WRC 2018, Round 8/13 – Rally Finland (July 26/29)

WRC 2018

ATTENTION!

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Timetabe

Thursday 26 July

8:00-13:30 Shakedown Vesala – 4,26 km (road closed at 5:00-14:00) / Recce Onboard / Recce Onboard by YLE
12:30 Meet the Crews (invited drivers), Service Park Paviljonki
13:00 FIA Pre-Event Press Conference, Media Centre
13:30-15:00 WRC Drivers Meet the Kids, Service Park Paviljonki
18:37 Start of the rally, Service Park Paviljonki
19:00 SS 1 Harju 1 – 2,31 km (road closed at 10:00-28th July 02:00) / Recce Onboard
19:25 Overnight Parc Fermé, Rally HQ
Competitive distance: 2,31 km (Liaison 7,12 km, Total 9,43 km)

Friday 27 July

7:15 Huolto Paviljonki 15 min
8:18 SS 2 Moksi 1 – 20,04 km (road closed at 5:15-18:30) / Recce Onboard
9:21 SS 3 Urria 1 – 12,28 km (road closed at 6:15-19:30) / Recce Onboard
10:13 SS 4 Ässämäki 1 – 12,33 km (road closed at 7:15-20:30) / Recce Onboard
11:36 SS 5 Äänekoski 1 – 7,71 km (road closed at 8:30-21:45) / Recce Onboard
12:31 First car arrives for regroup, service and Media Zone
12:51 Service Paviljonki 30 min
14:24 SS 6 Oittila – 19,34 km (road closed at 11:30-17:30) / Recce Onboard
15:27 SS 7 Moksi 2 – 20,04 km (road closed at 5:15-18:30) / Recce Onboard
16:30 SS 8 Urria 2 – 12,28 km (road closed at 6:15-19:30) / Recce Onboard
17:22 SS 9 Ässämäki 2 – 12,33 km (road closed at 7:15-20:30) / Recce Onboard
18:45 SS 10 Äänekoski 2 – 7,71 km (road closed at 8:30-21:45) / Recce Onboard
20:00 SS 11 Harju 2 – 2,31 km (road closed at 10:00- 28th July 02:00) / Vetomies 1st car 18:00 / Recce Onboard
20:20 First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
20:30 Service Paviljonki 45 min
21:15 Overnight Parc Fermé, Rally HQ
01:30 All cars must be returned to Parc Fermé no later than

Competitive distance: 126,37 km (Liaison 413,58 km, Total 539,95 km)

Saturday 28 July

6:00 Service Paviljonki 15 min
8:13 SS 12 Päijälä 1 – 23,92 km (road closed at 5:15-20:45) / Vetomies 1st car 9:58 / Recce Onboard
9:29 SS 13 Pihlajakoski 1 – 14,90 km (road closed at 6:30-22:00) / Vetomies 1st car 11:29 / Recce Onboard
10:38 SS 14 Kakaristo 1 – 23,66 km (road closed at 7:30-19:15) / Vetomies 1st car 12:47 / Recce Onboard / Recce Onboard by AL-R
12:13 SS 15 Tuohikotanen 1 – 8,95 km (road closed at 9:00-18:00) / Recce Onboard / Recce Onboard by AL-R
13:11 First car arrives for regroup, service and Media Zone
13:31 Huolto Paviljonki 30 min
14:55 SS 16 Tuohikotanen 2 – 8,95 km (road closed at 9:00-18:00) / Recce Onboard / Recce Onboard by AL-R
16:08 SS 17 Kakaristo 2 – 23,66 km (road closed at 7:30-19:15) / Recce Onboard / Recce Onboard by AL-R
17:36 SS 18 Päijälä 2 – 23,92 km (road closed at 5:15-20:45) / Vetomies 1st car 15:00 /Recce Onboard
18:54 SS 19 Pihlajakoski 2 – 14,90 km (road closed at 6:30-22:00) / Vetomies 1st car 16:23 / Recce Onboard
19:00 Vetomies Podium Paviljonki
20:45 First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
20:55 Service Paviljonki 45 min
21:40 Overnight Parc Fermé, Rally HQ
01:30 All cars must be returned to Parc Fermé no later than

Competitive distance: 142,86 km (Liaison 542,83 km, Total 685,69 km)

Sunday 29 July

7:30 Service Paviljonki 15 min
8:38 SS 20 Laukaa 1 – 11,74 km (road closed at 5:30-14:00) / Recce Onboard
9:38 SS 21 Ruuhimäki 1 – 11,12 km (road closed at 6:30-16:45) / Recce Onboard / Recce Onboard by YLE
9:53 Regroup, Jyvässeudun Ajoharjoittelurata
11:01 SS 22 Laukaa 2 – 11,74 km (road closed at 5:30-14:00) / Recce Onboard
11:56 Regroup, Jyvässeudun Ajoharjoittelurata
13:18 SS 23 Ruuhimäki 2 (PS) – 11,12 km (road closed at 6:30-16:45) / Recce Onboard / Recce Onboard by YLE
14:18 First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
14:21 Service Paviljonki 10 min
16:00 Podium Paviljonki
16:45 FIA Post-Event Press Conference, Service Park Paviljonki

Competitive distance: 45,72 km (Liaison 146,70 km, Total 192,42 km)

all times local

Rally total:
23 special stages
Special Stages total: 317,26 km (22,2 %) = the percentage of the total distance of special stages
Liaison 1110,23 km
Route total: 1427,49 km

Vetomies-competition

6 special stages
Special Stages total: 103,61 km
Liaison 367,37 km
Route total: 470,98 km

https://twitter.com/RallyFinland/status/970955377448816641

Testing

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team:

Craig Breen, Finland 22.7.2018

Mads Østberg, Finland / Ouninpohja 20.-21.7.2018

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team:

Thierry Neuville, Finland / Orivesi 22.7.2018

https://twitter.com/thierryneuville/status/1020951530265096193

Andreas Mikkelsen, Finland 20.7.2018

Hayden Paddon, Estonia 27.6.2018

Thierry Neuville, Estonia 26.6.2018

Andreas Mikkelsen, Estonia 25.6.2018

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team:

Sébastien Ogier, Finland / Orivesi 11.-12.7.2018

Jämsä / Ouninpohja:

Elfyn Evans, Finland / Mäntyharju 9.-10.7.2018

Teemu Suninen, Finland / Ouninpohja 13.7.2018

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team:

Esapekka Lappi, Finland / Korpilahti, Särkijoki 20.7.2018

Ott Tänak, Finland 19.7.2018

Jari-Matti Latvala, Finland 18.7.2018

Ott Tänak, Finland / Palsankylä 20.6.2018

https://twitter.com/LPaanala/status/1009368116827185152

Esapekka Lappi, Finland 19.6.2018

https://twitter.com/RallyFinland/status/1009043071802191873

Jari-Matti Latvala, Finland 13.-14.6.2018

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1007177946979848193

https://twitter.com/se_rally/status/1007224378092851201

Jari-Matti Latvala, Finland 1.6.2018

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1002533998495698950

Esapekka Lappi, Finland 31.5.2018

https://twitter.com/LPaanala/status/1002159403070644225

Juho Hänninen, Finland 30.5.2018

Ott Tänak, Finland 29.5.2018

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1001473234624237574

Esapekka Lappi, Finland 24.5.2018

ŠKODA Motorsport:

Kalle Rovanperä, Finland 27.6.2018

Ole Christian Veiby, Kalle Rovanperä & Pontus Tidemand, Finland 25.6.2018

https://twitter.com/jussinaarajarvi/status/1011163067420499968

https://twitter.com/jussinaarajarvi/status/1011274853750661121

TGS Worldwide:

Kalle Rovanperä, Finland 16.7.2018

Eerik Pietarinen, Finland 19.7.2018

Sarrazin Motorsport:

Jari Huttunen, Finland 22.7.2018

https://twitter.com/MKiviaho/status/1020963231467229184

Tommi Mäkinen Racing:

Jarkko Nikara, Hiroki Arai & Takamoto Katsuta, Finland / Palsankylä 22.7.2018

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1021094943346102273

Citroën Racing:

Stéphane Lefebvre, Finland / Saarijärvi 22.-23.7.2018

https://twitter.com/SLefebvreRallye/status/1021431279466803202

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1021372152254279680

Simone Tempestini, Finland / Saarijärvi 23.7.2018

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1021374604277886976

https://twitter.com/pieniazekrally/status/1020711283165974533

Preview

The eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship takes the contenders to the super-fast stages of Rally Finland.

Neste Rally Finland is one of the all-time classics on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar, where fearless and, at times, blind commitment rewards the bravest. The event, one of the quickest in the series, presents blisteringly fast smooth gravel roads, but it is the massive stomach-churning jumps and blind crests that characterise what is affectionately known as the Finnish Grand Prix.

The ‘1000 Lakes Rally’, as it was originally termed, dates back to 1951, when it was launched as a means of deciding the Finnish entries for Rallye Monte-Carlo. It first ran in the WRC in its inaugural season in 1973 and has been staged each year since, largely dominated by Finnish drivers who have won 55 of the 67 editions.

The hard-packed gravel roads provide a mix of wide and flowing, narrow and more technical sections and, such is their smooth nature, mechanical issues are rare. It is an event where writing and delivering pace notes is even more critical as blind crests often hide the following corners and knowing where to position the car before these jumps is a real art form. As is mastering the ‘normal’ jumps to ensure the car doesn’t take off like an aeroplane.

As the series moves into its second half, Thierry Neuville heads the Championship standings by 27 points, the Belgian going into round eight with a lead bigger than any advantage anyone has held over multiple FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier in the last five years. Both have three wins apiece this season, with third-placed Ott Tänak the only other driver to have won an event. His team-mate Esapekka Lappi, fourth in the standings, will doubtless be looking to repeat his stunning performance of 2017, where he claimed his maiden WRC win on home soil. Hyundai heads the Manufacturers’ Championship standings, and all four makes will be fielding three-car entries in Finland, Khalid Al Qassimi also joining Mads Østberg and Craig Breen in the Citroën squad. The FIA WRC 2 Championship category has an impressive 18 entries and as series frontrunners Pontus Tidemand and Jan Kopecky will not be competing, their rivals will be looking to close the gap in the title fight. In its penultimate round, 15 crews make up the FIA Junior WRC Championship field, with a further three solely in the similar two-wheel drive FIA WRC 3 Championship category.

Five stages will be broadcast live on television: both runs through Harju (SS1 and SS11), SS17 on Saturday and the two Ruuhimäki stages on Sunday, the second counting as the Power Stage. All stages are however available live on WRC All Live on the WRC+ platform.

ROUTE GRAPHICS

THE 2018 ROUTE

A fresh-look Rally Finland awaits the FIA World Rally Championship contenders; almost 65% of this year’s route is different to last year and just one stage – Pihlajakoski – is the same. A new shakedown – Vesala – kicks off the action on Thursday, preceding the slightly amended Harju street stage in Jyväskylä that evening. Crews head west of the rally base on Friday for nine forest stages before returning to the city for another run through Harju. Ässämäki (SS4/9) is totally new while Äänekoski (SS5/10) runs in the opposite direction this year. Saturday, around Jämsä, is a big day covering nearly 143 competitive kilometres over two loops of four stages spanning a 16-hour period. Sunday is by far the shortest day of the event but no less demanding. Two runs through two classic stages – Ruuhimäki and Laukaa, which runs in reverse this year, rounding out the action. Ruuhimäki has been used as the shakedown in previous years and its stomach-churning jumps will now play host to the all-important Power Stage.

RALLY DATA

Total distance: 1,426.84 km
Stage distance: 317.26 km (22.2%)
Number of stages: 23

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https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1021854493443596288

MANUFACTURER ENTRIES, RALLY FINLAND

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team:
Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (#1)
Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt (#2)
Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula (#3)

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team:
Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger (#4)
Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (#5)
Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall (#6)

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT:
Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (#7)
Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (#8)
Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (#9)

Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT:
Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen (#10)
Craig Breen / Scott Martin (#11)
Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson(#12)

Team Previews

Manufacturers: M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (GB) / Ford Fiesta WRC (Michelin)
1 Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (F)
2 Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barrit (GB)
3 Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula (FIN)

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s three EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRCs are cleared for take-off and ready to tackle the jumps and ‘yumps’ of one of the most eagerly-awaited events on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar – Neste Rally Finland.

Returning after a six week break, the team are second in the manufacturers’ championship with Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia also holding second place in the driver and co-driver standings. Naturally, the Cumbrian squad have their sights firmly fixed on reducing the gap and reining in their rivals.

Giving Ogier and Ingrassia their best chance of a strong result, the number one Fiesta will be fitted with a new aero package to best tackle Finland’s high-speed forests. Sporting a new rear bumper and diffuser for more efficient downforce, the latest evolution is the first visual example of the on-going development between M-Sport and Ford Performance.

Having brought the development to the car in record time, availability restraints mean that only one of the EcoBoost-powered Fiestas will run the latest evolution in Finland, but all three cars remain capable of challenging for the very top results – Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen both delivering impressive performances at the event just 12 months previously.

Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:

“It’s been a long break but the hard work hasn’t stopped and the team have been working around the clock to ensure that we had the new aero ready for Finland. It’s just on the one car for the moment, but we’re confident that it will give Sébastien and Julien that little bit extra.

“Our goal for the second half of the season is to reduce the gap to our rivals in all three championships. We’re certainly going to give it our best and I’m confident that we can deliver some strong results over the remaining events – starting in Finland.

“We all know how strong the competition will be, but the Fiesta performed extremely well here last year and we have three drivers who are all more than capable of challenging for the very top results. Sébastien is a previous winner in Finland, Elfyn was second here last year and Teemu came so close to a home podium on what was only his second ever outing in a world rally car.

“I have no doubt that another thrilling Rally Finland awaits, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can deliver this time round.”

RALLY FINLAND
THE GRAVEL GRAND PRIX

Rally Finland is the fastest event on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar. Commonly known as the Gravel Grand Prix, 11 of the 12 fastest rallies in history were held on these blisteringly quick roads and previous winners have been written into rally folklore.

The fast roads are characterised by huge jumps and the crews must deliver pin-point accuracy in pursuit of the top results – technical roads and blind corners over crests demanding the upmost precision.

The pacenotes have to be word perfect, and the set-up has to instil confidence. The unforgiving route does not suffer mistakes and the gaps between the competitors are so close that only a perfect drive is worthy of the top-step of the podium.

This year’s action covers 317.26 kilometres across 23 stomach-churning stages. The action begins on Thursday evening and, in the absence of the legendary Ouninpohja, Ruuhimäki and its closing sequence of jumps may well become the signature stage – closing the rally as the points-paying Power Stage.

SÉBASTIEN OGIER
JULIEN INGRASSIA

Refreshed after the summer break, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia are ready to reignite their championship defence. Ogier entertained fans at Goodwood Festival of Speed and took legendary French rugby star Sébastien Chabal for a spin in his EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC – but now it’s back to business at the equally legendary Rally Finland.

Ogier and Ingrassia have something every driver and co-driver want to achieve – a Rally Finland victory. The pairing won the event in 2013 and will be keen to challenge for another top result this year.

Armed with the latest aerodynamics aboard their Fiesta, the reigning World Champions have everything at their disposal and will be looking for a strong haul of points to rein in the young pretenders to their throne.

Previous starts: 10
Best result: 1st (2013)

Sébastien Ogier said:

“It was nice to have a little break and spend some time relaxing with family and friends, but now the action is ready to resume and we’re fully focused on Rally Finland.

“For so many people this is the highlight of the year and it’s easy to see why. There is an atmosphere here that you don’t get anywhere else and the roads were tailor-made for rallying.

“This is the fastest event on the calendar and at those speeds its mere tenths of a second that you’re fighting for. The competition will be extremely strong, but the engineers and designers from M-Sport and Ford Performance have been working tirelessly to ensure we’re in the best possible position.

“We’ll have some aerodynamic updates on the rear of the car that we hope will give us that little bit extra in terms of performance, but we’ll still have to get absolutely everything right over the course of the weekend if we want to be in the fight for the top results.

“We know that the car was strong here last year and we had a good feeling on the test, but this is a rally that doesn’t forgive even the smallest of mistakes. We’ll certainly give it our best and the goal is always to come home with a strong haul of points.”

ELFYN EVANS
DANIEL BARRITT

The FIA World Rally Championship may have taken a six-week break, but Elfyn Evans couldn’t be long parted from the Fiesta and has been busy behind the wheel.

Making a name for himself on the silver screen, the Welshman appeared in an advert for the all-new road-going Ford Fiesta ST – racing it through the underground tunnels of a salt mine.

A week later, he and co-driver Dan Barritt were back behind the wheel of their EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC – navigating the Sussex countyside in a race against time to get to the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed.

But now it’s time for Evans to regain his game face at an event he and Barritt have always performed well at. The pairing secured a second-place finish at last year’s Rally Finland and have every chance of challenging for another podium result next week.

Previous starts: 7
Best result: 2nd (2017)

Elfyn Evans said:

“It feels like a long time since we were last in competition, but we’ve not been sitting idle! The team have been working extremely hard, we’ve had a good test, and I’ve also been doing a lot of PR work with Ford and Red Bull.

“I was involved in an advert for the new Fiesta ST – a great little road car – and also got behind the wheel of the Fiesta WRC to film some promotion with Red Bull ahead of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The festival itself was great, but now we’re ready to get back to business, and start the second half of the season with one of the highlights of the year – Rally Finland.

“I’d challenge anyone who said they didn’t enjoy driving Finland’s gravel roads in a world rally car! The high speed combined with the technical nature of the stages is incredible, and when you get into a good rhythm it’s a phenomenal feeling.

“We did well here last year and found a good feeling on the test; but the margins for error are so fine and the gaps so small that even the slightest of mistakes can be costly. The competition is going to be strong so we’ll need to be note perfect and deliver a very clean and precise drive. If we can do that, and get everything right, then I’d hope that we’ll be in with a good chance.”

TEEMU SUNINEN
MIKKO MARKKULA

Football might not be coming home, but Teemu Suninen is – home to Finland, home to where he delivered a sensational performance behind the wheel of the EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC just 12 months ago.

On what was only his second outing behind the wheel of a top-specification world rally car, last year’s Rally Finland saw Suninen and co-driver Mikko Markkula challenge for their maiden FIA World Rally Championship podium.

This year, they have a chance of bringing that dream to fruition and will be ones to watch through some of the most hair-raising and adrenaline-fueled stages of the year.

Previous starts: 4
Best result: 4th (2017)

Teemu Suninen said:

“We had a really good test and are feeling ready and well prepared for the rally. We drove more than 200 kilometres on our test day – starting with the base set-up my team mates found earlier in the week. All three of us drive with a pretty equal set-up, so there were only some small confirmations to find and the car feels really fast.

“Having come so close last year, the top-three is my ultimate goal. It could be hard to achieve, but we will try our best. At the end it’s such a small margin that decides whether you finish third or sixth!

“Starting the first forest stage last year I was pretty nervous, but as soon as I saw the time and saw that my speed was enough I felt better straight away. This year the rally will be driven on similar roads and we have a very good feeling with the car in the high speed sections. We’ll start the rally as we mean to continue – driving flat-out.”

Manufacturers: Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team (D) / Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC (Michelin)
4 Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger (N)
5 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (B)
6 Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall (NZ/GB

There are a few important things left on our checklist in the WRC. While our ultimate goal is to battle for the manufacturers’ championship, we also have some unfinished business to attend to, including scoring a podium on the fast and furious stages of Rally Finland.

In four previous visits to the Jyväskylä based rally, we haven’t been able to do better than fourth overall. While we expect another close battle between all teams in this year’s event, we are hopeful that we can find the breakthrough we’ve been searching for.

“Finland has never been a rally to favour our team, but we’ll be doing all we can to turn that around,” said our Team Principal Michel.

Break from the old routine

It has been six weeks since we took our third victory of the season in Sardinia, helping us to extend our advantage in the classification to 28 points.

“Sardinia was an incredible weekend,” reflected Thierry. “Now I’m ready to carry the momentum forward into the second half of the season.”

