Latvala extends lead to nearly one and a half minutes on Friday in ERC Historic Rally

Jari-Matti Latvala continued his dominant pace on Friday in the ERC Historic Rally, stretching his overall lead to more than a minute after another fastest time.

On SS7 Salions – Sant Grau Curt 2 (11.315 km), the Finnish driver set the benchmark once again. Driving a Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD (ST185), Latvala clocked a time of 8:20.9, clearly the fastest on the stage.

Belgium’s Grégoire de Mevius in a Subaru Impreza 555 finished second, 3.6 seconds behind, while France’s Raphaël Astier placed third with his Renault Clio Maxi, 9.2 seconds off the pace.

Following the stage, Latvala increased his overall advantage to 1 minute 17.3 seconds. De Mevius remains second in the standings, with Astier third at +1:21.6.

For the other Finnish crew, Ville Silvasti – Risto Pietiläinen, the stage proved more difficult. They finished 15th on the stage and are now over six minutes behind the rally leader in the overall classification.

At the moment, Latvala appears to be in a class of his own. If the same pace continues through the remaining stages, the Finnish driver is firmly on course for victory.

SS7 Salions – Sant Grau Curt 2 (11.315 km) – Top results

1. Jari-Matti Latvala – Janni Hussi (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD) 8:20.9
2. Grégoire de Mevius – Louka Louka (Subaru Impreza 555) +3.6
3. Raphaël Astier – Denis Giraudet (Renault Clio Maxi) +9.2
4. Mattia Perosino – A. Binello (Renault Clio Williams) +13.2
5. Antonio Lombardo – R. Consiglio (Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0) +20.0
6. Osian Pryce – Dale Furniss (Ford Escort RS1800 MkII) +24.4
7. P. Maeyaert – Y. Dewulf (BMW M3 E30) +26.0
8. “Pedro” – E. Baldaccini (Subaru Legacy 4WD Turbo) +26.2
9. Maciej Lubiak – G. Dachowski (Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0) +26.6
10. Seb Perez – Dale Bowen (Lancia Stratos HF) +29.5
11. Marty McCormack – J. Morgan (BMW M3 E30) +29.5

Overall standings after SS7

1. Latvala – Hussi (Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD) 52:05.6
2. de Mevius – Louka (Subaru Impreza 555) +1:17.3
3. Astier – Giraudet (Renault Clio Maxi) +1:21.6
4. Perosino – Binello (Renault Clio Williams) +2:27.9
5. Lombardo – Consiglio (Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0) +3:07.3
6. Maeyaert – Dewulf (BMW M3 E30) +3:11.8
7. Pryce – Furniss (Ford Escort RS1800 MkII) +3:22.5
8. McCormack – Morgan (BMW M3 E30) +3:27.6
9. Kelly – Kennedy (BMW M3 E30) +3:32.3
10. Perez – Bowen (Lancia Stratos HF) +3:43.8

Silvasti – Pietiläinen currently hold 16th place overall, +6:24.9 behind the leader.

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Henri Nieminen

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