Miikka Anttila

Having trained as a Finnish automotive engineer, Miikka Anttila got his first taste of rallying completely by chance. Since then, Anttila has established himself as one of the top co-drivers in the WRC.

In 1993, when a neighbour asked for help servicing his Group F rally car, Anttila declined, instead asking to co-drive. A fourth-place finish in the B Juniors F-Cup followed, before the 23-year-old was selected for the Finnish Automobile Sport Federation's co-driver coaching school.

Anttila - a rising star alongside Latvala

In 1999 Anttila started a two-year stint alongside Finnish driver Janne Tuohino, during which the pair won the British Group N Championship and came eighth in Miikka's first WRC event on home soil in Finland. And finished fourth overall in the Finnish national championship in the same year.

After nine seasons partnering 13 different drivers (including a brief spell with current Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen in 2002), Anttila took what would become a full-time seat alongside Jari-Matti Latvala in 2003.

"They spun off the road and rolled 150m"

The Latvala/Anttila partnership showed promise from the off, with the pair finishing second in the British Rally Championship in their first year together. From 2004 onwards they rallied everything from a Ford Puma to a Mitsubishi Evo 8, and even took in some WRC events before being picked up by the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team during the 2006 season.

After impressing enough to secure a full-time WRC contract for 2007 with the Stobart team, Latvala and Anttila made the podium with an impressive third place on Rally Ireland – one of five top-five finishes and also took several stage wins on the season-closing Rally GB.

Jari-Matti Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila in action on Rally Sweden 2010

The following season proved to be an outstanding debut with the Castrol-backed factory Ford squad. A victory in Sweden and further podiums in Mexico, Italy and Turkey saw the pair cement their reputation as rising stars of the WRC.

Highs and lows

Last year was a season of highs and lows for Anttila and Latvala. In the fourth round in Portugal the Finnish pair escaped a big crash without injury, when they spun off the road and rolled down the side of a 150m hill.

Just seven weeks later Anttila and Latvala bounced back to take victory in the Rally d'Italia Sardegna. Two further podiums followed in Greece and Finland, bringing the tally to four for 2009.

But, having missed out on a top-three championship slot, Latvala will be wanting to make amends in 2010.