The 23-stage event is renowned for its fast routes and high-speed jumps, which make it a popular, yet tough, rally for drivers and co-drivers.

“Finland is probably the rally the drivers fear the most,” admitted Andreas. “It is also the event they most want to win! The grip is so low, you have to be very confident in the car.”

Refreshed, revised and ready

Hayden took part in the recent Rally Estonia to help prepare for Finland. Along with co-driver Seb, he will be targeting a debut podium of 2018.

“For me, Rally Finland is the most incredible rally of the year,” he said. “Not only are the roads, the jumps and the pure speed impressive, but also the atmosphere is electric.”

The rally gets underway on Thursday evening with the short 2.31km Harju stage before crews tackle a revised route through forests and past Finland’s famous lakes. More than half of the stages will be different to last year’s event – and for our team we hope the results will also be transformed!

“We would obviously like to score our first Finland podium,” concluded Michel, “but more important is getting all three of our i20 Coupe WRC cars into strong points-scoring positions.”

Manufacturers: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (FIN) / Toyota Yaris WRC (Michelin)
7 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (FIN)
8 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (EE)
9 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (FIN)

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team will take on the high-speed gravel roads of Rally Finland (July 26-29) with the clear aim of repeating its victory from last year. The rally is a home event for the team, which has a base close to the service park in Jyväskylä, as well as for its Finnish drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Esapekka Lappi, while Ott Tänak can also count on large support from neighbouring Estonia.

Rally Finland is the fastest event on the WRC calendar, played out on smooth gravel roads through the forests. The stages feature many large jumps and numerous crests, where accurate pace-notes and the positioning of the car are crucial. The high speeds mean that time differences are smaller than usual, and mistakes are more easily punished.

This year, Rally Finland features a heavily-revised route with almost 65 percent of it different to 2017, and nearly 40 percent on roads that are new to the rally. It begins on Thursday evening with the mixed-surface Harju stage in Jyväskylä itself, before a total of 10 stages on Friday held mostly to the west. Saturday consists of eight stages to the south-east near Jämsa, totalling 142.86 kilometres. There are four further stages on Sunday, with Ruuhimäki as the rally-closing Power Stage.

Quotes:
Tommi Mäkinen (Team Principal)
“This is an exciting event for everybody in the team, especially with the fantastic support that we receive from the fans in Finland, and I am sure that many will come from Estonia to cheer for Ott too. It was very special for us to win the rally last year: our aim is to do the same this time. We know that the Yaris WRC is strong on these types of roads, and all three of our drivers feel confident on these fast stages. I hope that they can all be fighting for the victory. We are very well-prepared, but I think we will face strong competition from our rivals.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Driver car 7)
“I am really looking forward to Rally Finland. It is a good opportunity to start the second half of the season in a positive way. I have always felt really good support on my home event, and this is even more the case now that we are driving a car that has been built here. I could really feel last year that everybody was behind the team and willing us on. One of the big challenges this year will be the changes to the route. I have driven some of the new roads before, but it was a long time ago and there are large sections that even I don’t know. Therefore, I think it will actually create a more level playing field.”

Ott Tänak (Driver car 8)
“Rally Finland is always one of my favourite events. It is quite a specific rally: really high-speed but also quite technical with the jumps. You really need to have some respect for the roads there. This year there will be a lot of new roads that we have not seen before, which will add to the challenge. I think we have had some really good preparation. As well as our pre-event testing, I took part in Rally Estonia last weekend and won it, which was quite nice in front of so many fans. I am sure that a few of them will go to Rally Finland as well, and I hope we can give them a good result there too.”

Esapekka Lappi (Driver car 9)
“Rally Finland is always a special event and even more so after our victory last year. I am really looking forward to it. There is more pressure this year. From my side, I am expecting a good result and I think everyone else is too, so we really need to perform. I think it will be tougher to win it this time, though. The competition will be tougher, both from inside our team and from the other teams as well. The new stages will also create a big challenge. We know that our car will be competitive so the focus will be on making good pace-notes and finding a nice flow with the driving.”

What happened last year?

Esapekka Lappi claimed the first win of his FIA World Rally Championship career and the second victory for Toyota since its return to the sport. Lappi was involved in a close battle with his team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala during the first half of the rally, before Latvala had to stop with an electrical issue. Juho Hänninen finished third to achieve the first double podium for the Yaris WRC.

Manufacturers: Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T. (F) / Citroën C3 WRC (Michelin)
10 Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen (N)
11 Craig Breen / Scott Martin (IRL/GB)
12 Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson (UAE/GB)

For the eighth round of the season, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT tackles one of the most famous and the most demanding events on the WRC calendar. Running a C3 WRC that has been upgraded again, the French team will be represented by Craig Breen – Scott Martin, Mads Østberg – Torstein Eriksen and Khalid Al Qassimi – Chris Patterson.

FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS TO THE C3 WRC

Be at one with your machine. In Finland, more so perhaps than anywhere else, being at one with your car is absolutely critical if you are to commit fully on what are some of the fastest stages of the season, contested among the dense Finnish forests. With four overall wins (2008, 2011, 2012 and 2016) secured in the country of a thousand lakes, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT has already proven its ability to choose the right set-up for this unusual event. Here, for once, precision tends to be a little more important than grip. With the introduction of a new front axle geometry, tested competitively at the recent Rally Estonia by Craig Breen in preparation for Finland, the Red Army has in any case fine-tuned the balance of the C3 WRC. The French car will be once again driven by Craig Breen and Mads Østberg at what both drivers see as one of their favourite rounds of the year. The Irishman and the Norwegian will be also looking to make the most of their substantial experience on the Finnish stages, with eight and twelve previous appearances to their names respectively and each having a best result of third overall. Khalid Al Qassimi, back in action after his first outing in Argentina, will however be adopting a different approach. At a rally that he also knows well, but which is always a major challenge, the Emirati driver’s sole aim will be to gradually get his bearings back in the car and make it to the finish.

NEW STAGES

Given the speeds reached on the stages, knowledge of the course is absolutely critical in order to set up accurately for the countless crests, big and small, which have built the reputation this rally over the years. However, more than twenty percent of the itinerary will be new this year: the Vesala shakedown, stages such as Ässämäki (4/9) and Äänekoski (5/10) on Friday are brand new, as is Laukaa (20/22) on Sunday, whilst others have only been changed in certain sections. The crews will therefore be required to perform something of a balancing act, especially on the first pass, as they confirm – at full throttle – the paces notes taken in recce at significantly slower speeds. This unmissable summer rally, famous for the very narrow margins that invariably separate the crews, promises once again to be a hotly contested race!

WHAT THEY SAID

Pierre Budar, Citroën Racing Team Principal

“You really need throw off the shackles to do well at this great rally. In any event, having competed at Rally Estonia and completed four days of pre-event testing, we’ll certainly be well prepared. It’s also one of the rounds that our crews know best, and with the new upgrades introduced on our C3 WRC, I think we can hope to get among the frontrunners, although the competition will be very stiff yet again.”

Craig Breen

“Rally Estonia was excellent preparation for me. It gave us the opportunity to look at a few things and we also noted that with the new front geometry, the C3 WRC is even better balanced. I feel very confident coming into this round, especially as it’s one of the world championship events where I have the most experience. Experience is absolutely critical here, even though some of the stages have changed for this year’s rally.”

Number of appearances at the event:8

Best result: 3rd(2016)

Mads Østberg

“This really is one of my favourite events of the season. Although you need to make good pace notes in recce, afterwards it’s all-out attack! You don’t have to worry about tyre wear or the road surface breaking up. I have some very good memories from here, especially the podium secured when driving for Citroën in 2015, and I hope to take advantage of my two days of pre-event testing to get off to a good start and try to reproduce the same kind of performance.”

Number of appearances at the event:12

Best result: 3rd(2013 and 2015)

Khalid Al Qassimi

“This round is special for me because it’s where I made my debut in a works team in 2007. The feeling in the car during the stages, with the high speeds and never-ending crests, is also unique. It’s also what makes it such a difficult rally: you must be really comfortable and have good pace notes. As my last outing was in Argentina, I’ll need to get my bearings back first of all. I’ll then try to up the pace gradually whilst making sure I don’t make any mistakes.”

Number of appearances at the event:8

Best result: 9th(2009)

WRC2: ŠKODA Motorsport / ŠKODA Fabia R5 (Michelin)
31 Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjærmoen (N)
41 Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (FIN)

One of the most popular and most traditional rallies in the WRC calendar, Rally Finland – also known as The Rally of the Thousand Lakes – takes place on gravel roads around the city of Jyväskylä in central Finland. With its combination of fast, sweeping corners and massive jumps, it is one of the most challenging rallies of the year, sometimes dubbed “A Grand Prix in the forest” or “a Nürburgring Nordschleife on gravel”. As rallying is a national sport in Finland, hundreds of thousands of fans come to watch Rally Finland each year, creating a unique, festival-like atmosphere.

History

Since its beginnings in 1951, the Rally Finland, or Jyväskylän Suurajot, as it was known at the time, was one of the most interesting rallies in the calendar. Right away, it gave the world a massively important innovation, introducing the special stages that have since become a cornerstone of the rally experience. It’s been a part of the WRC calendar since its beginning in 1973.

Crews

Scandinavian crews – and especially Finns – utterly dominate the Rally Finland throughout its history. So it’s probably no surprise that ŠKODA Motorsport is sending two crews from Scandinavia. For Kalle Rovanperä, who is accompanied by co-driver Jonne Halttunen, this will be the first start in the WRC 2 event of his home country.

The second ŠKODA Motorsport car will be driven by Norwegian driver O.C. Veiby, with co-driver Stig Rune Skjærmoen. This crew returns to Finnland after unlucky last year’s appearance and hope that this time, they will show their true speed.

The works crews are not the only ones with ŠKODA cars, though. A number of our customer teams are coming to Rally Finland as well. We will introduce them to you on Wednesday! Before that, you can read what Kalle Rovanperä, his co-driver Jonne Halttunen, his teammate O.C. Veiby, technical chief Eric Mommey and team manager Pavel Hortek all think about upcoming Rally Finland!

Stages

It’s the rally of speed and jumps. The gravel roads are hard and smooth, usually with sweeping turns interspersed with more technical sections. This means that most of the time, the cars are going flat out. And sometimes even flying!

Jumps
Jumping is one of the most important things to master at Rally Finland. The key is to brake before you take off and then to accelerate over the jump. This helps to keep the car level. Too much speed, and the car’s aerodynamics will force the front upwards, leading to less stable landing.

Pacenotes
On a fast rally with big jumps, the pacenotes have to be really spot on. It’s not unusual that corners hide behind blind crests and drivers have to know exactly where to position the car before the jump, and how fast to go. Get it wrong and you end up landing in the forrest instead of on the road. This makes this really extremely hard on co-drivers.

What’s New?
A lot. For 2018, the Rally Finland was thoroughly revamped. Almost 40 percent of the route takes place on track that have never been used before and 65 percent is new compared to last year. Only one in 23 stages, Pihlajakoski that runs twice on Saturday, is unchanged from the last year. There are several new stages, like Ässämäki while others, like Äänekoski and Laukaa will be run in the opposite direction than in 2017.

Iconic Stage
For years, the most iconic stage on Rally Finland was Ouninpohja. That one is absent from this years rally, so

What to see?
Enjoy the great action and brilliant atmosphere at the Kakaristo hairpin on Saturday. For years, it was part of the legendary Ouninpohja stage and this year, it got its own stage, called Kakaristo.
You definitely need to see some jumps. And the biggest of them is Urria. Or try out Ruuhimäki, which the organisers promise to have a “monster of a jump” this year.
While the teams don’t have much time to enjoy the party atmosphere of Jyväskylä, you really need to have a night out in one of the many bars in the main street.

WRC2: Hyundai Motorsport (Sarrazin Motorsport) (D) / Hyundai i20 R5 (Michelin)
38 Jari Huttunen / Antti Linnaketo (FIN)

There’s no place like home – just ask our HMDP crew Jari and Antti! They made the most of a home advantage in Rally Finland twelve months ago to take a memorable WRC2 victory. One year later, and they are aiming to repeat that success in our i20 R5.

For our Finnish duo, the high-speed routes will be very familiar even if the event route itself differs significantly from last year’s round. With the gravel roads lined by local supporters, they will have the home crowds cheering them every stage of the way.

“I’m looking forward to putting on a spectacular event for our home fans,” said Jari. “I feel really comfortable with these conditions and we know we can be strong on gravel.”

Practice makes perfect

It will be the fourth event of the WRC2 season for the crew, following Sweden, Mexico and Portugal. In each of the rallies so far, the HMDP duo has embraced a steep learning curve in challenging conditions.

Our Team Principal Michel added: “Their first three rallies were a useful part of their learning curve. We are expecting them to put those experienced to good use in Finland. We know they have the ingredients to be fighting at the front.”

Taking part in Rally Estonia, the crew arrive on home soil in positive spirits and determined to put in a representative performance.

“We have learned a lot working with the Hyundai Motorsport team,” added Jari. “it won’t be easy with such a competitive WRC2 field, but we are ready to show our ability to put together a strong rally – from beginning to end.”

The 23-stage rally, based at Jyväsklyä, gets underway on Thursday with shakedown and the opening 2.31km Harju stage.

WRC2: Citroën Total (PH Sport) / Citroën C3 R5 (Michelin)
36 Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau (F)
44 Simone Tempestini / Sergiu Itu (RO)

After the narrow, twisty roads of Sardinia, the Citroën C3 R5 is ready to tackle the high-speed challenge of Rally Finland, as it looks to grab the third WRC2 podium of its fledgling career. Citroën Racing will be once again looking to Stéphane Lefebvre – Gabin Moreau, the brand’s works crew, to produce the goods. The pair will be supported for the second event running by Simone Tempestini – Sergiu Itu, the winners of the 2017 Citroën Ultimate Challenge.

Rally Finland is the world rally championship’s equivalent of the Alpe d’Huez at cycling’s Tour de France: the ultimate test and one that every driver dreams of winning one day. Finland is all about speed – with stages in the forests around Jÿvaskylä covered at average speeds of over 130kph – but the rally also has a never-ending series of crests, often tackled sideways, meaning drivers need some serious tightrope walking skills to successfully negotiate the jumps. The crews must therefore be precise when taking pace notes in recce, which is completed at much slower speeds, working out over which crests they will simply skip and how far they will fly on those jumps where the car lifts off, in order to set up properly for the next corner. With four victories (2008, 2011, 2012 and 2016) at this unmissable event on the WRC calendar in the top-flight category, the Citroën Racing team now aims to achieve similar success in the WRC2 to keep illustrating the versatility and competitiveness of its new C3 R5. The charge will be led by Stéphane Lefebvre, who is very determined to go up against the ever-formidable local drivers on what will be his third appearance at the event. Stéphane was in contention for third place in the WRC2 for long periods at his last outing here in 2015. With seven stage wins alongside co-driver Gabin Moreau since making his debut in Corsica in the C3 R5, the 26 year-old Frenchman has already shown that he has forged a strong bond with Citroën’s new flagship model and that he is very much a potential winner in the category. However, the brand will also be represented by Simone Tempestini, winner of the 2017 Citroën Ultimate Challenge, who will be contesting his second race in the C3 R5, after a baptism of fire in Sardinia.

WHAT THEY SAID

Pierre Budar, Citroën Racing Team Principal

“Having already secured five stage wins in the highly competitive WRC2 class on gravel in Portugal and Sardinia, the C3 R5 will be looking to keep demonstrating its potential in Finland on another radically different event. Stéphane will be involved in two of our three days of pre-event testing. This will give him the opportunity to get used to the speeds reached again and to the endless series of jumps that are never easy to contend with.”

Stéphane Lefebvre

“Although my last outing at this iconic rally dates back to 2015, I have good memories of that year, because I was in contention for the WRC2 podium during the race. I feel like I have improved since then and I have also used the break since Sardinia to work on the on-board footage available on WRC +. I’ll also have a fair bit of time in the car during testing before the rally in order to be ready for the start. I have high hopes of being able to pick up where we left off in Sardinia and turn our good form into a strong result.”

Number of appearances at the event: 2

Best result: 45th (2014)

WRC2: M-Sport (GB) / Ford Fiesta R5 (Michelin)
32 Gus Greensmith / Craig Parry (GB)
48 Jouni Virtanen / Enni Mälkönen (FIN)

Gus Greensmith (WRC 2) said:

“It feels like I’ve been out of the car for ages, but I’ve kept myself busy – training with Rob Wilson and also having a big push to up the level of my physical fitness.

“Finland is the rally of the year – the stages, the atmosphere, everything, it’s just incredible. You can’t find roads like this anywhere else in the world. It can be a challenge to adapt, but the Finnish stages have always tended to suit be well.

“We were leading the event and had a number of stage wins last year, so we know that we can do the job. If we can couple that with the new-found consistency we’ve shown so far this year, we’re in a good position to push for a good result next week.

“Of course all of the local drivers will be really quick here, so we will have to give it 100 percent. The guys back at M-Sport have put in a huge amount of effort to give me the best Fiesta R5 possible. I’m very grateful for all of their hard work and hope to pay them back with a strong result in Finland.”

Jouni Virtanen (WRC 2) said:

“Every year I am looking forward to Rally Finland. The first time I contested this event was in 2009. I said then that it would be the one and only time and that I would stop rallying after that. But this is Rally Finland, an event where you always want more, and next week will be my tenth time competing!

“There are so many things that make this event so special. The stages themselves are amazing – so challenging and so fast with so many jumps. And then there are the fans and the spectators who are fantastic every year.

“The level of the other drivers is always so high, and our aim is just to finish the rally and have fun. If we can finish with some points it would be a very good addition.”

WRC2: Tommi Mäkinen Racing (MM-Motorsport) / Ford Fiesta R5 (Michelin)
33 Takamoto Katsuta / Marko Salminen (J/FIN)
37 Hiroki Arai / Jarmo Lehtinen (J/FIN)
47 Jarkko Nikara / Sayaka Adachi (FIN/J)

JWRC

Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff as the FIA Junior World Rally Championship crews embark on one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the year – Neste Rally Finland.

The Pirelli-shod one-litre EcoBoost Ford Fiesta R2s are ready for action, and the penultimate round of the season is set to be a fast and furious affair.

Famed for their incredible speeds, Finland’s gravel roads have hosted 11 of the 12 fastest rallies in history. The blisteringly quick stages are characterised by huge jumps that favour the brave, and the Junior crews will have to muster all of their ‘sisu’ – a Finnish phrase which means having courage – if they are to master next week’s rollercoaster.

To best prepare for the Finnish fixture, a number of crews tackled AutoGlym Ralli – a well-known local event that has become something of a testing ground. Jean-Baptiste Franceschi finished an impressive second in class – just 8.6 seconds adrift of local driver Lauri Joona – and championship leader Dennis Rådström brought his Fiesta home fourth in class.

Enrico Oldrati was also contesting the event but suffered a heavy roll behind the wheel of his Fiesta. The young Italian was unhurt, and learnt much that he can take forward to next week’s encounter.

Also sampling some high-speed stages in preparation, Ken Torn took his Fiesta to two class victories back home in Estonia. The second came at Rally Estonia – an event three of the four manufacturer teams also chose as part of their preparation for next week.

Emil Bergkvist, Terry Folb, Julius Tannert, Tom Williams and Umberto Accornero will be calling on their past experiences of Rally Finland, whilst David Holder will be looking to channel his knowledge of similar roads found back home in New Zealand.

Like Holder, Luca Bottarelli, Emilio Fernández and Callum Devine have all been competing at home – Devine behind the wheel of the Ford Fiesta R5 at the Donegal International Rally – and Bugra Banaz has been testing at home in Turkey.

The Junior WRC will also welcome a new recruit to the ranks next week – Finland’s Henri Hokkala who has been chosen as this year’s AKK Future Rally Star of Finland.

Hokkala is the latest winner of a fully-funded drive awarded annually by AKK Sports – the promotional arm of Finland’s motorsport federation – and follows in the footsteps of Teemu Suninen, Jari Huttunen, Juuso Nordgren and Emil Lindholm.

