The BP-Ford Abu Dhabi driver Jari-Matti Latvala believes he must get his head together if he is to make an impact in the rest of the season. The young Finn finished in ninth place at last weekend's Rally Germany, following on from a disappointing 39th position in the previous Rally Finland. The reason he was so far down the field on both occasions was because of crashes, and he feels that his mental preparation has not been good enough.
"It was a frustrating weekend," said Latvala, 23, who hit a haybail on the second day which caused him to roll his car. Latvala finished the first day in fifth position, but the wheels came off the next day and he is determined to learn from his mistakes. "The mental preparation is very important," he said. "I need to work on the mental side." While Latvala searches for a sports psychologist, he also believes that there is work to be done on his vehicle's configuration.
"We must work on the set-up of the car. Some stages we were fine, but others we were lagging behind. It is important for us to do well on the gravel rallies," he said. @Email:mwalker@thenational.ae
