E, Hyundai) follow them with a deficit of a further 43.5 seconds in third place, ahead of Mikkelsen/Jæger