Assessed in reconnaissance and pacenote-making skills, mental strength, physical fitness and media savvy, Hokkala was judged as Finland’s next big thing and awarded his place behind the wheel of one of M-Sport Poland’s Ford Fiesta R2s.

A Swede won in Sweden, a Frenchman in Corsica… can a Finn win in Finland?

FIA Junior World Rally Championship Manager, Maciej Woda, said:

“Rally Finland is an event that every driver wants to win, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s the highlight of the year for so many people and the high speeds and big jumps make it one of the most enjoyable rallies on the calendar. But don’t be fooled; as it’s not all fun and games. The stages are extremely technical with so many blind corners over crests. Precision is paramount and even the smallest of mistakes aren’t easily forgiven. It’s a big challenge that favours the brave – and I’m looking forward to seeing who can muster their inner ‘sisu’ next week.”

DRIVER QUOTES

Dennis Rådström said:

“I’m expecting a lot of fun and a lot of excitement at Rally Finland. The high-speed stages are incredible and the fans make the atmosphere really spectacular. Between each event preparation is really important. We’re always working on how we can improve and looking for areas where we can push harder. We made sure that we scheduled some testing before Rally Finland to further improve, and took part in the AutoGlym Ralli which was really useful.”

Emil Bergkvist said:

“I’ve done this rally before and it’s one that I really enjoy. This is one of the events we are aiming to win. Portugal didn’t go our way, and we want to turn it around here. The competition is so unpredictable at the moment, but one thing is for sure – there will always be some really strong rivalry.”

Jean-Baptiste Franceschi said:

“My goal next week is to fight with those who already have experience of this legendary event. This will be my first time at Rally Finland so fighting for the podium will take a lot of hard work – but hopefully we can succeed in that.

“Emil, Dennis, Terry and Ken are going to be my main competition. They are all really fast on events like this, but I’m also feeling well prepared. We had a good test and also came second in class at AutoGlym Ralli – I really hope all this preparation and hard work pays off next week!”

Luca Bottarelli said:

“This is a new rally for us and I hope to achieve a good result with the experience we have. We will try to adapt as quickly as possible, and I’m really looking forward to experiencing the famous jumps of the Finnish forests!”

Julius Tannert said:

“Every rally driver dreams of competing on the Finnish stages. This year we want to be competitive and fight for a podium finish. Pushing the bad luck from Corsica and Portugal aside, we are looking forward to fighting back and climbing up the leader board.”

Enrico Oldrati said:

“There is always room for improvement and each rally helps me improve my pace. This will be my first time at Rally Finland and I am looking forward to experiencing another new event.”

Callum Devine said:

“Like every aspiring young driver, I have wanted to compete at Rally Finland for as long as I can remember. All of the stages look intense and I can’t wait to experience them for myself!

“I’ll have to use the Shakedown to get my head back into gear as my only preparation was the Donegal International Rally where I was behind the wheel of a Fiesta R5!

“It was an amazing experience, but I need to get my head back into R2 mode and focus on converting some good stage times into solid points.”

David Holder said:

“The stages in Finland are probably the ones most similar to those in New Zealand – only with a lot more jumps! It will be tough to challenge for the top results as this will be our first time there, but I will try and use my knowledge of the New Zealand stages to my advantage and will be happy with a top-five result.

“All of the stages look spectacular and I have been fortunate enough to have done some fast events back home in the lead up. We’ve also been working to further develop our pacenote system and it will be interesting to see how that holds up on the fast Finnish roads!”

Banaz said:

“Our motivation is strong and our preparation for Rally Finland went well with some testing in Turkey. I am really excited to compete on this magical event and can’t wait to get started!”

Ken Torn said:

“Out of all the Junior WRC events, Finland is the fastest and also one of the trickiest. I’m really looking forward to the fight and have done some preparation in Estonian – on events with similar conditions to what we are expecting in Finland.”

Emilio Fernández said:

“I cannot wait to arrive in Finland and experience these crazy stages for the first time! In preparation we have contested some rallies back home in Chile, and my hope in Finland is to achieve a more positive result that the one last time out in Portugal.”

Tom Williams said:

“Rally Finland is one of my favorite – and one of the most famous – events on the calendar. It’s renowned for its jumps and high speeds and I can’t wait to get out there!

“It will be nice to be able to push on the smoother gravel and we will have to focus very hard on our pacenotes. We’ve worked really hard on our pacenote system since the last event – using a range of terminology to improve our lines – and want to deliver a clean event whilst pushing for points.

“The stage I’m mostly looking forward to is the power stage – Ruuhimäki. This stage is really flowing with big jumps and masses of spectators.”

Umberto Accornero said:

“Pace and progress will be our focus on this event – and we want to try and reduce the gap to the leaders. All of the Rally Finland stages make me curious and I’m enthusiastic to see what they are like – but Kakaristo is the one that stands out and I can’t wait to experience it!”

Henri Hokkala said:

“This will be my first FIA World Rally Championship event, and the longest rally that I have ever done. This will also be my first time driving the Ford Fiesta R2 in competition, so I hope to set some competitive times. To be titled the Future Rally Star is a massive accomplishment for me, with some big opportunities. I will certainly be giving my best next week and I am optimistic to see what the future brings.”

RALLY FINLAND ENTRIES:

61 Dennis Rådström / Johan Johansson
62 Emil Bergkvist / Joakim Sjöberg
63 Jean-Baptiste Franceschi / Romain Courbon
64 Terry Folb / Kevin Bronner
65 Luca Bottarelli / Manuel Fenoli
66 Julius Tannert / Jürgen Heigl
67 Enrico Oldrati / Danilo Fappani
68 Callum Devine / Brian Hoy
69 David Holder / Jason Farmer
70 Bugra Banaz / Burak Erdener
71 Ken Torn / Kuldar Sikk
72 Emilio Fernández / Joaquin Riquelme
73 Tom Williams / Phil Hall
74 Umberto Accornero / Barone Maurizio
75 Henri Hokkala / kimmo Pahkala

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

1. Dennis Rådström – 74
2. Emil Bergkvist – 58
3. Jean-Baptiste Franceschi – 47
4. Terry Folb – 30
5. Luca Bottarelli – 20
6. Julius Tannert – 19
7. Enrico Oldrati – 18
8. Callum Devine – 18
9. David Holder – 17
10. Bugra Banaz – 16
11. Ken Torn – 15
12. Emilio Fernández – 8
13. Tom Williams – 7
14. Umberto Accornero – 4

Service Park

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1021096630999748609

https://twitter.com/HautamakiTimo/status/1021416492976558080

https://twitter.com/NeilBurgess/status/1022043844253306880

https://twitter.com/The_Rally_Guru/status/1022054553389346817

https://twitter.com/RallyFinland/status/1022025861745336322

https://twitter.com/nepfinland/status/1021745824248856584

https://twitter.com/NeilBurgess/status/1022050492627734528

https://twitter.com/The_Rally_Guru/status/1022135363643600896

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022188417000587265

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022189800202412033

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022194176925024256

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022196664650612736

Recce

https://twitter.com/MiikkaAnttila/status/1021652259212546049

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1021745244751257600

https://twitter.com/TeemuSuninenRac/status/1021695485407633408

https://twitter.com/rallytravel/status/1021720614414020608

https://twitter.com/rallytravel/status/1021706471627730944

https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing/status/1021680060288385024

https://twitter.com/Craig_Breen/status/1021751170157748224

https://twitter.com/rallytravel/status/1021741847440502785

https://twitter.com/ElfynEvans/status/1021807382169612290

https://twitter.com/Michelin_Sport/status/1022013333204074497

https://twitter.com/SLefebvreRallye/status/1022147014509961218

https://twitter.com/GreensmithGus/status/1022180363932782593

https://twitter.com/TorAndreBorrese/status/1022145368996425728

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1022156118959816704

https://twitter.com/JariMattiWRC/status/1021032466755158017

https://twitter.com/timoheinonen/status/1022192945490014208

https://twitter.com/SaariJarno/status/1022130661665263616

https://twitter.com/TeemuSuninenRac/status/1022210178802954241

Thursday, 26 July

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1010897257888124929

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1022339966486159360

https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status/1022338430209085440

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1022344699598852096

https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing/status/1022343871114735618

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1022366161521045504

https://twitter.com/akikojmlfani/status/1022346982759821312

https://twitter.com/EpicRallyTribe/status/1022385536600887296

Shakedown: Ott Tänak had a spin.

https://twitter.com/se_rally/status/1022349311282167809

Shakedown results:

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022380558297509889

https://twitter.com/AMikkelsenRally/status/1022381620018536448

https://twitter.com/HaydenPaddon/status/1022378305415245825

Shakedown, FIA World Rally Championship

Shakedown, Michelin Motorsport

Shakedown, Hyundai Motorsport

Shakedown, AL Rallymedia

Shakedown, SwedishRally

Shakedown, Loïc Pouget

Shakedown, Ziggysony Motorsport videos

Shakedown, Pata78 Motorsport Videos

Shakedown, MIL Rallyvids

https://twitter.com/Craig_Breen/status/1022426683289346048

https://twitter.com/JariMattiWRC/status/1022440740792803328

https://twitter.com/nicolasgilsoul/status/1022448209791209472

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rally Finland
Pre-event Press Conference
Thursday 26th July

Present:
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
Esapekka Lappi, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT
Craig Breen, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team
Teemu Suninen, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team

Q:
Thierry, you lead the championship by 27 points as we head into Rally Finland. It has been a long break since the success of Sardinia, how are you feeling? Refreshed? what have you been doing to prepare for the crucial second half of the season?
TN:
Definitely, the break was quite long but even so we had a lot to do, I was doing some events in Belgium as well. I tried to enjoy some free time, obviously it could have been a little bit longer. When you are leading the championship it’s always a good feeling. It was the first time for us during the break so I really enjoyed that time.

Q:
You have all spent a lot of time testing ahead of this event. It’s not a secret that Hyundai has not historically done exceptionally well here and we haven’t seen you on the podium yet. Last year you were struggling for grip. Is it going to be a different story this year?
TN:
Slightly yes, I hope so. We have worked a lot, it’s true, even if for me it was only two days with the car, one in Estonia, one here. But Andreas had a couple of days more testing as well as Hayden who did the rally in Estonia, so they were able to take some good information. I was happy with my test on Sunday here in Finland but we know as well that we are at the home of Toyota this weekend so we expect that they are going to be really fast again.

Q:
How did the Shakedown go this morning?
TN:
Good. It was slippery and it was a little bit loose. Tomorrow is going to be the same story. We know we are going to suffer a little bit but, at the same time, we all know where are my focuses. It’s going to be to fight for the championship. I need to take some important points this weekend, try to be ahead of Ogier if possible and manage the gap.

Q:
You say the car feels better. What elements have changed in comparison to last year?
TN:
At the end of last year we introduced the new aerodynamics which are definitely one of the most important factors here in Finland at high speed stages. We had suspension problems. Rather little changes which have improved the car.

Q:
Esapekka last year you realised the dream that almost every WRC driver has; to win in Finland. All eyes will be on you this weekend to see if you can do the double. Do you believe you can?
EL:
I will try for sure since I’m not suffering as much as Thierry of the road position to be fourth on the road, but still it’s not the best position – the roads will get better and better eventually. It will be tough and very difficult to repeat the win this year – a big challenge for sure.

Q:
There are big changes for the roads this year: smaller roads, more technical. What do you think of the changes and do you like them?
EL:
It’s definitely going down to more narrow roads but all of them are not so slow, surely a few technical sections as well and the loose gravel is making them slower and the grip is not so high. I think there might be some surprises with the hidden rocks coming to the ground especially during the second pass. So that might be sort of a game changer as well. It’s still Finland but a bit bit different from before.

Q:
What have you learned this year? When you seem to make mistakes, you adapt very quickly.
EL:
On this level, you have to be on the limit most of the time. I have a little less experience than Thierry, for example. With these guys, I have to be on the limit. Mistakes happen, but when you’re driving on the limit, you learn the most. I try to learn where the limit is and try to be just a little bit under it.

Q:
Craig we’ve seen you compete in Rally Estonia to get yourself ready for the high speed test of Finland. With that and the one day test, do you feel ready to tackle the event?
CB:
Estonia is not exactly representative but, to get used to these speeds, I don’t think you’ll pick a faster place than Estonia. On that side I was really happy to be given the opportunity to do the rally there. The profile is not exactly the same and the biggest thing is the surface. In Estonia the roads are really soft and it’s a bit harder here. That was the first thing which took me a little more time in the test to get familiar with it again. I was really, really happy that I could do the rally there and it’s definitely given me a lot of confidence going into this one.

Q:
2016 saw you achieve a podium, however last year was a tough trial. Do you feel the car has improved significantly since then?
CB:
I have good memories from 2016, I’ll never forget that for the rest of my life. Last year was difficult. I think last year in total was difficult anyway and Finland was one of the better ones through the year if you compare it to everything else. So I think this year we’re in a completely different way. The car has improved so much since even the start of this year. We have a new front geometry to use here as well, that really complements the changes we made earlier in the year before Argentina. I feel quietly confident. I try not to look too much at shakedown, in Argentina myself and Kris [Meeke] did exactly the same thing, we were one and two with this new geometry, we thought the whole world’s problems were solved and then in the rally it wasn’t like that. So we need to keep two feet on the ground and take every stage as we can.

Q:
What do you think of the changes that we see to the stages this year?
CB:
It’s different. I won’t say slow, because at the end of the day we’re in Finland and even the narrow roads are very fast. The biggest thing is that it’s been a good summer so far, the scenery is very lush. There is a lot of grass. It’s difficult to see the cuts, difficult to know what’s behind the grass. That’s going to be interesting to see. I’m sure at some point, someone – touch wood it’s not me – will find something hidden in one of those ditches. Naturally as rally drivers are, we tend to nibble a little bit more and more from the side of the road. At some point there will be something in one of those ditches and it’s a key point not to get caught out and catch something.

Q:
Teemu, last year Rally Finland marked the first time you competed at home in a WRC car. You impressed with your pace but lost out on a podium position on the final day. You have had much more experience this year in a World Rally Car; given that you have more experience under your belt do you feel you can show us more this time?
TS:
Of course I hope so. Last year we had only two rallies in a WRC car so I needed to drive on the limits to show my skills and this year I hope I can do the same but I also need to finish the rally and make sure I can get the roads for the next year.

Q:
It’s a fine balance, you will want to push and get a great result but you also want to finish. It’s a difficult balance to manage?
TS:
For sure, especially here in Finland because all the drivers are driving on the limits and here we just need to go flat out everywhere to go fast, otherwise we are going to lose a lot of time.

Q:
Your thoughts on the changes we are seeing to the stages this year, in terms of them using smaller roads, different roads. Do you think it’s a good thing?
TS:
I would say it’s a good thing. It’s more challenging for the drivers. The roads are more narrow. There is not much space to make a mistake. If I’m going to do a mistake, we are out of the rally. From that side it’s more challenging.

Q:
Since you have been competing on more WRC events, we’ve seen you becoming more popular. Certainly last night you were inundated with journalists questioning you. Do you feel more pressure on you this year?
TS:
Not really. Last year I had two rallies and needed to show everything that I could. This season I have a bit more time, it’s not all about one rally. But I need to get the good results from here.

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
Kalle Rovanperä
Gus Greensmith

Q:
Kalle, this is your first attempt at your home event. No longer standing as a spectator, this year you get to compete. How special does that feel for you?
KR:
It’s a really exciting moment for me. At the start in Harju a lot of people are watching for me and I think it’s going to be a really special moment.

Q:
Even though it is your first attempt, many eyes will be watching to see how you perform at home. Do you have the confidence to challenge for the category win?
KR:
I think we have been in the winning points in every race before this so it should be possible here, but of course we have to now finish and get good points as we have retired a few times now and it is a bit of a different approach now.

Q:
We saw your pace in Argentina, but we also saw a mistake on the final day. What did you learn from that incident?
KR:
We have learned a lot and we are learning all the time so I think this race is also a learning race for us. It’s the second time from me in a Finnish gravel rally so I don’t have so much experience from here. We have learned many things and now I hope we have everything alright now in the pace notes and everything so we can finish the rally.

Q:
I can imagine the pressure is quite huge, are there any nerves, are you feeling the pressure or not?
KR:
I think there is pressure more than normal and I think it is the biggest thing, there is more motivation also. All my friends and family are watching always in all the countries and they are listening to rally radio so you really have to be good.

Q:
Gus, you are currently fourth in the drivers’ standings of WRC 2, having finished second in both Mexico and Argentina. You led in Portugal but the first win has eluded you so far. Could it be here?
GG:
That would be the plan. The test felt really good. The car, no problems. Probably the best car I’ve driven in a long time and then we tried it to make sure everything was working this morning and the car felt strange. We know what it is now so we should be fine for the rally. I can’t say what but the car should be fine now and we know what it is and the pace should be back because it was very strange trying to work out what it was, then after a couple of runs we worked out what it was. We know how good the car was on the test and as soon as we made the changes it should be back to normal I hope.

Q:
It’s been quite a big break since competition, especially for you as you didn’t compete in Sardinia, the last WRC event we saw. You come here on the high-speed roads of Finland. What have you been doing to get yourself in the mindset of this event?
GG:
I’ve been out of a car for almost nine weeks, so it’s been a really long time and I’ve not really had the preparation that a lot of the other drivers have had, doing small rallies and a lot of testing. So it will be tricky to be right on the pace straight away but I had two days and WRC drivers only need two days to get ready for an event so I don’t really see why it should be different for me. I’m feeling good now and the confidence is high so yes, let’s go and do the job.

Q:
From the recce what have you thought of the stages as we have seen changes to the route, quite considerable changes. Smaller roads have been used, it’s a little bit more technical than we’ve seen in the past.
GG:
I like the fast, flowing roads of Finland but the slower more technical roads definitely suit the Fiesta. I was quite happy to see the changes. I was quite happy to see the roads but there is a lot of loose on the top of the surface so even as the second WRC 2 car on the road, it’s still going to be clearing all the way behind. I think you can expect to see some fast times behind, so yes we’re going to have to go flat out straight away in the morning and we can’t really lift.

FIA JUNIOR / WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
Henri Hokkala
Emil Bergkvist

Q:
Henri, you’ve recently been named the ‘AKK Future Rally Star of Finland’ and follow in the footsteps of Teemu Suninen, Jari Huttunen and Juuso Nordgren. We’ll see you compete in the Junior WRC in a Fiesta R2. Firstly, how does it feel to compete at your home event?
HH:
I’m feeling nice. It’s a nice feeling and this is my home rally and this is possible.

Q:
How much testing have you been able to do with the car? What are your thoughts on it? What will be your strategy this weekend?
HH:
We drive 100 kilometres in Poland. It’s OK.

Q:
We have some really strong drivers in the Junior WRC Championship. Do you feel that you will be able to get a podium result here this weekend? What are you hoping for?
HH:
It’s a long rally but I want to be on the podium.

Q:
Emil, the 2018 season in the Junior WRC Championship has been fiercely competitive. You’re currently second with a consistent performance. With just two rounds remaining are we going to see a big push from you to achieve a win?
EB:
I will really try. The season so far has seen some ups and downs with mechanical problems. We have this in the championship where you can get one point if you win a stage, so in Portugal that was my lifeline to still be second in the championship. I will really try to make a good result here but there is good competition and it will not be easy.

Q:
You’ve competed in Finland one time before, so do you feel you have the knowledge, the confidence to go out and push hard this weekend?
EB:
I believe so but I know that all the other guys also have it so we really have to be on it from the first metre. Shakedown in the morning was a good test to get speed into the car and yes, I will try to be in the fight.

