There are few things more enthralling, heart stopping, exciting, and just plain impressive than in-car rally videos, especially when there is a pro behind the wheel and the car has some suds. Both of those important elements are present and accounted for in this 13-minute clip taken at the Lahti Historic Rally in Finland. The car is a European Mk2 Ford Escort and the driver is Jari-Matti Latvala, a guy who normally races on Ford’s modern rally team.
We were tipped off to this clip by Arild Guldbrandsen who is a BangShift reader from Norway that has obvious great taste in videos! To see the incredible speeds that are achieved on this stage of the rally by Latvala and his co-driver is one thing, but to watch the guy bang though the gears while power sliding the car all over the place using a single hand on the wheel is entirely another. Through it all, Latvala is loose and calm, probably smiling and having fun in the great machine he’s thrashing!
The way the car is so skillfully pitched sideways, especially on switchback style turns that have the car moving laterally the whole time while also moving forward is mind blowing. We love sliding sideways as much as the next guy and hanging the tail out, but he’s got to be doing more than 100mph in the video and it is sheer perfection. A little flick here, a little throttle here and the car just responds so nicely. Consider this your 13-minutes of pure, unadulterated zen for today.
Thank for the tip Arild! – Scroll down to see the video!
