“The days are very long and demanding, and it will be those who can maintain absolute focus, even through the long liaison sections, who will do well.
“In the run-up to Japan we found a good testing location that was representative of the conditions we can expect. Chris and Petter both tested there using some new packages on the car. Both of them were comfortable with the base setup and so we will carry that to Obihiro.”
Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally team:
[
Jari-Matti Latvala, car #9,
Henning Solberg, car #10 [and
Matthew Wilson, car #16 - not nominated for manufacturers’ points]]
Latvala reaches half-century, Henning a Japanese virgin.
Jari-Matti Latvala will reach a milestone on the Rally Japan when he contests his 50th event in the
FIA World Rally Championship.
The Finn, who is rumoured to be in the frame to step up to the Ford ‘A’ team next season to fill the void left by the retiring Marcus Gronholm, made his WRC debut back in 2002 on the Wales Rally GB.
This season he has gained in stature and thus far has scored 24 points thanks to eight points finishes in total, including two fourth places, his most recent in Corsica two weeks ago.
Now the 22-year-old will want to mark his half-century in style and while his first outing in Japan ended in disappointment last year, when he retired on the final day while in the lead in the PWRC class and eleventh overall, the experience gained then will be a bonus.
“I really like the roads in Japan but they are also very challenging for drivers and it’s easy to feel confident and push too hard,” he noted.
“I was leading here last year with the Group N car until we had some mechanical problems on the last day. The roads are fast, but narrow, with a lot of blind corners and because of this I will have the same plan here as with the last tarmac rallies.