Q:
Just two rounds remaining in the Junior WRC Championship, this and Rally Turkey which is for double points. So even if you were massively successful, winning every stage and the rally, you still don’t know until after Turkey who will be able to win the championship.
EB:
It’s very unpredictable to see the winner at the moment. If you lead the championship now and you retire in Turkey, you are going to lose a lot of points but still you have to finish in a good way here and just drive to the finish in Turkey.

https://twitter.com/rallytravel/status/1022443244368605184

The starting order:

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022458306516975620

https://twitter.com/SaariJarno/status/1022509912721711105

https://twitter.com/rallytravel/status/1022502898905825281

https://twitter.com/SebOgier/status/1022535104944590851

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1022527089726173185

https://twitter.com/HennaVirkkunen/status/1022530738451869696

https://twitter.com/SaariJarno/status/1022532535472013312

SS 1: Hiroki Arai hit the inside of a corner on the gravel and broke the compression arm or something.

SS 1: Nicolas Ciamin hit the tyres and got some damages to the front. Also had a pop-off issue and lost a lot of power.

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022541368575574016

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022550552062951425

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022551267594395650

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1022547064440401920

https://twitter.com/OttTanak/status/1022541254234714112

https://twitter.com/thierryneuville/status/1022542431194099714

Day 1, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC

Day 1, Toni Vuohelainen

SS 1, SwedishRally

Friday, 27 July

Competitive distance: 126,37 km (Liaison 413,58 km, Total 539,95 km)

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1021695837536174080

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1021773178127958017

https://twitter.com/MikaHayhanen/status/1007220949626875905

The starting order:

ORD	ENTRANT (TEAM)	DRIVER/CODRIVER	NAT.	NR	CAR	GR	CL	SEED PR
1	Hyundai Motorsport	Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul	B	5	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
2	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia	F	1	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
3	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja	EE	8	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
4	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm	FIN	9	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
5	Hyundai Motorsport	Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger	N	4	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
6	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barrit	GB	2	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
7	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila	FIN	7	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
8	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Craig Breen / Scott Martin	IRL/GB	11	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
9	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen	N	10	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
10	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula	FIN	3	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
11	Hyundai Motorsport	Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall	NZ/GB	6	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
12	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson	UAE/GB	12	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
13	ŠKODA Motorsport	Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjærmoen	N	31	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
14	(M-Sport)	Gus Greensmith / Craig Parry	GB	32	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
15	Tommi Mäkinen Racing (MM-Motorsport)	Takamoto Katsuta / Marko Salminen	J/FIN	33	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
16	ACI Team Italia WRC (Motorsport Italia srl)	Fabio Andolfi / Emanuele Inglesi	I	34	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
17	BRC Racing Team	Pierre-Louis Loubet / Vincent Landais	F	35	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
18	Citroën Total	Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau	F	36	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
19	Tommi Mäkinen Racing (MM-Motorsport)	Hiroki Arai / Jarmo Lehtinen	J/FIN	37	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
20	Hyundai Motorsport (Sarrazin Motorsport)	Jari Huttunen / Antti Linnaketo	FIN	38	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
21	(Sarrazin Motorsport)	Nicolas Ciamin / Thibault de la Haye	F	39	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
22	Motorsport Italia srl	Benito Guerra / Borja Rozada	MEX/E	40	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
23	ŠKODA Motorsport	Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen	FIN	41	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
24	(Printsport)	Lars Stugemo / Kalle Lexe	S	42	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
25	Castrol Ford Team Turkey	Murat Bostanci / Onur Vatansever	TR	43	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
26	Citroën Total	Simone Tempestini / Sergiu Itu	RO	44	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
27	TGS Worldwide	Eerik Pietarinen / Juhana Raitanen	FIN	45	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
28	Printsport	Emil Lindholm / Mikael Korhonen	FIN	46	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
29	Tommi Mäkinen Racing 2 (MM-Motorsport)	Jarkko Nikara / Sayaka Adachi	FIN/J	47	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
30	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Jouni Virtanen / Enni Mälkönen	FIN	48	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
31	(Hannu´s Rally Team)	Teemu Asunmaa / Ville Mannisenmäki	FIN	81	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
32	(Printsport)	Marko Mänty / Joni Mäkelä	FIN	82	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
33	Printsport	Łukasz Pieniążek / Przemysław Mazur	PL	83	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
34	(Printsport)	Kristian Kiviniemi / Matti Kangas	FIN	84	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
35	Team MRF (M-Sport)	Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall	IND/AUS	89	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5
36		Dennis Rådström / Johan Johansson	S	61	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
37		Emil Bergkvist / Joakim Sjöberg	S	62	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
38		Jean-Baptiste Franceschi / Romain Courbon	F	63	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
39		Terry Folb / Kevin Bronner	F	64	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
40	OT Racing	Ken Torn / Kuldar Sikk	EE	71	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
41	ADAC Sachsen e.V.	Julius Tannert / Jürgen Heigl	D/A	66	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
42		Callum Devine / Brian Hoy	IRL	68	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
43	ACI Team Italia	Luca Bottarelli / Manuel Fenoli	I	65	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
44		David Holder / Jason Farmer	NZ	69	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
45	Castrol Ford Team Turkey	Bugra Banaz / Burak Erdener	TR	70	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
46	ACI Team Italia	Enrico Oldrati / Danilo Fappani	I	67	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
47		Emilio Fernàndez / Joaquin Riquelme	RCH	72	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
48		Tom Williams / Phil Hall	GB	73	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
49		Umberto Accornero / Maurizio Barone	I	74	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
50	Team Flying Finn	Henri Hokkala / Kimmo Pahkala	FIN	75	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
51	(CHL Sport Auto)	Taisko Lario / Tatu Hämäläinen	FIN	76	Peugeot 208 R2	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3
52		Sanjay Takale / Darren Garrod	IND/GB	78	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3
53		Mattias Monelius / Erik Gustafsson	S	85	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
54	(Printsport)	Kari Hämäläinen / Risto Pietiläinen	FIN	86	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
55		Ville Pynnönen / Timo Hantunen	FIN	87	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
56		Jari Tuuri / Jukka Ruotsalainen	FIN	91	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
57		Jaakko Lavio / Pasi Haataja	FIN	92	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	RC2	NR4
58		Kari Hytönen / Ida Lidebjer Granberg	FIN	93	Škoda Fabia Super 2000	RC2	S2000 2.0A
59		Zoltán Szabó / Krisztián Szabó	H	94	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
60		Markus Manninen / Arto Ranta	FIN	96	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
61		Arttu Lähdeniemi / Aki Suutarinen	FIN	97	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
62		Kalle Markkanen / Tommy Nyholm	FIN	98	Citroën C2 R2	RC4	R2
63		Alex Waterman / Harry Thomas	GB	100	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
64		Roland Poom / Ken Järveoja	EE	101	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
65		Raimo Kaisanlahti / Aki Sparre	FIN	102	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
66		Kohei Izuno / Takahiro Yasui	J	103	Toyota Vitz	RC5	R1
67		Shunichi Washio / Isao Kono	J	104	Toyota Vitz	RC5	R1

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022568952625614849

SS 2: Esapekka Lappi had a spun and the engine stalled. Lost almost 30 seconds.

https://twitter.com/EsapekkaLappi/status/1022723954132303872

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1022721731105095681

https://twitter.com/TeemuSuninenRac/status/1022721339419967493

SS 2: Craig Breen knocked the front out of line and hit a rock on a left hander. Got a puncture. Lost over 40 seconds.

https://twitter.com/SaariJarno/status/1022720000526901248

SS 2: Ole Christian Veiby did a little mistake at a junction.

SS 2: Stéphane Lefebvre went wide onto a bank, when exited a junction. Lost part of the rear axle. Retired -> Rally 2

https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing/status/1022728409955426309

https://twitter.com/SaariJarno/status/1022728682400624641

SS 2: Jarkko Nikara took too much speed, went wide, hit the bank and rolled. Retired -> Rally 2

https://twitter.com/Ralliradio/status/1022728461192978437

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1022733621533265920

SS 2: Emil Lindholm went a bit wide and off the road on the first km in a tight left hand corner over a crest. Lost almost 3 minutes.

SS 3: Hiroki Arai went a little bit wide and rolled. Lost over 2 minutes.

SS 4: Andreas Mikkelsen misheard a note and went off the road into a ditch. The windscreen was broken. Lost over 3 minutes,

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1022746799998726144

SS 4: Pierre-Louis Loubet stalled and lost some time.

SS 4: Emilio Fernàndez went off the road. Retired -> Rally 2

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1022762726039478272

SS 5: Thierry Neuville missed the note and went wide. Lost almost 30 seconds.

SS 5: Teemu Suninen went wide on the last corner and almost rolled. Lost a couple of seconds.

https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status/1022768835290652672

https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status/1022807443133423617

SS 5: Dennis Rådström went off the road and damaged the roll cage. Retired

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1022806345718923264

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1022807589367816192

https://twitter.com/SebOgier/status/1022803806474698752

SS 6: Ole Christian Veiby went a little wide and hit a bank. The shunt resulted in cracked left rear wheel. Another consequence of the off-road excursion was broken brake disk on the rear-left side, which had to be removed, meaning that they had to continue with braking power limited to just three wheels.

https://twitter.com/OCVeiby/status/1022815249014185984

SS 6: Pierre-Louis Loubet lost a brake at the rear and only with three brakes.

SS 6: Hiroki Arai had a slow puncture at three km from the end. Lost 5-10 seconds.

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1022818587491409921

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1022819750412476417

SS 7: Henri Hokkala took the corner too much inside and rolled. Retired

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1022846003697864704

https://twitter.com/OCVeiby/status/1022845903068127233

SS 8: Takamoto Katsuta had a power steering failure upon landing from a jump. The steering suddenly locked in the wrong direction and went off to the right and crashed heavily. Retired

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1022867051008995331

SS 8: Julius Tannert had a puncture and lost some time.

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1022859719940005888

SS 9: Hayden Paddon hit a rock in a corner and thought had a puncture, but luckily nothing happened.

SS 9: Hiroki Arai had another puncture and does not have any spare tyres left. Retired -> Rally 2

https://twitter.com/timokorkalainen/status/1022871356071788544

SS 9: Benito Guerra had a double puncture for the last 2 km and lost some time.

SS 9: Pierre-Louis Loubet lost all brakes and lost some time.

SS 9: Marko Mänty, Teemu Asunmaa & Emil Lindholm had punctures and lost some time.

https://twitter.com/SaariJarno/status/1022867154432077825

SS 9: Łukasz Pieniążek had a puncture and lost some time.

SS 9: Emil Bergkvist had a puncture and lost over 30 seconds.

https://twitter.com/MadsOstberg/status/1022857217341616129

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1022865669195476992

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1022867526257180672

SS 11: Andreas Mikkelsen touched the last chicane.

SS 11: Khalid Al Qassimi had a problem with a valve from the fuel tank, the car was stopping many times. Lost over 2 minutes.

SS 11: Craig Breen had a problem with a valve from the fuel tank, the car was stopping. Lost almost 30 seconds.

SS 11: Teemu Suninen lost the brakes and said that was lucky didn’t crash. Lost almost 10 seconds.

https://twitter.com/TeemuSuninenRac/status/1022919103647043584

SS 11: Emil Lindholm hit a lamppost and the car caught fire for a while. Lost over 50 seconds.

https://twitter.com/Ralliradio/status/1022907144318926848

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1022907681953259526

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022905863273623553

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1022907069962379264

https://twitter.com/OttTanak/status/1022903686404685825

https://twitter.com/MadsOstberg/status/1022927705199792129

https://twitter.com/SebOgier/status/1022902215755923457

https://twitter.com/KalleRovanpera/status/1022909214807744512

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1022907316226678785

Ott Tänak takes the overnight Rally Finland advantage after a day in which he and Mads Østberg have diced for tenths of a second stage by stage, the lead between them changing no fewer than four times. The Estonian has been super impressive throughout the day, especially considering he has run third on the gravel roads, and described today’s 126 kilometres of competition as close to perfect. Østberg has never let up the pressure, underlining the potential of the latest upgrades on the Citroen C3 WRC. Jari-Matti Latvala also continues to push hard and with changes to the Yaris WRC, now understands what he needs to do tomorrow to further up the pace. He is 23.1 seconds adrift of team-mate Tänak.

This afternoon’s loop of repeated stages proved trickier with rutted roads and tyre wear becoming an issue for some of the contenders. Tänak led into the afternoon but Østberg immediately jumped ahead. He consolidated that lead with another fastest stage time to claim the smallest one tenths of a second advantage over his rival. He managed to pull out another nine-tenths in the third stage but Tänak fought back in the last two forest tests, two stage victories catapulting him back into the lead by 4.3 seconds going into the final run of the Harju Street Stage in Jyväskylä. While the gap between the two remains just 5.8 seconds overnight, Østberg had to ease the pace to conserve tyres over the rutted and rocky stages. Latvala is now happy with the direction the Yaris WRC is going in and the Finn was able to up the pace, albeit mixing speed with caution to avoid punctures. His only error of the afternoon was running wide in the final forest stage.

Hayden Paddon continues to fly the flag for Hyundai and the Kiwi is fourth, despite dropping to fifth behind Teemu Suninen for most of the afternoon. He was hesitant in the opener where hanging dust restricted vision, has briefly been off the road and then slowed when he thought he’d picked up a puncture. He and Suninen have battled all the way however and just five-tenths of a second separated them as they headed into Harju. Suninen has run well all afternoon, but continues to feel he needs to find more pace. He was also lucky to escape problems in the final street stage when he lost the brakes and dropped more than 10 seconds to overnight 9.7 seconds adrift. Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier has, like Championship rival Thierry Neuville, struggled running second on the dry and dusty stages but has fared pretty well, despite getting caught out in a couple of ruts. He is now sixth, benefitting when team-mate Elfyn Evans slowed in the penultimate stage to give him a marginally better road position tomorrow. Evans is just 2.2 seconds further adrift in seventh now. Esapekka Lappi has had a better afternoon and now has confidence in the car. He is hot on the heels of Ogier and Evans and enjoying the fight with his rivals. After his opening stage puncture, Craig Breen has been on catch-up but the Irishman continues to push in ninth. However, he and team-mate Khalid Al Qassimi had a scare in the final street stage, both dropping time with a problem with the fuel pressure relief valve. Neuville remains 10th, the Belgian struggling with grip and consistency all day long. After going off the road this morning, Andreas Mikkelsen has moved from 30th to 16th overnight.

The FIA WRC 2 Championship continues to be dominated by teenager Harri Rovanperä. The 17-year-old is competing on his home rally for the first time and has won eight of the 10 stages to take a 32 second lead over Eerik Pietarinen, who won one of the stages. Emil Bergkvist, who was heading the FIA Junior and WRC 3 Championships, picked up a puncture in stage nine and lost his lead to Ken Torn, the Estonian taking a 21.7 second advantage into Saturday’s stages.

Results after Section 3

1	Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja	Toyota Yaris WRC	1hr 04min 14.9sec
2	Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen	Citroen C3 WRC	1hr 04min 20.7sec
3	Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila	Toyota Yaris WRC	1hr 04min 38.0sec
4	Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	1hr 04min 51.3sec
5	Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula	Ford Fiesta WRC	1hr 05min 01.0sec
6	Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia	Ford Fiesta WRC	1hr 05min 13.8sec
7	Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt	Ford Fiesta WRC	1hr 05min 16.0sec
8	Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm	Toyota Yaris WRC	1hr 05min 16.3sec
9	Craig Breen / Scott Martin	Citroen C3 WRC	1hr 05min 49.0sec
10	Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	1hr 06min 12.6sec

SS 1-5, FIA World Rally Championship

SS 6-11, FIA World Rally Championship

Leg 1, Highlights WRC2, FIA World Rally Championship

Leg 1, Highlights JWRC, FIA World Rally Championship

Leg 1, Michelin Motorsport

Leg 1, Hyundai Motorsport

Day 2, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC

SS 3, AL Rallymedia

SS 6, AL Rallymedia

Leg 1, SwedishRally

Leg 1, Loïc Pouget

Leg 1, Pata78 Motorsport Videos

Leg 1, MIL Rallyvids

Day 2, Toni Vuohelainen

Saturday, 28 July

Competitive distance: 142,86 km (Liaison 542,83 km, Total 685,69 km

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1022088849357524995

The starting order:

ORD	ENTRANT (TEAM)	DRIVER/CODRIVER	NAT.	NR	CAR	GR	CL	SEED PR
1	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson	UAE/GB	12	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger	N	4	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
3	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul	B	5	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
4	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Craig Breen / Scott Martin	IRL/GB	11	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
5	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm	FIN	9	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
6	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barrit	GB	2	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
7	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia	F	1	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
8	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula	FIN	3	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
9	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall	NZ/GB	6	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
10	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila	FIN	7	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
11	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen	N	10	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
12	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja	EE	8	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
13	ŠKODA Motorsport	Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen	FIN	41	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
14	TGS Worldwide	Eerik Pietarinen / Juhana Raitanen	FIN	45	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
15	Hyundai Motorsport (Sarrazin Motorsport)	Jari Huttunen / Antti Linnaketo	FIN	38	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
16	ŠKODA Motorsport	Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjærmoen	N	31	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
17	(Hannu´s Rally Team)	Teemu Asunmaa / Ville Mannisenmäki	FIN	81	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
18	(M-Sport)	Gus Greensmith / Craig Parry	GB	32	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
19	Printsport	Łukasz Pieniążek / Przemysław Mazur	PL	83	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
20	(Printsport)	Marko Mänty / Joni Mäkelä	FIN	82	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
21	(Sarrazin Motorsport)	Nicolas Ciamin / Thibault de la Haye	F	39	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
22	Citroën Total	Simone Tempestini / Sergiu Itu	RO	44	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
23	BRC Racing Team	Pierre-Louis Loubet / Vincent Landais	F	35	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
24	Printsport	Emil Lindholm / Mikael Korhonen	FIN	46	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
25	Tommi Mäkinen Racing 2 (MM-Motorsport)	Jarkko Nikara / Sayaka Adachi	FIN/J	47	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
26	Tommi Mäkinen Racing (MM-Motorsport)	Hiroki Arai / Jarmo Lehtinen	J/FIN	37	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
27		Ville Pynnönen / Timo Hantunen	FIN	87	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
28	Motorsport Italia srl	Benito Guerra / Borja Rozada	MEX/E	40	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
29	(Printsport)	Kristian Kiviniemi / Matti Kangas	FIN	84	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
30	ACI Team Italia WRC (Motorsport Italia srl)	Fabio Andolfi / Emanuele Inglesi	I	34	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
31	Citroën Total	Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau	F	36	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
32		Mattias Monelius / Erik Gustafsson	S	85	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
33	Castrol Ford Team Turkey	Murat Bostanci / Onur Vatansever	TR	43	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
34	Team MRF (M-Sport)	Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall	IND/AUS	89	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5
35	OT Racing	Ken Torn / Kuldar Sikk	EE	71	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
36		Emil Bergkvist / Joakim Sjöberg	S	62	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
37		Terry Folb / Kevin Bronner	F	64	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
38		Jean-Baptiste Franceschi / Romain Courbon	F	63	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
39	(CHL Sport Auto)	Taisko Lario / Tatu Hämäläinen	FIN	76	Peugeot 208 R2	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3
40	ADAC Sachsen e.V.	Julius Tannert / Jürgen Heigl	D/A	66	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
41		Callum Devine / Brian Hoy	IRL	68	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
42	ACI Team Italia	Luca Bottarelli / Manuel Fenoli	I	65	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
43		Arttu Lähdeniemi / Aki Suutarinen	FIN	97	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
44		David Holder / Jason Farmer	NZ	69	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
45		Emilio Fernàndez / Joaquin Riquelme	RCH	72	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
46		Tom Williams / Phil Hall	GB	73	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
47	Castrol Ford Team Turkey	Bugra Banaz / Burak Erdener	TR	70	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
48	ACI Team Italia	Enrico Oldrati / Danilo Fappani	I	67	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
49		Umberto Accornero / Maurizio Barone	I	74	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
50		Kalle Markkanen / Tommy Nyholm	FIN	98	Citroën C2 R2	RC4	R2
51		Markus Manninen / Arto Ranta	FIN	96	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
52		Jari Tuuri / Jukka Ruotsalainen	FIN	91	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
53	(Printsport)	Kari Hämäläinen / Risto Pietiläinen	FIN	86	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
54		Zoltán Szabó / Krisztián Szabó	H	94	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
55	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Jouni Virtanen / Enni Mälkönen	FIN	48	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
56		Kari Hytönen / Ida Lidebjer Granberg	FIN	93	Škoda Fabia Super 2000	RC2	S2000 2.0A
57	(Printsport)	Lars Stugemo / Kalle Lexe	S	42	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
58		Roland Poom / Ken Järveoja	EE	101	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
59		Alex Waterman / Harry Thomas	GB	100	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
60		Kohei Izuno / Takahiro Yasui	J	103	Toyota Vitz	RC5	R1
61		Shunichi Washio / Isao Kono	J	104	Toyota Vitz	RC5	R1
62		Sanjay Takale / Darren Garrod	IND/GB	78	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3
63		Raimo Kaisanlahti / Aki Sparre	FIN	102	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1023040063154925568

https://twitter.com/SebOgier/status/1023048866264961024

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1023046322805456897

https://twitter.com/JariMattiWRC/status/1023050005907685377

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1023047235305701377

SS 12: Khalid Al Qassimi went off the road. Retired -> Rally 2

SS 12: Emil Lindholm went off the road and rolled. Retired -> Rally 2

https://twitter.com/Ralliradio/status/1023096455224016897

SS 12: Teemu Asunmaa hit a stone and got a broken driveshaft.

