Jari-Matti Latvala aims to defend Rally Costa Brava title with World Championship memories

The Finnish driver returns to Girona with his Toyota Celica for the FIA European Historic Rally Championship.

Generic image of a classic rally car competing on an asphalt stage.
IA

Generic image of a classic rally car competing on an asphalt stage.

Finnish driver Jari-Matti Latvala returns to Girona this Thursday for the Rally KH-7 Costa Brava, the opening round of the FIA European Historic Rally Championship (FIA EHRC).

The three-time WRC runner-up will drive a Toyota Celica ST185 alongside Janni Hussi. Latvala, who won the event last year, expressed his excitement about returning to the iconic asphalt stages of the Gironès and Selva regions, which he first experienced in 2004.

"You can still feel and remember the World Championship era in Girona. There was an impressive fan base, so many people on the roads."

Jari-Matti Latvala · Rally Driver
The competition features legendary stages such as Collsaplana and Tossa. Latvala noted that while modern regulations limit corner-cutting, keeping the asphalt cleaner, the unpredictable weather remains a key challenge for the rally, which concludes on Saturday.