Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) has a busy week ahead of him. On Thursday, he and co-driver Miikka Anttila (FIN) will be in Poland to test the Polo R WRC for the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). In the evening, they head to Great Britain, where Latvala will be in action at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (25 to 26 June).
Among other things, he will take VIP guests for rides in the Polo R WRC on the hillclimb route, in front of the grounds of Goodwood House near Chichester, in the south of England. Volkswagen representative Hans-Joachim Stuck (D) will also be behind the wheel at the cult event. On the 40th birthday of the GTI, he will drive the legendary 1976 Golf I GTI and the Golf GTI Clubsport S – with 310 hp, the strongest production GTI of all time.
In contrast, Latvala’s team-mate Sébastien Ogier (F) is taking it easy and will not take part in either the test in Poland or the festival. He has a good excuse: the three-time world rally champion and his wife Andrea Kaiser-Ogier have become parents for the first time.
Their son, Tim, was born on 13th June. He weighed 3,100 grams and was a proud 50 centimetres tall.The little guy is keeping us on our toes,” says Ogier. “We would like to say a big thank you to the many people who have congratulated us! Andrea and I are overjoyed and are enjoying every moment with our son.” As well as Ogier’s team-mates and the entire Volkswagen team, many other drivers and WRC teams have also sent their congratulations to the new parents.