SS 12: Terry Folb had a puncture at the beginning of the stage.

SS 12: Kari Hämäläinen went off the road and rolled. Retired

SS 12: Arttu Lähdeniemi rolled big time. Retired

SS 13: Esapekka Lappi made a mistake in the beginning and lost maybe two seconds.

SS 13: Elfyn Evans had a pretty big moment near the start and said they were pretty lucky to get away with that one.

SS 13: Hayden Paddon had some small problems with the brakes.

SS 13: Teemu Asunmaa had a broken driveshaft and lost over 40 seconds. Retired -> Rally 2

SS 13: Jarkko Nikara did a few kilometres without any notes at all.

SS 13: Hiroki Arai lost the anti-roll bar at the rear and it was sliding everywhere,

SS 13: Łukasz Pieniążek went off the road and rolled. Retired -> Rally 2

https://twitter.com/pieniazekrally/status/1023105468762345473

SS 13: Terry Folb retired -> Rally 2

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1023112004246982657

https://twitter.com/SebOgier/status/1023117973622583297

SS 14: Simone Tempestini went wide and rolled. Retired -> Rally 2

SS 15: Luca Bottarelli went wide, off the road and rolled. Retired -> Rally 2

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1023163613798977536

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1023143196614909952

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1023144596149334017

https://twitter.com/TeemuSuninenRac/status/1023160181864243200

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1023184856841375746

https://twitter.com/JariMattiWRC/status/1023183279560765440

https://twitter.com/EsapekkaLappi/status/1023224051601498112

https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status/1023224188776194054

SS 18: Kalle Rovanperä hit a rock hidden in deep ruts while braking and the left front suspension collapsed. Was able to do some emergency roadside repair and continued. Lost over 50 seconds.

https://twitter.com/KalleRovanpera/status/1023230581033852928

https://twitter.com/MotorsportSkoda/status/1023231987992150016

SS 18: Ole Christian Veiby went on the inside of the corner and there was rock in the ruts which knocked the car up on two wheels and it started to roll. Through the forest and some rocks. The car got some serious damages. Retired

https://twitter.com/OCVeiby/status/1023230558221029376

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1023236559850622976

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1023234942380191745

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1023236270619865088

https://twitter.com/SirpaTuomi/status/1023947526066642945

https://twitter.com/SaariJarno/status/1023250270334136320

https://twitter.com/Ralliradio/status/1023247232529776641

SS 19: David Holder run out of rubber. Retired -> Rally 2

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1023238374059122688

https://twitter.com/vainionjoni/status/1023267334499323909

https://twitter.com/HartusvuoriWRC/status/1023215496353775616

https://twitter.com/MadsOstberg/status/1023286479970349056

https://twitter.com/TorsteinEriksen/status/1023313906805223425

https://twitter.com/JariMattiWRC/status/1023287637120036864

https://twitter.com/EsapekkaLappi/status/1023272666235645953

https://twitter.com/ElfynEvans/status/1023298779724820480

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1023258923686617093

https://twitter.com/KalleRovanpera/status/1023279086150602752

https://twitter.com/F_Gustavsson/status/1023285233066631168

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1023271860954382337

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1023272974437236738

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1023280268193554432

Ott Tänak continues to head the Rally Finland leaderboard having once again stretched his advantage during the repeated stages this afternoon. Despite only winning one stage – shared with team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala – the Estonian heads into Sunday’s four stages with 39 seconds in hand to second-placed Mads Østberg. The Norwegian has however come under intense pressure from Latvala this afternoon and the pair are split by just 5.4 seconds with 45 competitive kilometres to go.

Tänak remains totally in control of the event and has had a great rhythm throughout. He jointly won the first of the afternoon stages with Latvala and despite carrying a small power steering problem through the remaining stages, has extended his advantage and is on track for what would be a momentous victory on one of the fastest, most spectacular and specialised events on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar. Østberg has felt the balance of his C3 WRC has been affected by carrying two spare wheels all afternoon, but it was a safe bet based on the high tyre wear the team has been experiencing this weekend. After set-up changes during the mid-day service, Latvala has been flying, so much so he wondered how he never went off the road in the final stage on worn tyres. He has chipped away at a 20.9 second deficit to Østberg after the first loop to close the gap to a handful of seconds, setting up a titanic battle tomorrow.

Esapekka Lappi, last year’s winner, has also been on a charge and the Finn has moved from eighth last night to fourth this evening. He has been mindful of taking too many risks but has been flying through the stages, setting three of the four fastest times this afternoon. Hayden Paddon was a victim of Lappi’s pace, the Kiwi dropping some time conserving tyres, but he lost out to the Finn in the third stage when he had to back off because of the tyre wear. The three Fiesta WRCs of Teemu Suninen, Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans remain sixth, seventh and eighth respectively, none of the crews being able to improve on their positions. Suninen has struggled for grip in places, Ogier has continued to try different set-ups in an effort to improve the car with its new aero package, and Evans had a big impact and then felt the Fiesta had lost some balance. Each will now doubtless be focused on reaching the finish and picking up some valuable points. Craig Breen lost a bit of confidence in the car mid-afternoon and continues to rue running near the front of the field after picking up problems on the first day on a number of recent events. Thierry Neuville has had a better afternoon, albeit with a small brake problem, and he too will want whatever points he can salvage from another difficult Rally Finland for the Hyundai team. Team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen has managed to climb to 11th after his accident on Friday.

Kalle Rovanperä provided the drama in the FIA WRC 2 Championship this afternoon. After winning two of the first three stages, the young Finn – who had a commanding 54 second lead over Eerik Pietarinen – hit something which damaged the front suspension. Kilometres later the strut punctured through the Škoda’s bonnet leaving him to struggle through the penultimate stage. His lead was slashed to two seconds but he managed to continue into the final stage where it appears in his haste to try and make some repairs they forgot to latch the bonnet pins. With the bonnet flying up, he lost yet more time, albeit only dropping to fourth and 46 seconds off Pietarinen’s lead. Ken Torn continues to top the FIA Junior / WRC 3 Championships but the Estonian has a chasing Emil Bergkvist on his heels, the pair now split by 12.7 seconds.

Results after Section 5

1	Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja	Toyota Yaris WRC	2hr 13min 18.2sec
2	Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen	Citroen C3 WRC	2hr 13min 57.2sec
3	Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila	Toyota Yaris WRC	2hr 14min 02.6sec
4	Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm	Toyota Yaris WRC	2hr 14min 38.8sec
5	Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	2hr 14min 47.8sec
6	Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula	Ford Fiesta WRC	2hr 15min 03.3sec
7	Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia	Ford Fiesta WRC	2hr 15min 25.8sec
8	Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt	Ford Fiesta WRC	2hr 15min 36.1sec
9	Craig Breen / Scott Martin	Citroen C3 WRC	2hr 16min 14.6sec
10	Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	2hr 16min 52.7sec

SS 12-15, FIA World Rally Championship

SS 16-19, FIA World Rally Championship

Leg 2, Highlights WRC2, FIA World Rally Championship

Leg 2, Highlights JWRC, FIA World Rally Championship

Leg 2, Michelin Motorsport

Leg 2, Hyundai Motorsport

Day 3, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC

Leg 2, AL Rallymedia

Leg 2, SwedishRally

Leg 2, Loïc Pouget

Leg 2, MIL Rallyvids

Day 3, Toni Vuohelainen

Sunday, 29 July

Competitive distance: 45,72 km (Liaison 146,70 km, Total 192,42 km)

The starting order:

ORD	ENTRANT (TEAM)	DRIVER/CODRIVER	NAT.	NR	CAR	GR	CL	SEED PR
1	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger	N	4	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul	B	5	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
3	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Craig Breen / Scott Martin	IRL/GB	11	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
4	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barrit	GB	2	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
5	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia	F	1	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
6	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula	FIN	3	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
7	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall	NZ/GB	6	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
8	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm	FIN	9	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
9	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila	FIN	7	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
10	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen	N	10	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
11	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja	EE	8	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
12	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson	UAE/GB	12	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	P1	M
13	TGS Worldwide	Eerik Pietarinen / Juhana Raitanen	FIN	45	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
14	Hyundai Motorsport (Sarrazin Motorsport)	Jari Huttunen / Antti Linnaketo	FIN	38	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
15	(M-Sport)	Gus Greensmith / Craig Parry	GB	32	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
16	ŠKODA Motorsport	Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen	FIN	41	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
17	(Hannu´s Rally Team)	Teemu Asunmaa / Ville Mannisenmäki	FIN	81	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
18	Printsport	Emil Lindholm / Mikael Korhonen	FIN	46	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
19	Citroën Total	Simone Tempestini / Sergiu Itu	RO	44	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
20	Tommi Mäkinen Racing 2 (MM-Motorsport)	Jarkko Nikara / Sayaka Adachi	FIN/J	47	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
21	Printsport	Łukasz Pieniążek / Przemysław Mazur	PL	83	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
22	BRC Racing Team	Pierre-Louis Loubet / Vincent Landais	F	35	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
23	(Printsport)	Marko Mänty / Joni Mäkelä	FIN	82	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
24		Ville Pynnönen / Timo Hantunen	FIN	87	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
25	Motorsport Italia srl	Benito Guerra / Borja Rozada	MEX/E	40	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
26	Citroën Total	Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau	F	36	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
27		Mattias Monelius / Erik Gustafsson	S	85	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
28	Tommi Mäkinen Racing (MM-Motorsport)	Hiroki Arai / Jarmo Lehtinen	J/FIN	37	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
29	ACI Team Italia WRC (Motorsport Italia srl)	Fabio Andolfi / Emanuele Inglesi	I	34	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
30	(Printsport)	Kristian Kiviniemi / Matti Kangas	FIN	84	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
31	Team MRF (M-Sport)	Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall	IND/AUS	89	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5
32	OT Racing	Ken Torn / Kuldar Sikk	EE	71	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
33		Emil Bergkvist / Joakim Sjöberg	S	62	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
34		Jean-Baptiste Franceschi / Romain Courbon	F	63	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
35		Terry Folb / Kevin Bronner	F	64	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
36	ADAC Sachsen e.V.	Julius Tannert / Jürgen Heigl	D/A	66	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
37		Callum Devine / Brian Hoy	IRL	68	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
38	ACI Team Italia	Luca Bottarelli / Manuel Fenoli	I	65	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
39		Tom Williams / Phil Hall	GB	73	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
40		David Holder / Jason Farmer	NZ	69	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
41		Emilio Fernàndez / Joaquin Riquelme	RCH	72	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
42	Castrol Ford Team Turkey	Bugra Banaz / Burak Erdener	TR	70	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
43		Umberto Accornero / Maurizio Barone	I	74	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
44	ACI Team Italia	Enrico Oldrati / Danilo Fappani	I	67	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3/JWRC
45	(CHL Sport Auto)	Taisko Lario / Tatu Hämäläinen	FIN	76	Peugeot 208 R2	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3
46		Zoltán Szabó / Krisztián Szabó	H	94	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5
47	Castrol Ford Team Turkey	Murat Bostanci / Onur Vatansever	TR	43	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
48	(Printsport)	Lars Stugemo / Kalle Lexe	S	42	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
49	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Jouni Virtanen / Enni Mälkönen	FIN	48	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	P2	WRC2
50		Kalle Markkanen / Tommy Nyholm	FIN	98	Citroën C2 R2	RC4	R2
51		Roland Poom / Ken Järveoja	EE	101	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
52		Kohei Izuno / Takahiro Yasui	J	103	Toyota Vitz	RC5	R1
53		Alex Waterman / Harry Thomas	GB	100	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
54		Shunichi Washio / Isao Kono	J	104	Toyota Vitz	RC5	R1
55		Raimo Kaisanlahti / Aki Sparre	FIN	102	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2
56		Sanjay Takale / Darren Garrod	IND/GB	78	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	P3	WRC3

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1023442566526775296

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1023429340418195456

https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing/status/1023436060393656320

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1023426535578054656

https://twitter.com/OttTanak/status/1023438207374028800

https://twitter.com/JariMattiWRC/status/1023439754417909761

https://twitter.com/Michelin_Sport/status/1023444342965522432

SS 20: Esapekka Lappi went a little bit too wide at a left-hander, the rear caught a tree stump and then hit some rocks with the front and spun 360 on the road. The wheel was lost. Retired

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1023457150230822918

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1023450883919683586

https://twitter.com/EsapekkaLappi/status/1023465764223901696

https://twitter.com/MadsOstberg/status/1023451052765528065

https://twitter.com/KalleRovanpera/status/1023452866533629952

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1023468884731600896

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1023473977807843328

https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing/status/1023481799685689344

https://twitter.com/timokorkalainen/status/1023473192894115840

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1023486914194825216

https://twitter.com/MadsOstberg/status/1023498395397353472

SS 22: Łukasz Pieniążek

SS 22: Teemu Suninen checked into Regroup two minutes late and got 20 sec time penalty which dropped the Finn down to sixth behind team-mate Ogier.

https://twitter.com/RallyFinland/status/1023500801224916993

https://twitter.com/Ralliradio/status/1023508657114423297

https://twitter.com/Piijaaijanen/status/1023514455798366208

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1023528794018263040

https://twitter.com/OttTanak/status/1023530504409309184

https://twitter.com/TGR_WRC/status/1023529512997412864

https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing/status/1023527894545575936

https://twitter.com/JariMattiWRC/status/1023527573396115458

https://twitter.com/MiikkaAnttila/status/1023558819761274880

https://twitter.com/HaydenPaddon/status/1023532367397437440

https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status/1023525366282022914

https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status/1023524698943049729

https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status/1023524122503073792

https://twitter.com/Craig_Breen/status/1023542822107054080

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1023518675473780736

https://twitter.com/AMikkelsenRally/status/1023517914157260800

https://twitter.com/EsapekkaLappi/status/1023571044530053123

https://twitter.com/MotorsportSkoda/status/1023516017610444803

https://twitter.com/PietarinenRT/status/1023515773703258112

https://twitter.com/HMSGOfficial/status/1023561850275995648

https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status/1023529435444731904

https://twitter.com/MotorsportSkoda/status/1023533059998711809

https://twitter.com/KalleRovanpera/status/1023535499900866560

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1023536498279436288

https://twitter.com/JuniorWRC/status/1023533999866761216

https://twitter.com/Ralliradio/status/1023530074447007744

https://twitter.com/rallytravel/status/1023543411134091264

https://twitter.com/Ralliradio/status/1023563538877607937

https://twitter.com/Ralliradio/status/1023559519136301056

https://twitter.com/MadsOstberg/status/1023565184542093313

https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing/status/1023550034225315841

https://twitter.com/TorsteinEriksen/status/1023611849928007681

https://twitter.com/MiikkaAnttila/status/1023567022184169473

Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja today won Rally Finland, the eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. In doing so, they become the first Estonians to win this spectacular high-speed event in 15 years, following Markko Märtin’s victory in 2003. It is Tänak’s fourth WRC career victory and their second win of the season, keeping the crew in the fight for the World Championship. Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen fought to the end in a titanic battle with third-placed Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila. The rivals went into the closing Power Stage split by just 2.5 seconds, but Østberg kept his cool and secured his best result in more than three years, also delivering a maiden WRC podium for his co-driver.

In the FIA World Rally Championships, Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul and the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team continue to top the standings. With both Neuville and Sebastien Ogier not scoring highly, the Belgian only lost six points to the Frenchman with the gap between the pair coming down to 21 points. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Hyundai lost just a couple of points, but Toyota was the points-bagger, the Japanese marque taking a 40 point haul from the team’s home event to close the gap to second-placed M-Sport Ford to just one point.

Tänak led Rally Finland for virtually the entire event and has been supreme over the rollercoaster gravel stages. He could afford to ease the pace over today’s closing four stages, but nevertheless claimed the Power Stage win to notch up maximum points and a momentous victory on an event every driver wants to win. Østberg went into the day second overall, just 5.4 seconds ahead of Latvala and determined to hold position. He won the day’s opening stage to marginally extend his lead but the Finn hit back in the next two, winning both to leave them split by 2.5 seconds going into the Power Stage. The Norwegian superbly defended his advantage with second fastest time and claimed the position by 2.8 seconds. It was a near-perfect result for Toyota with Latvala also on the podium, the event only marred by the retirement of Esapekka Lappi from fourth position this morning when he went off the road and rolled.

Hayden Paddon was the highest Hyundai finisher in fourth overall, the Kiwi driver happy with his weekend despite always wanting more. He finished nearly 40 seconds ahead of Ogier, who moved ahead of team-mate Teemu Suninen when the Finn checked in late at the final regroup to aid the Frenchman’s points haul. The team’s third Fiesta WRC, in the hands of Elfyn Evans, finished seventh with Craig Breen eighth for Citroen. Thierry Neuville’s road position was always going to make his assault difficult and this, coupled with an early mistake, saw him ultimately finish ninth ahead of team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen who climbed back up the leaderboard to 10th following his Friday accident.

The FIA WRC 2 Championship was won by the all-Finnish crew of Eerik Pietarinen and Juhana Raitanen in a Škoda Fabia R5. Kalle Rovanperä had originally headed the category but when the youngster hit problems yesterday, Pietarinen was able to claim honours on home soil, despite Rovanperä winning each of today’s four stages. Ken Torn and Kuldar Sikk gave Estonia a double victory today with the win in the FIA Junior and WRC 3 Championships. After a close battle with Emil Bergkvist, they returned to Jyvaskyla with just 9.9 seconds in hand over the Swedes.

The ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship moves from gravel to Tarmac and the ever-changing sealed surfaces of Rallye Deutschland (16-19 August).

