One of the world’s greatest off-road tests, the World Rally Championship tackled the Mexican outback for the third leg of its worldwide tour.
Finnish driver Jari-Matti Latvala took first place in the three-day competition screaming down backcountry roads and small towns of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the interior of the country north of Mexico City.
Latvala captured the win ahead of rival teammate Sebastian Olgier who had won each of the last two contests in Monte Carlo and Sweden. Latvala, who did not score any points in the first two match-ups, realized it was do-or-die this time if he had any hopes of a final victory.
Race watchers reported Latvala took advantage of a low start position on Friday and Saturday when the track was much smoother. In rally racing, cars compete against the clock, as opposed to rallycross where they race against each other.
“This was probably the cleverest drive of my career,” Latvala told reporters “Rally Finland last year was the drive of my life in terms of pure driving, but it was different because it was a high-speed event. This was about tactics, calculating, avoiding the rocks and not making mistakes.”
Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
