Motorsport Castrol EDGE backed Ford conquer the snow of Sweden

Castrol EDGE-backed Ford World Rally Team driver Jari-Matti Latvala has clinched up his first win of the 2012 World Rally Championship in Sweden.

The Finn – along with co-driver, Miikka Anttila – bested his rivals by 16.6 seconds on the freezing snow-covered stages that make up the WRC’s only true winter rally. 

Latvala’s victory combined rally-winning savvy with gutsy driving. Setting the pace with blistering speed from the off, he quickly moved into a lead he’d never lose. The Ford ace also showed considerable nerves to shrug off a last-minute, heart-stopping scare. 

In the final loop of stages, Latvala saw his 35.6-second lead slashed to just 8.4 seconds after losing time after sustaining a puncture from a rogue rock. But rather than nurse his shrinking lead, Latvala re-established a dominant advantage over his rivals by the final checkpoint.

It was another powerful performance from the Ford Team, which beat its rivals on Sweden’s freezing ice-covered roads for the the sixth consectutive occasion in both its Castrol EDGE-lubricated Ford Focus RS WRC and the all-new Fiesta RS WRC.

“Four years ago, I won my first rally here in Sweden, and became the youngest driver to do so,” Latvala said. “To come back and win for a second time is very special." 

“I’ve learned to stay calm when things go wrong, and that paid dividends here. I had a comfortable lead before everything changed with just two stages to go, but I kept my cool. I knew I had to summon extra speed and attack hard through the penultimate stage.”

It was a moment that saw everyone in the Ford World Rally Team holding their breath. “This morning we were concerned that he drove so fast when he had a big lead,” said Team boss Malcolm Wilson on the day. “But, given what happened this afternoon, it’s a good job he did. It’s a milestone victory for the Team. And, with the confidence he has in the car, I’m sure there will be more to come.”

Castrol EDGE moment of strength:

Heart-stopping moments don’t come much more heart-stopping than the threat of losing your win from a rogue puncture in the last two stages of a rally. But, by holding his nerve and speeding up, rather than slowing down, Jari-Matti Latvala proved his ice-cool skills in Sweden.