Jari-Matti Latvala

Quick Facts

Full Name	Jari-Matti Latvala
Occupation	Rally Driver
Date Of Birth	Apr 3, 1985(1985-04-03)
Age	39
Birthplace	Töysä
Country	Finland
Birth City	Southern Ostrobothnia
Horoscope	Aries

Jari-Matti Latvala Biography

Jari-Matti Latvala is one of the most popular and richest Rally Driver who was born on April 3, 1985 in Töysä, Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland. Jari-Matti Latvala, a Finnish rally driver, was born 3 April 1985. Since 2003 Rallye Deutschland, his co-driver was Miikka Anttila. His aggressive driving style is what makes him a popular choice and has earned him comparisons to Colin McRae. He is the WRC’s most successful driver, with 18 victories. Latvala also holds the record for the most World Rally Starts in the sport, which he was able to achieve in 2019, 17 years after his debut.

Latvala participated in 11 rallies around the world in 2006. At his home rally, Neste Oil Rally Finland, Latvala drove the Subaru Impreza WRX STI STI in six minutes, a Ford Focus WRC WRC in four, and a Toyota Corolla WRC in a Toyota Corolla WRC. He was at his best in the three previous rallies. He won the Production Car World Rally Championship class at the Telstra Rally Australia and was sixth overall. He finished eighth overall at the Propecia Rally New Zealand and won the PCWRC. He finished fourth at the Rally Great Britain with the Focus WRC, his best result in his career. These rallies landed Latvala at 13th in the drivers’ championship.

In 2008, Latvala joined Ford’s factory team as a number two driver, partnering Mikko Hirvonen and replacing Marcus Grönholm who had announced his retirement from the WRC at the end of 2007. The opening round of the season wasn’t lucky for the young Finn – he suffered a puncture after cutting a corner too deep on the very first stage and lost even more time because of a non-fully operative pneumatic wrench. Latvala continued to fight and was ninth overall before SS12, but he made another mistake there and heavily damaged the front left suspension in his Focus, forcing himself to retire for good. At the second rally of the season, 2008 Swedish Rally, he had good pace from the beginning – he won all regular special stages on day one, pulling away from the runner-up spot slowly, but consistently. He later had some problems and wasn’t the fastest on any of the remaining stages, but managed to keep his position throughout the rally. The 22-year-old therefore took his first WRC win to become the youngest winner in the history of the World Rally Championship. The previous record was held by Henri Toivonen who was 24 years and 86 days old when he won the 1980 RAC Rally. For his performance during the Swedish rally Latvala was given the Abu Dhabi Spirit Of The Rally award. At the first gravel event of the season, the 2008 Rally México, despite officially claiming no intentions to win the event, he was the fastest driver on the first two stages and was leading the rally throughout the first day, pulling out from the current World Rally Champion, Sébastien Loeb. Unfortunately for the young Finn, the turbo in his Ford Focus was malfunctioning during the second day, making his car uncompetitive. This, along with having to be the opening driver on the stages 9–16, having to sweep the track of the loose gravel, cost him a substantial amount of time and Latvala finished the rally third.

For 2009 the expectation was for Latvala to progress in his performance as number two driver for Ford’s factory team. However the start of the season became a big disappointment for the team, as Latvala went off the road in three of the first four rallies of the year. In Portugal, he and his co-driver Miikka Anttila were lucky to escape injury in the most serious crash in Latvala’s career. They went off the road on a left-hand bend and rolled 17 times, 150m down a steep hill, and finally came to rest against a tree. Latvala had specifically been focusing to combat his driver weaknesses going into this rally, so the accident put some extra pressure on him for the future, although he also admitted that he would fully understand if the team did not require his services because of his erratic reputation. However, after a consistent, steady drive in Argentina, Latvala went on to take his second WRC win of his career on Rally Sardinia ahead of teammate Mikko Hirvonen. He led from beginning to end, hence driving as first car on the road on both day two and three.

Latvala competed mostly with an S1600 Junior World Rally Championship car in 2004. He finished 21st overall in the World Rally Championship with a Group N Subaru Impreza WRX STI car at the Tour de Corse. Latvala participated in nine world rallies during 2005, six with the Group N Impreza, and three with a World Rally Car. He finished 16th overall, and he did this three times: at the Swedish Rally with a Toyota Corolla WRC, at the Tour de Corse, and at Rally d’Italia Sardegna using the Impreza.

Jari-Matti Latvala Net Worth

Jari-Matti Latvala is one of the richest Rally Driver from Finland. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Jari-Matti Latvala 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Latvala started driving at the age of eight. His father Jari Latvala gave him a Ford Escort and he was also a rally driver. He is also a 1994 national champion in Group N class. Latvala began practicing on a frozen lake with an Opel Ascona at the age of ten.

Latvala was 17 when he participated in his first rally around the world, the 2002 Rally Great Britain. With a Mitsubish Lancer Evolution VI, he finished 17th. Latvala participated in four WRC events in 2003 with a Ford Focus WRC. He finished 17th at Rallye Deutschland, tenth at Acropolis Rally and 14th at Neste Oil Rally Finland. He was also tenth at Rally Great Britain.

In 2007, Latvala competed a full 16-event programme for Stobart M-Sport Ford with Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg as teammates. He started the season with retirements in Monte Carlo and Sweden. At the Rally Norway, Latvala was in contention for his first podium place, but had to settle for fifth after a 90 seconds time penalty. He did, however, take his first stage win on SS5. Latvala later took his first podium at the 2007 Rally Ireland. At the last rally of the season, Rally GB, he lost 10 minutes on the last stage of day one due to windscreen wiper failure, but went on to win ten of the remaining 11 stages under the SupeRally rules, finishing 10th overall.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Jari-Matti Latvala Dating?

According to our records, Jari-Matti Latvala is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Jari-Matti Latvala’s is not dating anyone.

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Following Volkswagen’s withdrawal from the WRC, Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila joined the Toyota Gazoo factory team for the 2017 season. He claimed a win at Sweden, second place finishes at Monte Carlo and Italy, and a fourth place finish at Corsica. He finished fourth in points, behind Ford drivers Ogier and Ott Tänak, and Hyundai driver Neuville.

Facts & Trivia

Jari-Matti Ranked on the list of most popular Rally Driver. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Finland. Jari-Matti Latvala celebrates birthday on April 3 of every year.

For 2019, Jari-Matti remained with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team. He scored a podium in two events; third place at his home rally in Finland, after colliding with a loose rock during the event. Then third place again at the next round in Germany. Latvala finished the season in 7th position, his lowest since 2007.