WRC
Latvala set for European Historic Rally Championship debut in Celica
18-time WRC rally winner and Toyota WRC team principal Jari-Matti Latvala is gearing up for a new challenge this week as he embarks on his maiden campaign in the European Historic Rally Championship.
The 39-year-old Finn will take the wheel of a legendary Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD at Rally Costa Brava, marking the start of an exciting new adventure. But it was his return to the WRC frontline at Secto Rally Finland almost two years ago that reignited his passion for competition.
“After I stopped at the end of 2019,” Latvala admitted, “it took a while for me to realise how much I was missing the driving. In Finland, in 2023, this was the moment when I really understood this and the old feeling for the driving was back.
“When I took the job to become the team principal, I said at the time that I wanted to keep driving and now I am really ready to enjoy this again.”
Latvala in action at this year's Arctic Rally
© Toyota GAZOO Racing
The Celica, prepared by Latvala’s own team in Finland, holds special significance for him.
“One of my favourite cars,” he added, “has been Toyota Celica ST185 and the year 1993 when Juha Kankkunen won the championship. This has been my like one dream, to drive that car in a competition. And now it's going to happen. It’s been really nice having Juha back with the team – we have been talking a lot about this car and his time in it.”
Four-time world champion Kankkunen, now deputy team principal at Toyota GAZOO Racing, played a key role in the Celica’s storied past. Now, Latvala is ready to write his own chapter with the iconic machine.
