Quinn hoping Latvala can be key as Ford target manufacturers’ crown

THE World Rally Championship gets underway next week with the Monte Carlo Rally and according to Corkman Gerard Quinn, winning the manufacturers’ title remains the holy grail while having the world champion driver is also a tantalising prospect.

Speaking at the Autosport Show in Birmingham yesterday, Quinn, a native of Macroom and senior manager of Motorsport Ford, Europe, told the Irish Examiner he expects the team of Jari Matti Latvala and new recruit, Petter Solberg to be very competitive from the outset.

That Citroen ace, Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3), has won the title for the last nine years illustrates the enormity of the task. With the exception of Sebastien Ogier, Jari Matti was the only other driver that seemed capable of challenging Loeb during the past season.