Final results

1	Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja	Toyota Yaris WRC	2hr 35min 18.1sec
2	Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen	Citroen C3 WRC	2hr 35min 50.8sec
3	Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila	Toyota Yaris WRC	2hr 35min 53.6sec
4	Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	2hr 36min 53.7sec
5	Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia	Ford Fiesta WRC	2hr 37min 33.1sec
6	Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula	Ford Fiesta WRC	2hr 37min 37.3sec
7	Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barritt	Ford Fiesta WRC	2hr 37min 47.6sec
8	Craig Breen / Scott Martin	Citroen C3 WRC	2hr 38min 26.5sec
9	Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	2hr 39min 09.9sec
10	Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jæger	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	2hr 43min 55.5sec

RESULTS

	ENTRANT (TEAM)	DRIVER/CODRIVER	NAT.	NR	CAR	GR		TIME
1	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja	EE	8	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	2:35:18.1	M
2	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen	N	10	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	2:35:50.8	M
3	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila	FIN	7	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	2:35:53.6	M
4	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall	NZ/GB	6	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	2:36:53.7	M
5	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia	F	1	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	2:37:33.1	M
6	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula	FIN	3	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	2:37:37.3	M
7	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barrit	GB	2	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	2:37:47.6	M
8	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Craig Breen / Scott Martin	IRL/GB	11	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	2:38:26.5	M
9	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul	B	5	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	2:39:09.9	M
10	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger	N	4	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC	2:43:55.5	M
11	TGS Worldwide	Eerik Pietarinen / Juhana Raitanen	FIN	45	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	2:45:18.4	WRC2
12	Hyundai Motorsport (Sarrazin Motorsport)	Jari Huttunen / Antti Linnaketo	FIN	38	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	2:46:25.2	WRC2
13	(M-Sport)	Gus Greensmith / Craig Parry	GB	32	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	2:47:53.3	WRC2
14	ŠKODA Motorsport	Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen	FIN	41	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	2:47:55.2	WRC2
15	BRC Racing Team	Pierre-Louis Loubet / Vincent Landais	F	35	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	2:49:23.4	WRC2
16	(Printsport)	Marko Mänty / Joni Mäkelä	FIN	82	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	2:50:25.6
17		Ville Pynnönen / Timo Hantunen	FIN	87	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	2:54:19.7
18	Motorsport Italia srl	Benito Guerra / Borja Rozada	MEX/E	40	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	2:56:40.6	WRC2
19	OT Racing	Ken Torn / Kuldar Sikk	EE	71	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:03:07.2	WRC3/JWRC
20		Emil Bergkvist / Joakim Sjöberg	S	62	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:03:17.1	WRC3/JWRC
21		Jean-Baptiste Franceschi / Romain Courbon	F	63	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:04:53.4	WRC3/JWRC
22		Mattias Monelius / Erik Gustafsson	S	85	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	3:05:08.3
23	Tommi Mäkinen Racing (MM-Motorsport)	Hiroki Arai / Jarmo Lehtinen	J/FIN	37	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	3:06:43.7 SR	WRC2
24	ADAC Sachsen e.V.	Julius Tannert / Jürgen Heigl	D/A	66	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:07:15.3	WRC3/JWRC
25		Callum Devine / Brian Hoy	IRL	68	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:09:14.1	WRC3/JWRC
26		Tom Williams / Phil Hall	GB	73	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:13:12.4	WRC3/JWRC
27	(CHL Sport Auto)	Taisko Lario / Tatu Hämäläinen	FIN	76	Peugeot 208 R2	RC4	R2	3:14:41.0	WRC3
28	Castrol Ford Team Turkey	Bugra Banaz / Burak Erdener	TR	70	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:14:49.9	WRC3/JWRC
29	ACI Team Italia WRC (Motorsport Italia srl)	Fabio Andolfi / Emanuele Inglesi	I	34	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	3:18:08.6 SR	WRC2
30	Team MRF (M-Sport)	Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall	IND/AUS	89	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	3:18:27.7 SR
31		Zoltán Szabó / Krisztián Szabó	H	94	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	3:20:17.3
32	ACI Team Italia	Enrico Oldrati / Danilo Fappani	I	67	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:20:35.9	WRC3/JWRC
33		David Holder / Jason Farmer	NZ	69	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:25:24.5 SR	WRC3/JWRC
34		Umberto Accornero / Maurizio Barone	I	74	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:29:50.8	WRC3/JWRC
35	(Hannu´s Rally Team)	Teemu Asunmaa / Ville Mannisenmäki	FIN	81	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	3:30:22.5 SR
36	Citroën Total	Simone Tempestini / Sergiu Itu	RO	44	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	3:31:05.5 SR	WRC2
37	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson	UAE/GB	12	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	3:41:28.3 SR	M
38	Castrol Ford Team Turkey	Murat Bostanci / Onur Vatansever	TR	43	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	3:42:31.8 SR	WRC2
39	ACI Team Italia	Luca Bottarelli / Manuel Fenoli	I	65	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:43:17.8 SR	WRC3/JWRC
40	Printsport	Emil Lindholm / Mikael Korhonen	FIN	46	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	3:45:52.4 SR	WRC2
41		Kohei Izuno / Takahiro Yasui	J	103	Toyota Vitz	RC5	R1	3:46:42.4
42		Alex Waterman / Harry Thomas	GB	100	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2	3:47:55.3
43	(Printsport)	Lars Stugemo / Kalle Lexe	S	42	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	3:52:21.1 SR	WRC2
44	Citroën Total	Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau	F	36	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	3:52:46.8 SR	WRC2
45		Terry Folb / Kevin Bronner	F	64	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:53:24.6 SR	WRC3/JWRC
46		Shunichi Washio / Isao Kono	J	104	Toyota Vitz	RC5	R1	3:54:26.3
47		Sanjay Takale / Darren Garrod	IND/GB	78	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	3:55:20.3	WRC3
48	Tommi Mäkinen Racing 2 (MM-Motorsport)	Jarkko Nikara / Sayaka Adachi	FIN/J	47	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	3:55:24.2 SR	WRC2
49		Roland Poom / Ken Järveoja	EE	101	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2	4:24:55.1 SR
50		Emilio Fernàndez / Joaquin Riquelme	RCH	72	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	4:28:54.6 SR	WRC3/JWRC
51	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Jouni Virtanen / Enni Mälkönen	FIN	48	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	4:35:58.2 SR	WRC2
LEADING RETIREMENTS		SS=Special Stage
SS	ENTRANT (TEAM)	DRIVER/CODRIVER	NAT.	NR	CAR	GR		CAUSE
20	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm	FIN	9	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC	accident	M
12	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi W.R.T.	Khalid Al Qassimi / Chris Patterson	UAE/GB	12	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC	accident	M
18	ŠKODA Motorsport	Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjærmoen	N	31	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	accident	WRC2
8	Tommi Mäkinen Racing (MM-Motorsport)	Takamoto Katsuta / Marko Salminen	J/FIN	33	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	accident	WRC2
8	ACI Team Italia WRC (Motorsport Italia srl)	Fabio Andolfi / Emanuele Inglesi	I	34	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5		WRC2
	Citroën Total	Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau	F	36	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	suspension	WRC2
10	Tommi Mäkinen Racing (MM-Motorsport)	Hiroki Arai / Jarmo Lehtinen	J/FIN	37	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5		WRC2
17	(Sarrazin Motorsport)	Nicolas Ciamin / Thibault de la Haye	F	39	Hyundai i20 R5	RC2	R5	accident	WRC2
14	(Printsport)	Lars Stugemo / Kalle Lexe	S	42	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5		WRC2
8,17	Castrol Ford Team Turkey	Murat Bostanci / Onur Vatansever	TR	43	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5		WRC2
14	Citroën Total	Simone Tempestini / Sergiu Itu	RO	44	Citroën C3 R5	RC2	R5	accident	WRC2
12	Printsport	Emil Lindholm / Mikael Korhonen	FIN	46	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	accident	WRC2
12	Tommi Mäkinen Racing 2 (MM-Motorsport)	Jarkko Nikara / Sayaka Adachi	FIN/J	47	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5	accident	WRC2
7	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Jouni Virtanen / Enni Mälkönen	FIN	48	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5		WRC2
6		Dennis Rådström / Johan Johansson	S	61	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	accident damage	WRC3/JWRC
13		Terry Folb / Kevin Bronner	F	64	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2		WRC3/JWRC
15	ACI Team Italia	Luca Bottarelli / Manuel Fenoli	I	65	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	accident	WRC3/JWRC
19		David Holder / Jason Farmer	NZ	69	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	tyres	WRC3/JWRC
4		Emilio Fernàndez / Joaquin Riquelme	RCH	72	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	accident	WRC3/JWRC
19		Umberto Accornero / Maurizio Barone	I	74	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2		WRC3/JWRC
7	Team Flying Finn	Henri Hokkala / Kimmo Pahkala	FIN	75	Ford Fiesta R2T	RC4	R2	accident	WRC3/JWRC
13	(Hannu´s Rally Team)	Teemu Asunmaa / Ville Mannisenmäki	FIN	81	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	driveshaft
13,22	Printsport	Łukasz Pieniążek / Przemysław Mazur	PL	83	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	accident,accident
18	(Printsport)	Kristian Kiviniemi / Matti Kangas	FIN	84	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	accident
12	(Printsport)	Kari Hämäläinen / Risto Pietiläinen	FIN	86	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	accident
9	Team MRF (M-Sport)	Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall	IND/AUS	89	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	R5
12		Jari Tuuri / Jukka Ruotsalainen	FIN	91	ŠKODA Fabia R5	RC2	R5	mechanical
6		Jaakko Lavio / Pasi Haataja	FIN	92	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	RC2	NR4	accident
12		Kari Hytönen / Ida Lidebjer Granberg	FIN	93	Škoda Fabia Super 2000	RC2	S2000 2.0A	mechanical
14		Markus Manninen / Arto Ranta	FIN	96	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2	accident
12		Arttu Lähdeniemi / Aki Suutarinen	FIN	97	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2	accident
20		Kalle Markkanen / Tommy Nyholm	FIN	98	Citroën C2 R2	RC4	R2	mechanical
22		Raimo Kaisanlahti / Aki Sparre	FIN	102	Ford Fiesta R2	RC4	R2	mechanical

	STARTERS 67 (18 WRC2, 17 WRC3, 15 JWRC)	FINISHERS 51 (15 WRC2, 15 WRC3, 13 JWRC)			WINNER´S AVER. SPEED			kph
	RALLY LEADERS	SS 1-3 Tänak, 4 Østberg, 5 Tänak, 6-8 Østberg, 9-23 Tänak
	WRC2 & RC2	SS 1 Andolfi, 2-18 Rovanperä, 19-23 Pietarinen
	WRC3, JWRC & RC4	SS 1 Torn, 2-8 Bergkvist, 9-23 Torn

	STAGE POSITIONS	1 2 3 4 5 6	THE ROUTE			SS		DISTANCE, km
	Ott Tänak	12 3 6 0 1 0
	Jari-Matti Latvala	4 7 6 3 1 0
	Mads Østberg	4 7 2 2 2 3
	Esapekka Lappi	3 2 1 6 2 2
	Craig Breen	1 1 0 1 4 6
	Sébastien Ogier	1 0 1 2 3 3
	Thierry Neuville	0 2 0 1 0 2
	Hayden Paddon	0 1 4 4 7 0
	Teemu Suninen	0 0 2 2 2 6
	Andreas Mikkelsen	0 0 0 1 1 0
	Elfyn Evans	0 0 0 0 2 3

	WRC2
	STAGE POSITIONS	1 2 3 4 5 6
	Kalle Rovanperä	16 3 1 0 0 0
	Eerik Pietarinen	5 8 4 3 2 0
	Emil Lindholm	1 3 4 1 0 1
	Fabio Andolfi	1 0 1 0 1 1
	Ole Christian Veiby	0 4 5 3 3 0
	Jarkko Nikara	0 3 1 4 2 0
	Jari Huttunen	0 2 4 4 5 5
	Stéphane Lefebvre	0 1 0 3 1 3
	Gus Greensmith	0 0 3 2 2 4
	Pierre-Louis Loubet	0 0 0 3 3 2
	Takamoto Katsuta	0 0 0 0 1 3
	Hiroki Arai	0 0 0 0 1 2
	Benito Guerra	0 0 0 0 1 0
	Simone Tempestini	0 0 0 0 0 2

	RC2
	STAGE POSITIONS	1 2 3 4 5 6
	Kalle Rovanperä	16 3 1 0 0 0
	Eerik Pietarinen	5 8 3 4 1 1
	Emil Lindholm	1 2 5 1 0 0
	Fabio Andolfi	1 0 1 0 0 2
	Ole Christian Veiby	0 4 5 3 1 1
	Jarkko Nikara	0 3 1 3 3 0
	Jari Huttunen	0 2 4 1 8 1
	Teemu Asunmaa	0 1 0 4 3 3
	Stéphane Lefebvre	0 1 0 2 2 3
	Gus Greensmith	0 0 3 1 2 4
	Pierre-Louis Loubet	0 0 0 2 4 1
	Marko Mänty	0 0 0 1 0 0
	Łukasz Pieniążek	0 0 0 0 1 2
	Hiroki Arai	0 0 0 0 0 2
	Takamoto Katsuta	0 0 0 0 0 1

	WRC3 & JWRC
	STAGE POSITIONS	1 2 3 4 5 6
	Emil Bergkvist	12 8 2 0 0 0
	Ken Torn	9 9 4 1 0 0
	Henri Hokkala	2 0 2 1 0 0
	Taisko Lario	0 3 0 2 2 4
	Jean-Baptiste Franceschi	0 2 11 5 2 1
	Terry Folb	0 2 2 5 0 5
	David Holder	0 0 1 0 0 1
	Julius Tannert	0 0 0 8 5 2
	Dennis Rådström	0 0 0 1 2 0
	Callum Devine	0 0 0 0 7 4
	Luca Bottarelli	0 0 0 0 3 3
	Emilio Fernàndez	0 0 0 0 2 0
	Tom Williams	0 0 0 0 0 3

	RC4
	STAGE POSITIONS	1 2 3 4 5 6
	Emil Bergkvist	12 8 2 0 0 0
	Ken Torn	9 9 4 1 0 0
	Henri Hokkala	2 0 2 1 0 0
	Taisko Lario	0 3 0 2 1 3
	Jean-Baptiste Franceschi	0 2 10 6 2 1
	Terry Folb	0 2 2 5 0 4
	Roland Poom	0 0 1 2 2 4
	David Holder	0 0 1 0 0 0
	Julius Tannert	0 0 0 6 6 2
	Dennis Rådström	0 0 0 1 2 0
	Callum Devine	0 0 0 0 5 4
	Luca Bottarelli	0 0 0 0 3 3
	Kalle Markkanen	0 0 0 0 1 0
	Emilio Fernàndez	0 0 0 0 0 2

SS 23, FIA World Rally Championship

SS 20-22, FIA World Rally Championship

Highlights WRC2, FIA World Rally Championship

Highlights JWRC, FIA World Rally Championship

Highlights, Michelin Motorsport

Highlights, Citroën Racing

Day 3, Hyundai Motorsport

WRC2 Review, Hyundai Motorsport

Day 4, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC

Highlights,, ŠKODA Motorsport

Highlights, SwedishRally

Highlights, Loïc Pouget

Leg 3, Ziggysony Motorsport videos

Leg 3, Toni Vuohelainen

Highlights, MP Rallyvideos

RESULTS

2018 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DRIVERS AFTER ROUND 8:

1	Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul	B	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	153
2	Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia	F	Ford Fiesta WRC	132
3	Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja	EE	Toyota Yaris WRC	107
4	Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm	FIN	Toyota Yaris WRC	70
5	Daniel Sordo / Carlos del Barrio	E	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	60
6	Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger	N	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	57
7	Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila	FIN	Toyota Yaris WRC	55
8	Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barrit	GB	Ford Fiesta WRC	52
9	Mads Østberg / Torstein Eriksen	N	Citroën C3 WRC	48
10	Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle	GB/IRL	Citroën C3 WRC	43
11	Craig Breen / Scott Martin	IRL/GB	Citroën C3 WRC	39
12	Hayden Paddon / Sebastian Marshall	NZ/GB	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	34
13	Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula	FIN	Ford Fiesta WRC	32
14	Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena	F/MC	Citroën C3 WRC	15
15	Pontus Tidemand / Jonas Andersson	S	ŠKODA Fabia R5	11
16	Jan Kopecký / Pavel Dresler	CZ	ŠKODA Fabia R5	9
17	Bryan Bouffier / Xavier Panseri	F	Ford Fiesta WRC	4
18	Gus Greensmith / Craig Parry	GB	Ford Fiesta R5	2
19	Łukasz Pieniążek / Przemysław Mazur	PL	ŠKODA Fabia R5	2
20	Pedro Heller / Pablo Olmos	CHL/RA	Ford Fiesta R5	1
21	Yoann Bonato / Benjamin Boulloud	F	Citroën C3 R5	1
22	Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau	F	Citroën C3 R5	1

2018 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MANUFACTURERS AFTER ROUND 8:

1	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai	(Mikkelsen,Neuville,Sordo,Paddon)	228
2	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	Ford	(Ogier,Evans,Bouffier,Suninen)	202
3	TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT	TOYOTA	(Latvala,Tänak,Lappi)	201
4	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Citroën	(Meeke,Breen,Østberg,Loeb,Al Qassimi)	153

https://twitter.com/rallyparadise/status/1024689603121500160

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rally Finland
Post-event Press Conference
Sunday 29th July

Present:
1st – Ott Tänak, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT
1st – Martin Järveoja, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT
2nd – Mads Østberg, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT
2nd – Torstein Eriksen, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT
3rd – Jari-Matti Latvala, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT
3rd – Miikka Anttila, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT
Tommi Mäkinen, Team Principal, Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT

Q:
It has been a masterclass from you this weekend Ott. You have told us each day that it has been almost perfect at the end of every day. But surely to win here, against the Finns, on their home territory must be perfect. How are you feeling?
OT:
Today, after the Power Stage, it felt perfect. Obviously, personally, Friday was really tough for me. There was quite a lot of cleaning to do, the conditions were so dry and loose, I can say on Friday I was really pushing all I could so I was in every stage maximum, I was really happy. Basically one junction where I stopped the engine, I lost some there, but other than that I did really everything I could. So after that, on Saturday, we managed to build a gap and then manage it so I can’t complain too much. Five points also from the Power Stage, so we are happy with the weekend.

Q:
You must have felt comfortable at the start of the final stage to set that kind of pace because everyone was pushing, especially these two next to you, for positions.
OT:
There was a big push yes, but I can say I knew already before the event that we had the good tools for the weekend. Obviously we did three test days, I did also a local rally in Estonia which confirmed we had a good set-up for the rally and I had the confidence in the car for sure. We were working a lot with the team and we were really trying to do everything perfectly, going very deep in the details to make sure we will be competitive here as we were on a home event and everybody is expecting a lot. It means we still have some kind of pressure. I am sure Jari-Matti and Lappi had even more pressure because it is also their home rally but still, same to me, it’s a rally which suits our car very well so I knew this is our good chance to win here and I tried to do everything we can. The team was supporting and that is how the team work goes, that’s the result.

Q:
You didn’t seem to make a mistake all weekend or put a foot wrong, but yesterday afternoon you were slightly concerned by a power steering issue. How genuinely worried were you about that and were there any issues in the end?
OT:
No, I knew what happened. I had a bit of a sideways jump and basically I bent the column a bit so it was catching and I couldn’t turn to one direction. So basically I could slide only with Martin’s side not with my own side so that was a bit troublesome but we managed to improve it so we finished the loop in a good rhythm and then still we were building the gap. So yesterday afternoon when it was very rough, for sure we were taking good care but, all alright, as I said, I had no complaints with the car. Everything was working perfectly, I was happy, I had the best feeling I have ever had in Finland. That’s the confidence you need to win here.

Q:
In 2003 we saw Markko Märtin and Michael Park take the win and that was really something special; the Estonian Prime Minister came here at the time, and most of Estonia – I think we have seen the entire country pretty much here this weekend. What does it mean to recreate some of that magic, another Estonian on the top step of the podium?
OT:
It’s amazing for me obviously, to win the same rally Markko has won. This is the first time now that I can do something that he has done, and as he has been my mentor and my good friend, it’s definitely a very special feeling and obviously with all those crowds of Estonians as you said who were here yes, I had to push. I guess I had the same pressure as Jari and Lappi so I had no other choice than to go for victory so, basically, all or nothing and this time we come out with everything so… yes I had some pressure but also a lot of support so I think in the end it worked very well.

Q:
You said before this event that you weren’t thinking of the championship title. It was more a mathematical possibility than a realistic possibility. You edge quite a bit closer now to Neuville and Ogier, who didn’t take such strong points this weekend. Are you still not so focused on the title or is there a little glimmer of hope for you?
OT:
Yes I said many times before.. we are still quite far away so I guess there is no point in imagining any dreams about the title so we still need to carry on the same way, going to Germany, trying to make a perfect rally in Germany and then the next one in Turkey and so on. As the gap is still so big you know we can’t just plan to edge like Ogier or Neuville by one position because it doesn’t make any difference. So we just need to focus on every rally separately, try to do our maximum and hopefully when we get closer to the end of season let’s see if it’s possible or not but, at the moment, we just need to focus rally by rally.

