The record for the youngest driver was rather old. No, not the driver, the record itself! When Jari-Matti Latvala won Rally Sweden this weekend, he became the youngest driver to win a WRC event in history. Jari-Matti is 22 years old, turning 23 in less than 2 months. The previous record was owned by Henri Toivonen, who won the RAC Rally (GB) 1980 aged 24 years & 3 months. Both are from Central Finland region, Henri actually from Rally Finland host town Jyväskylä itself, Jari-Matti from a small town less than 100km west of Jyväskylä. Both are the sons of other Finnish rally drivers with WRC successes. Other than that the similarities are however surprisingly little, which also shows the changes and state of WRC.First a little note on the claim their fathers had WRC successes. Jari-Matti Latvala’s father Jari did Rally Finland year in, year out. His best WRC result came on his only (to my knowledge) event outside Finland when he finished 11th overall on the Safari 2001. This was also Jari’s last WRC event, as it was the time young Jari-Matti started driving. Henri Toivonen’s dad Pauli is better known by fans, but has not better WRC record than Jari Latvala to be strict. Pauli won Monte Carlo and Finland rallies outright as Citroën and Porsche works driver, however all that before the WRC started. When the WRC was born Pauli Toivonen competed occasionally only with Talbot (Simca / Hillman) models that he shared with his sons Henri & Harri.
So this is background info, rather than the point of this article. Before getting into it, let me say that I first interviewed Jari-Matti Latvala during Rallye Deutschland 2003, when he was 18. Too early to judge his driving for an outsider, but I do remember Pentti Airikkala described him already as one of the three biggest talents ever to visit his Left Foot Braking School. To me I will always remember this interview. Jari-Matti was fun to talk to and what he had to tell was refreshingly factual and informative. There was a kind of professionality and unselfish attitude in this teeny some of the big stars could have learned a lesson from!
Also looking at the last events, I start wondering if not Hirvonen but Latvala is going to be Ford’s #1 to make Loeb’s life difficult this year. Hirvonen surely was the key to Ford’s makes titles of the past 2 seasons compared to Citroën’s #2 driver. But I must say since he is lead driver at Ford, Hirvonen failed to speed up from last year. In 2008 we now had 2 rallies with cummulated 37 stages run and Mikko Hirvonen has only won 1 single stage. Stage wins are not everything for sure, as we completely ignore tactics then, but this is still a disappointing result for the #1 driver of the reigning makes champs. Latvala in turn truly dominated Rally Sweden, and I have the feeling this was not a one off. During 2007 Jari-Matti won 18 stages all season 2007, but incredibly 14 of these 18 stage wins came on the last 3 rallies of that season, exactly since the moment it became clear a seat at the Ford works team was free! This is the type of improvement some may have expected from Ford’s #1!
So please note the big point of this article and the next lines is not to play down Jari-Matti Latvala’s achievement in any way, but to air my deep sadness that today Henri Toivonen lost his record.
Henri’s record of being the youngest WRC rally winner stood for 27 years and 3 months. To hold a record for that long is a big testimony, and even more so since in modern times it seems much more a fashion of putting 17 year olds into WRCars. There will hardly be a rally fan not knowing that Henri Toivonen died on the Tour de Corse 1986, the accident that triggered the cancellation of the whole groupB. For once I am fortunate being old, it means that I already was a rally fan, visiting rallyes and seeing the groupB action and Henri Toivonen live. For me this 2nd May 1986 was one of the saddest days in my life, and that until today Henri still owned the record of being youngest WRC winner ever, was like Henri was still with us!
Now the record is gone, but thinking about this record, I realise what isn’t gone is how special Henri was and how different times are today. Nothing to take away from Jari-Matti, times have changed I guess, but Jari-Matti should be an old fox. If I compare these two youngest drivers to win WRC events, there is 27 years between them and the differences are nearly shocking.
So Jari-Matti started his first WRC event aged 17. And he is not the only driver starting that early. Despite his famous dad, Henri Toivonen’s career started maybe a bit more like a human being. Excuse that expression, but if talent alone was what counted today, how are these talents going to pay 50 WRC starts before they get spotted? When Henri Toivonen started his first WRC event, he was already 19 years old, a senior by modern standards!
On our forum many fans often agree that in recent years the WRC lacks competition. Certainly in the 1970s, 80s and then maybe between 1998 – 2003 we had far more competition than today. But it is difficult to compare. One comparison I loved hearing only today about weak entries in WRC events: “Andreas Mikkelsen will be celebrated for coming 5th in Sweden, but take his gap to the leader, apply it to IRC Rally San Remo only last year, and he would have been outside the top15 !!!!”. Tho this is sometimes difficult to compare. The really old rallies were much longer, therefore back then the gaps should have been bigger, but the risk to do something silly and loose time was bigger too.
Anyway, what I am getting to, Jari-Matti Latvala had his first finish in the points on his 34th WRC rally. OK, many starts were in groupN or S1600 cars. Still, Henri Toivonen did so on his 2nd WRC start! It was Rally Finland 1977, only the 2nd WRC start of Henri Toivonen, and he finishes 5th overall! I won’t even investigate if there was lack of competition, because it was a huge rally back those days and Henri did so with a group1 Talbot Avenger, which is a groupN car to modern standards, even more like road car! Meaning it doesn't matter who the competition was, Henri would have been in a lesser car! It was this result that had Talbot competitions boss Des O’Dell employ Henri!
