WRC: Latvala victorious in Finland

HELSINKI, Finland  - Volkswagen's Jari-Matti Latvala trimmed team mate Sebastien Ogier's lead in 2014 World Rally championship after racing to victory at his home 2014 Finland Rally on Sunday (August 3).

Latvala led for most of the event but had to overcome brake problems on Saturday (August 2) after hitting a rut to claim his second rally victory at home and third success of the 2014 season. Latvala took a 3.6 sec lead ahead of Ogier.

He held a slender lead over 2013 champion Ogier heading into the final three stages but was unable to overturn the narrow deficit, although he grabbed maximum bonus points on the final powerstage.

'I FOUGHT BACK'

Latvala told the WRC website: "It was so hard to take this victory.

"I had a fantastic feeling with the driving but when I had the brake problem yesterday I was in a difficult position. I was so close to losing the victory but I fought back. I was nervous today but managed to hold it together.”

VW’S 8TH WIN OF THE SEASON

Citroen's Kris Meeke was third. A victory in Finland continues Volkswagen's dominance of the 2014 WRC. Ogier leads the championship with 187 points, with Latvala second on 143.

The next round of the 2014 WRC will be held in Germany on August 21.

Results from the Rally of Finland on August 3:
1 Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) Volkswagen 2hrs57min23.200
2 Sebastien Ogier (France) Volkswagen +00:03.600
3 Kris Meeke (Britain) Citroen 00:50.600
4 Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway) Volkswagen 01:52.500
5 Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) Ford 02:49.700
6 Juho Haenninen (Finland) Hyundai 04:29.000
7 Elfyn Evans (Britain) Ford 05:25.800
8 Hayden Paddon (New Zealand) Hyundai 06:17.800
9 Henning Solberg (Norway) Ford 12:07.000
10 Karl Kruuda (Estonia) Peugeot 14:44.700

Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings:
Drivers' points:
1 Sebastien Ogier (France) Volkswagen 187
2 Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) Volkswagen 143
3 Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway) Volkswagen II 95
4 Mads Ostberg (Norway) Citroen 66
5 Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) M-Sport World Rally Team 62
6 Kris Meeke (Britain) Citroen 54
7 Thierry Neuville (Belgium) Hyundai 46
8 Elfyn Evans (Britain) M-Sport 42
9 Martin Prokop (Czech Republic) Jipocar 31
10 Henning Solberg (Norway) Henning Solberg 26
11 Juho Haenninen (Finland) Hyundai 20
12 Bryan Bouffier (France) M-Sport Ltd 18
13 Robert Kubica (Poland) RK M-Sport 12
14 Ott Taenak (Estonia) M-Sport 10
15 Benito Guerra (Mexico) M-Sport 8
16 Hayden Paddon (New Zealand) Hyundai N 8
17 Chris Atkinson (Australia) Hyundai 6
18 Pontus Tidemand (Sweden) Pontus Tidemand 4
19 Jaroslav Melicharek (Slovakia) Slovakia World Rally Team 4
20 Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar) Nasser Al-Attiyah 3
21 Lorenzo Bertelli (Italy) FWRT srl 2
22 Matteo Gamba (Italy) Matteo Gamba 2
23 Craig Breen (Ireland) Peugeot 2
24 Yuriy Protasov (Ukraine) Yuriy Protasov 2
25 Karl Kruuda (Estonia) Karl Kruuda 1
26 Jari Ketomaa (Finland) Drive Dmack 1
27 Khalid Al Qassimi (United Arab Emirates) Citroen 1

Constructors' points:
1 Volkswagen Motorsport 305
2 Citroen 130
3 M-Sport 106
4 Volkswagen II 94
5 Hyundai 88
6 Jipocar Czech National Team 34
7 RK M-Sport 21
8 Hyundai N 12
9 Slovakia 0