Q:
Tell me what it feels like to be on the top step of the podium here in Finland Martin.
MJ:
It was really great. On the road section back from the Power Stage podium I was discussing with Ott that it was the best podium ever as there were so many Estonians who were singing our national anthem so it was really a great feeling.

Q:
It must have been a great experience for you both this weekend.
MJ:
Ott was driving perfectly through the weekend. The car was perfect. The team was doing a good job so everything was perfect. The result is that we’re here. It was a good weekend.

Q:
Mads, we’ve seen a brilliant battle between you and Jari-Matti, especially today. Jari-Matti took some time out of you, you took a little bit of time out of him, but you went into the Power Stage with just a 2.5 second advantage. Were you really concerned at that point that the Flying Finn would catch you?
MØ:
Yes, nothing is really safe when it comes to Jari-Matti. He is one of the craziest guys in the field and can do anything. For sure we really had to do a strong day, we pushed quite hard this morning. We managed to take a small gap on the first stage. Then I made a really bad stage on the second one. He got some time back so it was really exciting. It still felt like I had everything under control. I did a good third stage today but he did a really impressive stage. He took quite a big gap from me there. Obviously yes I was a little bit concerned that he would catch me, but I really stayed focussed on trying to make a perfect stage. I felt this weekend that when we are doing perfect stages and I’m doing my absolute best that the speed is there. I also knew that we had been able to build a gap from Jari over the weekend only he took it back. So I just had to do what I’ve done previously and I finished the rally with probably the best or the second best stage of the weekend. That was a really amazing feeling and for sure to be able to separate some of the Toyotas on this event was a huge task but we managed that really well and I am really, really pleased and proud to be able to do that.

Q:
Your best result in Finland but how does this rate in the career of Mads Østberg?
MØ:
I think it’s definitely one of the best rallies I’ve done. OK I have some going a really long way back in time, probably Sweden 2011 which was a similar feeling and similar emotion. It was a really important step in my career and really important for Citroen as well. To be a part of that together with the team is a real honour. I feel like Citroen is a team, I’ve been there before and I really enjoyed that time and I’m pleased to be back with them. It feels natural, so I’m glad that we could do this together.

Q:
This result is a good confidence boost, can we see more of this kind of performance?
MØ:
I certainly hope so. It felt really good this weekend, we had some major steps with the car before the rally. Not really resting a lot but we had a good three days of testing over both drivers. We tried to work really hard and I think basically on my first day of testing we did all the massive steps and after that we tried to work on different scenarios during the event. We made good improvements in one day and I was practicing for two. It was quite amazing the work that we have done in the team and I was very pleased to see that it pays off with a good result.

Q:
What’s it been like for you out there this weekend in such a fantastic battle, high pressure, high speed. Enjoyable yes?
TE:
I have enjoyed it since Thursday morning when we started shakedown. The speed we have on these roads are very good for a co-driver and when the speed and the notes are matching each other it’s a perfect feeling.

Q:
What was it like going into that final stage because as we mentioned the gap had narrowed and it was just 2.5 seconds. Mads had to get everything right. You had to get everything right. Were you feeling extra pressure then? A bit of nerves maybe?
TE:
I have to say that the atmosphere in the car today was so good that I enjoyed the road sections and I was just looking forward to going into that stage. It was a really good feeling.
MØ:
We talked about it before the stage and we saw Jari and I spoke to Jari. I went back to the car and said “the strangest thing is it seems that both of us are looking forward to the stage.” It was a great performance by Torstein all weekend and I was pushing him a bit to try to enjoy it as well. He definitely did, we had a great atmosphere all the time and I think he deserves a big applause for the work he did this weekend.

Q:
You pushed as much as you could but couldn’t quite catch Mads. How were you feeling at the end of the rally Jari-Matti?
J-ML:
First of all, I must say this was absolutely his (Ostberg) best performance ever. A really, really good drive and also a strong performance from Citroen. As for me, I woke up a little bit too late for the fight. It only started on Saturday afternoon and before that Mads was all the time stronger than me, and Ott was in his own class. Then I made some changes to the car for Saturday afternoon and started to get the confidence. Then it started to improve. We had a bit of a problem with the tyres – they were almost at their end but, thanks to Michelin, they were really good even though they were slicks. Today I did what I could. Today, if I had done the first stage a little bit better, then where Esapekka was off the road, there was a warning and I took it very, very carefully and lost some time. If I had done that a little bit better then I would have had a chance. After that, I did everything I could but I was running out of kilometres and even on the Power Stage we had a very good run but in one corner I dropped the wheel into the ditch and we hung on the ditch, but that was maybe only half a second so I would not have been able to catch Mads because of the performance he did. At the end, I’m very happy. We had a great fight and we could smile at each other between the road sections and it was really nice. I think this fight will improve our chances in the upcoming events.

Q:
What was interesting this weekend was that although everyone was astonished by Ott’s performance you weren’t getting stressed out, but instead remained really composed which sometimes is a bit unlike you. You were keeping it just very chilled and cool. Were you feeling inside – why can’t I catch him?
J-ML:
Well to be fair, me and Miikka had never experienced in our career five retirements in a row before – we have now retired five rallies in a row. Coming from there, your self- confidence goes quite down and to be able to have the speed immediately, to be able to win, you need, like Ott said, a 100% confidence. The car was absolutely fantastic there’s no question, it’s just that when self-confidence is down you don’t have the confidence to push and take the risks and it took some time before I could get that level and then you have to settle and realise the level where you drive, that is the main thing and also I was thinking that with the position, the manufacturers’ points, we need to score since this will give us a very good opportunity to the end of the season.

Q:
Does that give better confidence moving forward to the rest of the events Miikka?
MA:
Yes, it’s a great way to start the season! This is a big relief for Jari-Matti and myself. We are really happy about it and it’s good that the fight was there. It shows that you can still fight and finish rallies. It’s a good boost for your self-confidence.

Q:
You have done many Rally Finlands. Did the atmosphere here this weekend bring some extra support out there?
MA:
With the atmosphere, it’s one of the best Rally Finlands I’ve experienced. Of course it’s also up to the team and Tommi, and so many fans from Finland were supporting us but also supporting the whole team. I think Ott and Martin had good support from the Finns because they are part of the Finnish team.

Q:
Tommi, two years in a row with Esapekka Lappi winning last year. Ott Tänak this year with Toyota on the top step of the podium and with the third position of Jari-Matti. This is a special event and you are making it even more special with these results. You must be delighted as Team Principal.
TM:
Yes, well of course it is a very special moment and a special feeling. We just went to the end of the last stage to wait for the cars coming there and we flew there with Katsuka in the chopper and last year we did the same. When we flew there I thought that it would be nice to make this an annual tradition. I shouldn’t say that because sometimes it doesn’t happen anymore if I mention something like that. Still, we feel confident and try to continue like it is. Of course we are at home and one of the reasons why we were strong last year and we are strong now is that this is our home and we started our whole program and did a lot of test kilometres here in 2016 and this is the reason why we still are here. Many people think that we have done a massive amount of testing this year for the rally but we didn’t, just the normal five days preparation but we don’t need so much because our car base has been built here.

Q:
It was the newest members of the Toyota team who took the win in Finland this year – Ott and Martin. A few words about their performance here?
TM:
It looked so easy to everybody. Ott has learned how to drive the car in these conditions and it looks so easy with no extra moments there. His driving style seems to suit these conditions. This rally is so fast and its always about finding the feeling and how to control the speed. Especially in the beginning of this rally it was amazing how fast Ott started. Absolutely flat-out immediately, and that is most difficult thing to do on the first stage.

FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
1st – Eerik Pietarinen, TGS Worldwide
1st – Juhana Raitanen, TGS Worldwide

Q:
To win at home is a very special thing, certainly here in Finland. How do you feel at the end of it?
EP:
To finish is very, very good and this is my first rally in WRC 2 and I’m the winner.

Q:
We’ve seen incredible pace from you this weekend. It’s been a really strong performance. Have you been happy with your pace?
EP:
We drive for top times.

Q:
We saw you compete in Rally Estonia a few weeks ago. Did that help with the preparation coming here?
EP:
Yes.

Q:
What is next for you? You are a rising star in Finland. We’ve seen some great performances here at home. Would you consider competing in the WRC 2 full time?
EP:
I don’t know about next year, maybe WRC 2.

Q:
Talk to me about the weekend from your perspective. How enjoyable has it been to compete here and to take a win?
JR:
Yes we have a good rally without problems. We were driving some good times. Today we drive for safety but we win and we are happy.

Q:
We see you standing there on the top step of the podium. What does that feel like to do that at home.
JR:
It’s an amazing feeling. It’s nice.

FIA JUNIOR / WRC 3 CHAMPIONSHIPS

Present:
1st – Ken Torn, OT Racing
1st – Kuldar Sikk, OT Racing

Q:
How does it feel to win here in Finland. Such a special event.
KT:
When it’s your first time here and you win it, it’s awesome!

Q:
We have seen the lead change a little bit in the Juniors this weekend. I know it hasn’t been problem-free for you, there was a puncture yesterday. Any other dramas you can tell us about?
KT:
No, it was a clean run.

Q:
You’ve enjoyed the R2 this weekend?
KT:
Yes. When you go flat-out over the crests you just keep smiling.

Q:
How much pressure have you felt on your shoulders to deliver a win here?
KT:
Not much. I just come here and do my own thing. That’s all.

Q:
We’ve seen you as part of the Junior WRC this year. How have you enjoyed the experience in the Juniors. We’ve just got one round remaining, has it been a good experience in the championship?
KT:
Yes definitely it’s quite good. You can drive the same stages as WRC and learn the stages to get the experience for the future.

Q:
Do you plan to do it next year or move on to something else?
KT:
I don’t know.

Q:
Nice to see another Estonian pairing on the top step of the podium. How are you feeling at the end of it Kuldar?
KS:
I’m really glad as the rally has been very good for us. We came here with the plan not to look too much at what others are doing and try to do our own pace and it seems that plan worked.

Q:
Whichever class you compete in, to win in Finland is special.
KS:
As Ken said, if you still do jumps flat-out, then even with a small car sometimes the suspension has to take some hits but it’s still really classy.

Q:
What’s it been like as an experience alongside Ken this weekend? What’s his performance been like? You’ve got quite a lot of experience as a co-driver, you’ve sat next to many great drivers over the years.
KS:
Yes my experience helps for sure but the driver has to trust me and I have to trust the driver. After Finland I trust Ken even more.

Team Reviews

Manufacturers: M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (GB) / Ford Fiesta WRC (Michelin)
1 Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (F)
2 Elfyn Evans / Daniel Barrit (GB)
3 Teemu Suninen / Mikko Markkula (FIN)

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s three EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRCs may not have had the pace to challenge for the podium at this weekend’s Neste Rally Finland, but the Cumbrian squad did achieve their primary goal of reducing the deficit to their main rivals in all three FIA World Rally Championships.

Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:

“We’ve not had the speed we wanted this weekend, but we have achieved our main objective and reduced the gap in all three championships. It’s frustrating not to have been in the fight at the front, but we have to keep the bigger picture in mind and it’s been a positive event in that respect.

“Heading back to asphalt at Rallye Deutschland the goal will be to see the gaps further reduced. The Fiesta won the event last year and Sébastien won last time out on asphalt, so let’s see what we can do in three weeks’ time.”

OGIER AND INGRASSIA
FIFTH AT RALLY FINLAND

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia may have been hoping to challenge higher up the leader board at this weekend’s Rally Finland, but it was still mission accomplished for the five-time World Champions as they took vital points away from their main rivals.

Having arrived in Finland with a 27-point deficit in the driver and co-driver standings, fifth place was enough to see the Frenchmen reduce the gap by six points. Five events remain with 150 points on offer – and the team will be ready to give it their best at Rallye Deutschland.

Stage performances:

SS20: 5th (+6.6)
SS21: 4th (+3.3)
SS22: 6th (+6.4)
SS23: 6th (+1.7)

Sébastien Ogier (5th) said:

“For sure it was a difficult weekend for us and we expected to be a lot more competitive. The Fiesta performed really well here last year and every driver was able to set fastest times. That wasn’t the case this year and it was a bit of a bad surprise.

“We tried all we could, but there wasn’t a lot more we could do. That’s how it is and we just have to try and analyse why we were not able to keep up the pace this weekend. The positive is that we scored more points than Thierry [Neuville] – and that is anyways always our main target.”

SUNINEN AND MARKKULA
SIXTH AT RALLY FINLAND

Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula had been hoping to challenge for a podium at this weekend’s Rally Finland, but ultimately had to settle for sixth place.

During the early stages, it looked as though the Finns would be in with a chance of a top-three finish – running as high as third overall and entertaining fans with a McRae-style save from the ditches of Äänekoski (SS5).

But as the event wore on, rutted conditions and a lack of confidence behind the wheel saw the pairing fall adrift of the fight at the front.

Improving throughout Saturday afternoon, Suninen had the better of his team mates and moved up to what would have been a net fifth place.

Proving himself a true team player, he then moved aside and took a 20 second penalty to give team mate Ogier two additional points for his championship defence.

Stage performances:

SS20: 6th (+6.9)
SS21: 9th (+5.0)
SS22: 8th (+7.7)
SS23: 8th (+5.1)

Teemu Suninen (6th) said:

“It’s been a tough weekend for us. We wanted to challenge for the podium, but we were missing some pace and couldn’t fight with the fastest drivers. I was able to beat my team mates and I am happy with that, but we let Seb past just before the last stage as he’s the one fighting for the championship.”

EVANS AND BARRITT
SEVENTH AT RALLY FINLAND

Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt had been hoping to challenge for another podium at this weekend’s Rally Finland, but it wasn’t to be.

Delivering a clean and tidy drive behind the wheel of their Fiesta, the Brits were unable to find the same feeling they’d enjoyed this time last year.

Seventh place was not the target, but the pairing will look to come back stronger at Rallye Deutschland.

Stage performances:

SS20: 7th (+8.3)
SS21: 8th (+4.8)
SS22: 5th (+6.2)
SS23: 7th (+2.9)

Elfyn Evans (7th) said:

“It’s not been a terrible weekend driving wise and I don’t think anyone can say that they don’t enjoy driving these stages, but for sure seventh place wasn’t the result we wanted.”

A spectacular conclusion to Rally Finland has seen us retain the lead in both drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships with five rounds of the season left to contest.

Leading our charge, Hayden and Seb secured a strong fourth place, equalling our best-ever result on the high-speed Finnish gravel roads. Although a podium remained elusive, the #6 crew were able to score important points.

“On the whole, I am really happy,” said Hayden. “The final morning was about taking it easy to bring the car home. I have enjoyed the stages, the car has been a joy to drive and it has given me the confidence I need.”

Jumping, jumping

Sunday’s itinerary included two runs through the 11.74km Laukaa and 11.12km Ruuhimäki stages. Flat-out through the iconic Finnish forest and ending with a breathtaking jump, crews gave the fans a real treat.

Our Belgian crew flew through the finish to claim two extra Power Stage points, cementing Thierry’s lead in the drivers’ table. Despite losing six points to rival Sébastien Ogier, he has a 21-point advantage ahead of our home event in Germany next month.

“We gave it everything we could and it was good to take a couple of extra points in the Power Stage,” said Thierry. “We have done our best, the team has done a good job and we can be proud of ourselves.”

Looking forward to Germany

With road position continuing to limit the early runners, our Norwegian’s Andreas and Anders were still haunted by their Friday issues.

“Losing three minutes due to a pace note error was just what we didn’t need,” said Andreas. “It meant we were penalised as first on the road. I’m sure we’ll be back on the pace in Germany.”

Our Team Principal Michel offered his usual honest assessment of a complicated rally. “I don’t think we could have done much more,” he said. “We knew we would face strong competition from crews who are always competitive on the Finnish stages. We’ve come to see fourth place here as a pretty decent result! We now move onto our own home event, Rallye Deutschland, which brings an entirely different set of challenges – and hopefully opportunities.”

Rallye Deutschland takes place from 16-19 August.

Manufacturers: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (FIN) / Toyota Yaris WRC (Michelin)
7 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (FIN)
8 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (EE)
9 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (FIN)

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team is celebrating victory on home soil on Rally Finland after Ott Tänak sealed a hugely impressive win by setting the fastest time on the Power Stage. Jari-Matti Latvala clinched third place to give the team a fantastic double podium.

Podium Ceremony

Tänak carried an advantage of 39 seconds into the final day of the rally, which consisted of two runs over the Laukaa and Ruuhimäki stages. After a careful approach to the first three stages, Tänak then claimed his 12th stage win of the weekend on the Power Stage (gaining five bonus points) to finish up 32.7s clear overall. He and co-driver Martin Järveoja celebrated at the finish on the top of their car together with Team Chairman Akio Toyoda and Team Principal Tommi Mäkinen.

Latvala won the second and third stages of the day, helping to bring Toyota’s total of fastest times for the event up to 18 out of 23 stages. It also brought him closer to the driver in second place, finishing up only 2.8s behind as he scored a podium finish at his home event. Esapekka Lappi charged up to fourth place with a superb performance on Saturday, but retired when he crashed on the first stage of Sunday morning.

The result moves the TOYOTA GAZOO World Rally Team to within one point of second place in the manufacturers’ standings, and closes the gap to the top to 27 points. In the drivers’ standings, Tänak remains third but has closed up to the top two drivers.

Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (Team Chairman)
“There is no happier feeling than to take victory in our home rally. I really appreciate all of our team members for bringing this excitement to us. I can sense that all our drivers seem to really enjoy driving on their home roads, even from my viewpoint beside the stages. The roads of Finland have helped us to make the Yaris WRC better for our drivers and help them really enjoy the driving. I really appreciate that I could enjoy this happiness in person and see the view from the top of the podium. Thanks to everyone in our team. As you know Finland is our TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team’s home. However, it’s the first time for me visiting here since we came back to the WRC. I never saw so many people supporting TOYOTA GAZOO Racing with their passion and enthusiasm. This helped give me the actual feeling that this place is our homeland. The special stages are also full of TGR’s flags and the fans waving the national flags of Finland and Estonia with the chants of “I love TOYOTA! I love Yaris”. The huge “Welcome to my home roads” billboards are hanging up in the roads. The burger shop staff are wearing T-shirts with the TGR logos. I have got to see how the hometown people welcomed us in our second year after 17 years’ break from WRC. And I have got to see how wonderful it is to take the victory in our hometown rally. We also received numerous greetings and cheering from all over the world. I’d like to express our appreciation to all of the fans supporting TGR. We still have a long way to go in this season. I am looking forward to many more sights of countless Estonian, Finnish and Japanese national flags being flown. Our team will continue making our every effort to achieve this goal. We expect your consistent support. For now, we don’t have a WRC event in Japan. When I looked up to the sky from the podium, I imagined another view of the three national flags mentioned above flying in our other home Japan. I strongly hope again that we could see this day.”

Tommi Mäkinen (Team Principal)
“What a weekend, and what an end to the rally. It was an absolutely spectacular moment, especially with Ott managing to win the last stage. It has been an incredible drive from him. Jari-Matti’s battle for second was fantastic too, going right down to the last stage. He had to settle for third in the end but I am generally very happy with the result here on our home event.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Driver car 7)
“I gave everything today to try and get second place. It was a great fight. It really helps with the confidence when you fight as hard as this and you can keep everything together and not make mistakes. To be back on the podium after quite a long time feels really good, and especially to do it here in Finland. Together with the victory for Ott, this was a really important result for the team.”

Ott Tänak (Driver car 8)
“It has been a perfect weekend. Everything worked as we wanted. On Friday we had a really big job with our road position, and after that we could just increase our advantage. We had the perfect preparation and full support from the team. If you work together as one then these kind of results are achievable. To win in Finland is definitely special. It’s kind of a home rally for me and it’s the home rally for the team. To win in front of all this support is incredible.”

