Latvala: It was a close call to finish the rally

Volkswagen's Jari-Matti Latvala was disappointed to finish second on Rally de Espana on Sunday, although he also admitted he was lucky to get to the finish.

The Finn went into the final day in the lead, but with the event switching from asphalt to gravel stages, he was left at a disadvantage, and running first on the road had to sweep the line.

Despite that he remained in front until the penultimate stage, when technical problems - including a fire in the engine bay of his Polo R WRC - conspired against him and meant he had no chance of trying to hold off his fast-charging team-mate and eventual winner, Sebastien Ogier.

"I have to be honest I was disappointed [not to win]," said Latvala. "When you fight for the victory and you get technical problems it is frustrating.

"It was a difficult position being first car on the road [on Sunday]. I was gaining a little bit this morning not having the dust problems like the cars behind but it was difficult running first on the road with all the gravel. The cleaning effect was bigger than I expected. Also in the afternoon I knew it was not easy. There was a bit of a cleaner line but it was still very narrow from the cars running behind. The grip level was better but was changing a lot.

"Then at the end of the short stage [SS13] the transmission gave a strange feeling and then in the second last stage it broke completely the front diff. On top of that we got a fire [at the end of SS14]. There was a fuel pipe leaking and we were lucky to come back here. It was a close call to finish the rally but the marshal taking the fire down at the end of the stage saved us.

"Still it was a really hard job for me on the last stage [SS15] because I had a really nasty moment when I nearly went off the road because of the transmission problem. I was really tired at the end of that stage and it was a big effort to get back to service."

Asked if he could have won but for those problems, Latvala conceded it would have been tough.

"It would have been very difficult to take the win [even without the problems at the end]," he confirmed. "I knew I couldn't risk absolutely everything for the rally. But still I love the fighting. That's the way it is. At least the team is manufacturers' champion and that is very important."

So how does it make him feel knowing he helped VW claims its first WRC Manufacturers' title?

"It feels good. I have been running in the WRC now for 10 years - 10 years - and now I am [part of] winning the manufacturers' championship for the first time. There is still some work to do being a driver but now it's a very good feeling for the whole team," he concluded.