Jari-Matti Latvala: Family, Crash & Net Worth
Jari-Matti Latvala is a professional Finnish rally driver who is currently leading his country to every event of the rally race.
This rally driver has competed and won several international championships, including Rally Great Britain, Swedish Rally, Rally Australia, etc.
Moreover, Latvala has also worked with big teams such as Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Stobart Ford.
We have mentioned detailed information about this Finnish rally driver, Jari-Matti Latvala, including his early life, career, relationship, and net worth.
Quick Facts: Jari-Matti Latvala
Before getting started, let’s begin with his quick facts.
| Birth Name | Jari-Matti Latvala |
| Age | 39 Years Old |
| Nick Name | Jari |
| Date of Birth | April 03, 1985 |
| Gender | Male |
| Profession | Rally Driver |
| Place of Birth | Toysa, Finland |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Marital Status | Not Married |
| Ex-Fiancé | Maisa Torppa |
| Children | None |
| Father | Jari Latvala |
| Mother | Helena Latvala |
| Siblings | Unknown |
| Education | Home Education |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Height | 6 feet 1 inch |
| Weight | 81kg, i.e., 178 pounds |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Net Worth | $1 Million – $5 Million |
| Source of Income | Rally Racing |
| Rally Wins | 18 |
| Social Media | Instagram, Facebook, Twitter |
| Rally Race Merch | WRC World Rally Championship Meltdown |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
Early Life and Family of Jari-Matti Latvala
Jari-Matti Latvala, a professional rally driver, was born on April 3, 1985, in a beautiful location in Toysa, Finland.
In addition, Latvala was born to his proud parents, father, Jari Latvala, and mother, Helena Latvala.
Matti followed the footsteps of his father, Jari, who was also a rally driver and national champion of 1994 in the Group N class.
Moreover, at the early age of 8, Matti began driving his father’s Ford Escort, and while he was 10 years old, Jari began practicing to drive Opel Ascona on a frozen lake.
Well, it seems that Latvala is a single child who had a pretty comfortable and easy childhood.
However, not much of his childhood is revealed to the media regarding his education as well.
Also, read about Bjorn Waldegard: Rally Driver, Early Life & Net Worth>>
How old is Jari-Matti Latvala? Age and Body Measurements
Professional Finnish rally driver Jari-Matti Latvala is currently 39 Years Old.
Likewise, Latvala celebrates his annual birthday on the 3rd of April and falls under the zodiac sign of Aries, which represents his personality as honest, brave, ardent, and optimistic.
Moving towards the physical appearance of this rally driver, Latvala stands tall with an impressive body height of 6 feet 1 inch.
Similarly, he weighs around 81kg, i.e., 178 pounds, with a muscular body build.
Furthermore, Matti is blessed with a pair of blue eyes and blonde hair color.
Career: Jari-Matti Latvala
Early Career
Latvala began his professional rally driving career at 17, competing in the 2002 Rally Great Britain.
On his first race, he drove Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI and finished the race in 17th position.
The following year, he competed in four WRC events: Acropolis Rally, Rallye Deutschland, Neste Oil Rally Finland, and Rally Great Britain driving Ford Focus WRC.
Similarly, in 2004, the racer drove an S1600 class Junior World Rally Championship car in the World Rally Championship and finished in 21st position at the Tour de Corse.
Moreover, 2005 was a big season for this rally driver where he competed on nine world rally events.
He improved his position to the 16th position at the Swedish Rally, Tour de Corse, and the Rally d’Italia Sardegna.
Rising Career with Stobart Ford
New-season started with more opportunity for Latvala; he made 11 appearances in world rallies in 2006.
He drove Subaru Impreza WRX STI in six competitions, while Ford Focus WRC in four competitions and a Toyota Corolla WRC in one competition.
Once again, he improved his rankings by finishing at the sixth position overall in the 2006 season.
The same year, he won the Production Car World Rally Championship Class at the Telstra Rally Australia.
Driving Focus WRC, Latvala made his career-best performance; he finished at fourth position on the Rally Great Britain.
The following season in 2007, he competed on 16 events along with his teammates, Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg driving Stobart M-Sport Ford.
In addition, in this season, he won his first-ever podium at the 2007 Rally Ireland.
His next victory was in the 2008 WRC, becoming the youngest winner at 22 in the World Rally Championship history.
For that achievement, he was honored with the Abu Dhabi Spirit Of The Rally award.
Also, read about Hannu Mikkola: Rally Driver, Wife & Net Worth>>
Latvala’s Ford Focus Crash
2009 was a devastating season of his career where he faced several disappointments and losses.