And it is drives like this I am missing today. Today you need money and 50 starts to get your name noticed. It was not that unusual that there was a newcomer and he had a mindblowing result straight away. Like guys needed 3, 4, 5 starts and team bosses knew he is somebody special and they started receiving support maybe for national rallies. But even for that decade Henri was outstanding, because he came 5th in a road car, apart from Citroën in Africa this was the highest result of a group1 car at WRC ever. Henri Toivonen proved that point nicely. Des O’Dell was a smart guy, he was quick signing Henri after that 1000 Lakes Rally (Finland) 1977 result, never mind he didn’t really have a car for him. Henri received help into other cars, but then was in a works Talbot Sunbeam for the RAC Rally (GB) 1978, where he finished 9th overall. Not much? Oh yes, it was, for this was no Talbot Sunbeam Lotus but a works loaned early prototype with just 140BHP!
Next step would be Henri’s first win. The win that made Henri the youngest winner for over 27 years of this sport’s history: RAC (GB) 1980. Today this sounds unbelievable, this was Henri Toivonen’s 12th start at a WRC rally! To compare, Jari-Matti Latvala’s win came at his 54th start! And Henri had different competition too! You all know the slim entry of Rally Sweden 2008. When Henri won RAC 1980, he had to beat not only 2 of his Talbot team mates, but 6 works spec Ford Escort, 2 works Toyota, 2 works Datsun, 2 of the new works Opel Ascona 400, 3 works Vauxhall, 2 works Saab Turbo, and 4 works TR7 V8! Don’t believe? Check out: http://www.rallye-info.com/event_entrylist.asp?event=65 And that on a rally over 70 stages. Those were the day, eh?
Again, not to take anything away from Jari-Matti. I am happy this so friendly Finn became the new youngest guy to win a WRC event. But he has already had 54 WRC starts? It took actually long, and likely cost a few millions to get there! Why does it seem so difficult for talent to get spotted these days? 54 starts sounds like an unbelievably high number to me, about bloody time to turn a superstar!
Just as another example how time has changed and who Henri Toivonen was. Henri never competed in 54 WRC events. He got killed on his 40th start! Now I hear you say in comparison: “What, Henri Toivonen competed only in 40 WRC events? How can that be, he was a superstar!” Indeed, and Henri had the doubtful talent to always be in the wrong team at the wrong time! Of his 40 WRC starts, many were wasted opportunities and still he turned a superstar. I.e. had Henri been a little more patient, he could have been the lead driver of the 205 T16 project already from early test stage, but instead he joined the sinking Opel ship. But it was also typical Henri Toivonen and the kind of surprise early talent shows I am missing today. When Henri Toivonen had a one-off drive for Lancia, it was Rallye Portugal 1984, Lancia had long standing drivers, Audi was there with the Quattro, Mikkola, Blomqvist & Röhrl... Henri Toivonen crashed the Lancia on his first start in this car already in SS6 – until then he won every single stage!!!! Suddenly this wasn't a one-off drive any more!
Henri Toivonen was killed on his WRC start #40. And I wouldn’t go as far as saying he was so quick because it was an accident like that waiting to happen. The cause of the accident was never proven, but was at least partly triggered by the concept of groupB. Point however is, Henri Toivonen only had 40 WRC starts, won 3 of them, had 9 podiums, 17 top6 finishes, all within 40 career starts only, and despite often being in the wrong team at the wrong time. This is absolutely unique. But still I feel today it takes too long to spot real talent. Guy Fréquelin, vice WRChamp in 1981 = 35 starts. Anders Kulläng, Opel lead and development driver when the Ascona 400 was born and winner Rally Sweden 1980 = 45 starts, to name just two more of many examples. Who doesn’t know Michèle Mouton? Now she is a legend, isn’t she, and not (or at least not to a large part) because she is a girl? She has had less WRC starts in her entire career than Jari-Matti Latvala has so far!
Somehow makes you wonder? I admit I am one who complained there are too many guys with so many WRC starts without results. As the entries these days are not only low in quantity, but low in quality too. Is the only talent that counts today the talent in the wallet? In the case of Jari-Matti I should maybe refine my comments. Why do talents need 50 odd WRC starts these days before they even get a chance to be considered a superstar?
Finally, while talking records:
Jari-Matti Latvala did something for Ford too. His Rally Sweden victory, Latvala’s career 1st victory, was victory #17 for the Focus Mk2 generation! This makes the current Ford Focus Mk2 the most successful Ford model of all time! The old shape Focus Mk1 won 16 WRC events and is now passed by the Focus Mk2. The Focus Mk2 model such has now pushed legendary Peugeot 205 T16 outside the top10, which also won 16 WRC events when it dominated groupB. The previous and still joined most successful Ford rally car was the Ford Escort Mk2 (also known as Escort RS1800 or Escort BDA), which also has 17 WRC wins to its records. Another legend the Focus Mk2 has joined with this win #17 is the Lancia Stratos!
source: rallye-info.com