Moreover, he crashed three times. The most terrific crash was in Portugal, where he and his teammate had serious injury after the car rolled 17 times, 150 meters down a steep hill.
Luckily by the grace of God, both the drivers were alive as they managed to escape during the crash.
However, after a complete recovery from the crash, he achieved his second WRC win on Rally Sardinia, beating Mikko Hirvonen.
In addition, Latvala became the number one rally driver in the Ford team after the departure of Hirvonen in 2012.
Volkswagen WRC Team
In 2013, Jari-Matti signed a new contract with the Volkswagen WRC team.
With the new team, he won four races in 2014, including a win at Sweden, Argentina, Finland, and Alsace.
Moreover, the same year, the racer collected eight podiums in only 13 races.
With that performance, Latvala ended the season as a runner-up in the overall standings behind the winner, Ogier.
Unfortunately, the following year was not as expected as he ended the 2016 season in the sixth position in the overall standings.
After a disappointing year, he switched to the Toyota Gazoo factory team in 2017 with co-driver Miikka Anttila.
The first season with Toyota Gazoo was an impressive season where he claimed a win at Sweden and finished second place at Monte Carlo and Italy.
Recent Careeer of Jari-Matti Latvala
Jari-Matti is still racing for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team. However, since the 2017 signing, he won several rallies, including Kennards Hire Rally Australia.
Although he was struggling for a seat in Toyota Gazoo, after his improvement in 2020, the racer was announced to become the Team Principal in 2021 and replace Tommi Makinen.
WRC Victories of Jari-Matti Latvala
- 57th Uddeholm with Miikka Anttila from Ford Focus RS WRC 07 in season 2008.
- 6 Rally d’Italia Sardegna with Miikka Anttila from Ford Focus RS WRC 09 in season 2009.
- 40th Rally New Zealand and 60 Rally Finland with Miikka Anttila from Ford Focus RS WRC 09 in 2010.
- 67th Wales Rally GB with Miikka Anttila from Ford Fiesta RS WRC in season 2011.
- 60th Rally Sweden and 68th Wales Rally GB with Miikka Anttila from Ford Fiesta RS WRC in 2012.
- 59th Acropolis Rally with Miikka Anttila from Volkswagen Polo R WRC in season 2013.
- 62nd Rally Sweden, 34th Rally Argentina, 64th Rally Finland, and Rallye de France Alsace with Miikka Anttila from Volkswagen Polo R WRC in 2014.
- 49 Vodafone Rally de Portugal, 65th Rally Finland, and 58eme Tour de Corse with Miikka Anttila from Volkswagen Polo R WRC in 2015.
- 30 Rally Guanajuato Mexico with Miikka Anttila from Volkswagen Polo R WRC in season 2016.
- 65th Rally Sweden with Miikka Anttila from Toyota Yaris WRC in season 2017.
- 27th Rally Australia with Miikka Anttila from Toyota Yaris WRC in season 2018.
Also, read about Katinka Hosszu: Controversy, Lawsuit & Net Worth>>
Personal Life of Jari-Matti Latvala
The Finnish rally driver Jari-Matti was engaged to Maisa Torppa, a Finnish celebrity.
The couple was engaged in 2017; however, they broke off the engagement in 2019.
Moreover, almost every tabloid covered the story and speculated the reason behind their engagement broke off.
But the actual reason behind the break-up is not known.
How much is Jari-Matti Latvala’s Net Worth?
Professional rally driver with over a decade of contribution to the motorsports, surely Latvala has accumulated a huge amount of net worth.
Besides that, he has also won multiple national and international rally races that have certainly increased his net worth.
As of 2024, the total estimated net worth of Jari-Matti Latvala is around $1 Million to $5 Million.
Similarly, he also makes some money from brand endorsements, being a reputed and top-rated Finnish rally driver.
Moreover, this racer’s net worth will surely increase with an active earning and progressive professional career.
Social Media Presence
39 Years Old Jari-Matti Latvala is an active social media user available on various social media platforms.
In addition, this racer is equally active on all of the social media platforms where he frequently posts photos about his personal and professional life.
Moreover, Latvala has a massive number of 198K followers on his Instagram account, while he has 113.7K followers on his Twitter account and finally 306K followers on his Facebook account.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many rally has Jari-Matti Latvala won until 2021?
Jari-Matti Latvala has won a total of 18 Rally until 2021.
How old was Latvala when he won his first Rally race?
Latvala won his first Rally race of 2002 Rally Great Britain at the age of 17.
How old was Latvala when he became the youngest WRC winner?
Jari-Matti Latvala was only 22 years old when he won the WRC and became the youngest racer to win the World Rally Championship.