Esapekka Lappi (Driver car 9)
“Unfortunately my rally ended pretty soon after we started this morning. The car felt really good, it was just my mistake. I went a little bit too wide, dropped a tyre into the ditch and hit a tree stump, which sent us spinning. The start of this rally was already tough for us, and although yesterday went much better, it has been a disappointing weekend for me. However, congratulations to the team, to Ott and to Jari-Matti for their results.”

What’s next?
Round nine of the 2018 season will be Rallye Deutschland, on August 16-19. Three rallies in one on German asphalt: twisting roads through Mosel vineyards, the notoriously tough Baumholder military area and fast country lanes of Saarland. The differing characteristics of these roads and the often-changeable weather conditions can make car set-up and tyre choice difficult.

Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen held off a fightback from former three-time Rally Finland winner, Jari-Matti Latvala, in the closing stages to secure a hard-earned second place. Meanwhile, Craig Breen and Scott Martin moved up into eighth position during today’s final leg, whilst Khalid Al Qassimi and Chris Patterson gradually got their feeling back in the car after rejoining under Rally 2 rules.

It’s no easy task to head into the final leg – covering 45.72km on four stages – just 5.4s ahead of a driver of the calibre of Latvala, a three-time winner of the event. However, Mads Østberg managed to pull off the impressive feat of holding off the experienced Finn, thus securing a superb runner-up spot, his best result at the rally after two third places (2013 and 2015). The result was also Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT’s third podium this season, following the second and third places claimed in Sweden and Mexico respectively.

The flying Norwegian confirmed straight away this morning that he meant business: he struck a telling blow with the fastest time on the opening stage of the day, Citroën’s fifth stage win of the weekend, extending his advantage to 6.3s. However, Latvala, close to his best form again at his home round, narrowed the gap to just 2.5s ahead of the Ruuhimäki Power Stage showdown and its unending series of jumps. Yet again, Mads held his nerve to beat the Finn by three tenths after five minutes of intense driving at an average speed of 122.5kph, securing second place by just 2.8s!

Whilst still limited by his position in the running order (3rd), Craig Breen nonetheless set some decent times, especially on SS21 where he missed out on the stage win by 4.2s or on the Power Stage, where he ended 1.7s behind the overall winner. The Irishman also took advantage of the misfortune of one of his rivals to finish eighth overall, at a rally where his own result dealt a body blow at the start with a puncture (SS2).

Back in action today under Rally 2 rules after his mistake on Saturday’s leg, Khalid Al Qassimi concentrated on making it to the end, whilst gradually rebuilding his confidence.

WHAT THEY SAID

Craig Breen

“It was a difficult weekend for us, with the puncture on Friday that proved very costly, leaving us to clean the road for two days. We nevertheless managed to show our pace whenever the conditions enabled us to do so. It was nice, especially, to finish with a good time on the Power Stage, which means we can now look ahead to Germany with optimism.”

Mads Østberg

“I’m really, really happy to fighting at the front again on these incredible stages! It’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my racing career. I’m also delighted for everyone at Citroën. The guys did a fantastic job to get us in this position and I’m proud to be a part of this team. I knew from our pre-event test that this C3 WRC was the best car that I’d ever had on this rally and I’m pleased that we managed to show it this weekend.”

Khalid Al Qassimi

“Although it was a difficult rally for us, with our mistake yesterday morning, I’m pleased we were able to rejoin the action today and enjoy these incredible stages. Above all, I’m delighted for the team, whose hard work has been rewarded by a great result.”

WRC2: ŠKODA Motorsport / ŠKODA Fabia R5 (Michelin)
31 Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjærmoen (N)
41 Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (FIN)

In the evening of the first day, it was time to start the rally for real. The first special stage was the first run of famous Harju, a short run in the Jyväskylä city centre, taking the cars around the football stadium and on some of the city’s main roads.

This time, Kalle encountered a bit of a bad luck, having run in the first batch of WRC 2 cars, ahead of the more powerful WRC machines. At the time, the roads were still quite wet after rain, which forced him to slow down and he eventually took 8thplace.

“It is a shame that it was raining. It was very slippery so I just kept it safe”, concluded Rovanperä.

When it was time for the rest of the WRC 2 class to go, the roads were much drier, which allowed for more pace. Four FABIA R5s were leading the field. Fabio Andolfi with co-driver Emanuele Inglesi, driving a car entered by ACI Team Italia, took the first place, followed by O.C. Veiby in 2nd, Emil Lindholm with Mikael Korhonen from Printsport Oy in the 3rdplace and, once again, Erik Pietarinen in fourth.

Day 2 (Friday, 27thJuly)

Stages 1 – 5 (Morning)
On Friday morning, the real action started on the gravel roads in the Finnish forests and ŠKODA works crew begun to shine right away. In the Special Stage 2, over 20 kilometres in length, Kalle Rovanperä set an impressive time of 10:25.5, more than 8 seconds ahead of his teammate O.C. Veiby in the second place and over 13 seconds in front of Eerik Pietarinen, driving a FABIA R5 entered by TGS Worldwide, in the 3rd.

In the two following two stages, Kalle once again set the best times and only in the SS5, the last one before mid-day service, was he overtaken by Eerik Pietarinen, who is now in the second place in the overall WRC 2 standings, just 1.3 seconds ahead of O.C. Veiby in the third.

For O.C. Veiby, the morning run was made harder by the fact that as the first WRC 2 car on the track, he encountered more debris than those behind him. Even so, he never finished a stage worse than 4thand is now in the 3rdposition overall. Here’s what he has to say:

“I did a small mistake on the third stage which cost me some time. On the fourth one, I hit a stone and the car didn’t feel so nice to handle afterwards. I am the first WRC 2 car on the road and because of the different width of the track compared to the WRC cars, that meant a little bit of road cleaning for me. I am sure, on the second pass of the stages it will be a lot easier for me.”

His teammate Kalle Rovanperä, who is leading with more than 14 second gap to Eerik Pietarinen in the 2ndplace, was happy: “No problems with the car at all, I had a steady drive on the first loop.”

Stages 6 – 11 (Afternoon)

After the midday break, O.C. Veiby had a big “moment” in the sixth stage of the rally. “After a fast right hander, I went a little wide and hit a bank,” said Veiby about his close call. The shunt resulted in cracked left rear wheel, but Veiby still managed to move up to the second position in the WRC 2 class. Another consequence of the off-road excursion was broken brake disk on the rear-left side, which had to be removed, meaning that O.C. had to continue with braking power limited to just three wheels. Even so, he was able to finish the Friday leg in fourth position and can still fight for a podium position.

Kalle Rovanperä was the second quickest the SS6, having to drive in the dust behind Benito Guerra, who he finally caught up with in the finish. The 17 years old Finn managed, with his co-driver Jonne Halttunen, to utterly dominate the WRC 2 category throughout the afternoon set of stages, winning four of the six stages.

Eerik Pietarinen, driving a private FABIA R5 fielded by TGS Worldwide, also delivered a remarkable performance, holding on to the second position.

ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek was impressed by Rovanperä’s performance: “Kalle and Jonne delivered a very fast and faultless performance. O.C. was very lucky to escape from the incident. He proved that our ŠKODA FABIA R5 is so reliable and strong, that you can even reach the finish with only three brakes working,” concluded Hrabánek.

Saturday will be the longest day of the Rally Finland, with eight special stages covering nearly 143 kilometres. Sunday will bring the final decision with four stages, before the winner will reach the podium in Jyväskylä around 16:00 local time.

Out of the ten stages during the Friday leg of NESTE Rally Finland, Kalle Rovanperä won seven.

Day 3 (Saturday, 28thJuly)

Stages 12 – 15 (Morning)
The longest day of the Rally Finland (with eight stages totalling nearly 143 km) was also the hottest, with temperatures in the Finnish forests climbing once again above 30 degrees.

Kalle Rovanperä with co-driver Jonne Halttunen continued the rally in the same style as the day before: they started out on the top, setting the first best time of the day. ŠKODA privateers Eerik Pietarinen/Juhana Raitanen also continued their brilliant performance and even set the best time in the second stage of the day.

That was, of course, something Kalle couldn’t tolerate and he fought back on the famous Kakaristo stage, which came as the third one of the day.

“The first stage in the morning was quite okay, the second one I was probably too cautious. Afterwards, I tried to drive like normal”, commented Kalle Rovanperä and we saw what “normal” meant: He was 7.3 seconds quicker than anyone else in the WRC 2 category. After another fastest time, he brought his ŠKODA FABIA R5 back to the midday service in Jyväskylä with a solid 49.4 seconds lead.

His teammates Ole Christian Veiby and Stig Rune Skjaermœn began the Saturday morning with a clear mission. To try and get back on the podium after the off-road excursion on Friday.

“I want to go back on the podium, maybe second place is still possible.”, said Veiby about his ambitions for the day.

After the damage to his FABIA R5 was repaired overnight by ŠKODA mechanics, he managed to reduce the gap to the third place to 1.6 seconds in the first stage of the morning run. However, Hyundai driver Jari Huttunen was unwilling to give his position and fought

back on the next stage, enlarging the gap up to 3.8 seconds again. On the next one Veiby was again 2.2 seconds quicker, so there was once again 1.6 seconds gap between the two drivers. For the afternoon leg, this fight promises to be really hot again.

Stages 16 – 19 (Afternoon)

The Saturday afternoon brought repetition of the morning stages, taking crews on another 71 kilometres under the unusually hot Finnish sun. In the beginning, things looked promising, with O.C. Veiby finally moving up to the third place in WRC 2 category and Kalle Rovanperä staying comfortably in the lead.

Then, in the third stage of the afternoon, SS18 Päijälä, the team’s luck run out. First, Kalle hit a rock hidden in deep ruts while braking and his left front suspension collapsed. He didn’t give up, though. With co-driver Jonne Halttunen, he successfully completed an emergency roadside repair and managed not only to finish the stage, but also to complete the final stage of the day (SS19). At the end of the day, he is still in the game, holding 4thposition.

„I think this is sisu, I just hope we didn’t disrupt the cars behind, we asked for extra time but hopefully it didn’t affect them“, commented Kalle, using the Finnish word that describes the typical Finnish grit and resilience when the success is against all odds.

His teammate O.C. Veiby was even less lucky. After going of the road in the same stage, he had to retire from the rally.

Eerik Pietarinen and his co-driver Juhana Raitanen, driving a FABIA R5 fielded by TGS Worldwide, continued their great performance and are now leading the overall standings of WRC 2 class.

ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek commented: “That’s rallying. Kalle and Jonne delivered so far a faultless drive and they really would have deserved to win their home event! O.C. and Stig Rune had bad luck as well going off the road in the same stage. Now we keep our fingers crossed for our local ŠKODA customer team Eerik Pietarinen/Juhana Raitanen for the victory.”

Disaster hit both ŠKODA junior crews in stage number 18 of NESTE Rally Finland: Kalle Rovanperä broke the suspension, teammate O.C. Veiby went off the road.

Day 4 (Sunday, 29thJuly)

Stages 20 – 23
During the Sunday leg of NESTE Rally Finland, ŠKODA customer crew Eerik Pietarinen/Juhana Raitanen controlled their lead in the WRC 2 category up to the finish line in Jyväskylä. After the final four stages, totalling around 46 kilometres, the locals celebrated the most important victory of their career so far.

After the suspension damage on his ŠKODA FABIA R5 had been successfully repaired at the evening service on Saturday, Kalle Rovanperä started his attack at podium position on Sunday morning. On the first special stage of the day alone, he gained 15.2 seconds in 11 kilometres and reduced the gap to the third placed Ford driver Gus Greensmith to 30.8 seconds. On the next stage, Rovanperä was quickest again, closing the gap to 24.5 seconds, but afterwards confessed: “I think the gap is a little bit too big. But still a lot can happen.” Another fastest time brought him another 13.1 seconds closer to the podium. But even the fourth best time of the day during the last stage was not enough – in the end only 1.9 seconds separated Rovanperä from third place in the WRC 2 category!

While Kalle Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen set all fastest WRC 2 times on Sunday’s stages, local ŠKODA privateers and current Finnish Championship leaders Eerik Pietarinen/Juhana Raitanen (FIN/FIN) won the category – the biggest success of their career so far.

WRC2: Hyundai Motorsport (Sarrazin Motorsport) (D) / Hyundai i20 R5 (Michelin)
38 Jari Huttunen / Antti Linnaketo (FIN)

Our HMDP crew Jari and Antti have registered their best result of the 2018 season, finishing second in the WRC2 class in their home event, Rally Finland.

In their fourth WRC2 event of the year in our i20 R5, our Finnish crew enjoyed a consistent and competitive weekend. They registered six top-three stage times and were in podium contention from the outset of the rally, an event they won twelve months ago.

“I am delighted to score a podium here in Finland, my home event, with the Hyundai i20 R5,” said Jari. “To compete at home in front of such great crowds gives me a very special feeling so it’s fantastic to get my best WRC2 result of the season here.

Moving on up

Following Thursday evening’s short opening stage, Harju, the HMDP duo picked up the pace when the rally got underway in earnest on Friday. Moving up to third midway through the afternoon loop, Jari was on pace with WRC2 pacesetter Kalle Rovanperä as he ended the day in a provisional podium position.

Our Hyundai i20 R5 continued to set good rhythm, keeping the crew firmly in the hunt on Saturday. Late drama for WRC2 leader Rovanperä saw the HMDP pair move up into second, where they ended the day.

With a focus on completing the event, rather than setting the fastest stage times, the crew concluded a strong rally on Sunday with a well-deserved podium.

Step by step

“We have had no problems throughout the complete weekend,” said Jari. “This has been important. We have missed a bit of speed compared to the front-runners but we have been consistent.”

Our Team Manager Alain was full of praise: “Jari and Antti have completed a very intelligent and competitive weekend. They set themselves high targets but have demonstrated huge progress in terms of rally management.

“They didn’t take any foolish risks, and were able to come away with a well-deserved second place in one of the most competitive WRC2 fields we’ve seen. All in all, this rally has been the biggest, most impressive step that Jari and Antti have made in their time as an HMDP crew, and we congratulate them both on a job well done!”

The HMDP crew will return to the Hyundai i20 R5 for our home event, Rallye Deutschland, from 16-19 August, their first tarmac WRC2 event of the season.

WRC2: Citroën Total (PH Sport) / Citroën C3 R5 (Michelin)
36 Stéphane Lefebvre / Gabin Moreau (F)
44 Simone Tempestini / Sergiu Itu (RO)

Although they ultimately had to settle for a modest thirteenth position in the WRC2 after having to rejoin under Rally 2 rules early in the weekend, Stéphane Lefebvre and Gabin Moreau nonetheless set some promising times, showing the potential of the C3 R5 on this very atypical round. Equally forced to rejoin under Rally 2 after an off, Simone Tempestini and Sergiu Itu ended the weekend in ninth position in the category.

You often need several appearances in Finland in order to come to terms with all of its specific features, such is its unique character. And you have to admit that this year, the iconic summer rally once again lived up to its tough reputation. After running wide onto a bank as he exited a junction, Stéphane Lefebvre lost part of the rear axle on SS2, which meant he had to retire for the day and rejoin the race on Saturday under Rally 2 rules. From that point onwards, the talented 26 year-old Frenchman tried to get his bearings again and conduct a sort of full-scale test session as he gradually picked up the pace. He impressed with a sixth fastest time in the WRC2 on the second stage of the day (+ 6.2s over 14.90km), muscling in on a large contingent of unrelenting local drivers. He then upped his pace again to set the second fastest time, just 7.3s off the pace on the 24km-long Kakaristo stage. This stage is of course the new version of the legendary and formidable Ouninpohja test, and the Citroën driver’s time once again demonstrated the qualities of the C3 R5 at an event where it was making its competitive debut. Stéphane Lefebvre thus continued to acquire information for the future, all the while recording several promising times, and reached the finish in thirteenth position in the WRC2 class. On his second rally in the C3 R5 after Sardinia, Simone Tempestini – winner of the 2017 Citroën Ultimate Challenge – felt increasingly confident on these ultra-fast roads, particularly in claiming a sixth fastest time on SS9, but unfortunately he went off on Saturday (SS14). Citroën’s engineers and mechanics produced a minor miracle to repair his car, working until late on Saturday night, enabling him to return to action on Sunday and reach the finish in ninth place in the WRC2.

WHAT THEY SAID

Pierre Budar, Citroën Racing Team Principal

“Although we prepared well for the rally with three days of testing, there’s just no substitute for competitive experience so we’ve learned some more things this weekend. We still have some fine-tuning to do on this type of surface, which is so specific. Having said that, when you look at the times, they are promising once again in terms of the performance of the car.”

Stéphane Lefebvre

“Obviously, it’s a shame that our weekend was dealt such a body blow from the outset, with having to rejoin under Rally 2 rules. From that point onwards, it was difficult to really go for it, even though I felt confident in the car. We still managed to produce some good times at some points, whilst also working on certain areas for the future.”

WRC2: M-Sport (GB) / Ford Fiesta R5 (Michelin)
32 Gus Greensmith / Craig Parry (GB)

Gus Greensmith (3rd WRC 2) said:

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster weekend in more ways than one! If you told me on Friday morning that I would finish on the podium I would have probably laughed!

“This is actually the first time I’ve ever finished Rally Finland, so that was a positive, but it wasn’t really the best of weekends for us. The speed just wasn’t there and I don’t think I had the car set-up quite right.

“It was a tough event from the beginning and we just had to focus on being consistent and getting the points to move back up to third in the championship – which is exactly what we’ve done.”

WRC2: Tommi Mäkinen Racing (MM-Motorsport) / Ford Fiesta R5 (Michelin)
33 Takamoto Katsuta / Marko Salminen (J/FIN)
37 Hiroki Arai / Jarmo Lehtinen (J/FIN)
47 Jarkko Nikara / Sayaka Adachi (FIN/J)

Luck was against the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge Program drivers on Rally Finland as they were continued their learning on the fastest event in the FIA World Rally Championship. Friday proved to be tough for the crews, with all three forced to retire from the first leg. Japanese driver Hiroki Arai was able to restart on Saturday and complete the event, finishing seventh in WRC2. Sayaka Adachi, co-driving for Jarkko Nikara, could also return to action and gain valuable experience. Unfortunately, Takamoto Katsuta was unable to restart as his car was too badly damaged in an accident.

Rally Finland is famed for its smooth gravel roads through the forests with numerous jumps and crests. As much as 65 per cent of this year’s route was different to 2017, with many narrower, more technical roads added. Arai and Katsuta were contesting the event for the third year in a row, while it was Adachi’s Rally Finland debut and second start in the WRC.

Arai suffered from a number of issues during the event, rolling his car on Friday morning before he had to retire during the afternoon having suffered two punctures. He was then able to complete the full itinerary on Saturday and Sunday together with experienced Finnish co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen, although was hampered by a broken anti-roll bar and brake issues.

Nikara and Adachi went off the road on Friday’s opening stage after a driving error, but the pair showed very competitively after they restarted on Saturday, setting three second-fastest stage times despite problems with the power steering and the turbo pop-off valve on their car.

Katsuta, co-driven by Marko Salminen, was sitting fifth in WRC2 and in contention for a podium position when he crashed heavily in SS8 – the result of a power steering failure upon landing from a jump – and could go no further.

Quotes:
Takamoto Katsuta
“To retire on Friday was very disappointing. Landing from a jump before a left-hand corner, the steering suddenly locked in the wrong direction and we went off to the right. I couldn’t do anything: everything happened very quickly. Before that, it was going well and my driving was improving. In the morning, my plan was to push hard but I couldn’t get a good rhythm. So I changed my driving style and it was getting better and the feeling was more natural. Even though our rally ended early, I think I could show my improvement from one year ago: my consistency was much better.”

Hiroki Arai
“This has been a difficult event with many different problems. On Sunday we finally had a clean loop of stages, which was very good. We carried two spare tyres, so the car was quite heavy, but we still set some decent times, I think. That is a positive to take away and I am really looking forward to competing in the next round of the Finnish championship.”

Sayaka Adachi
“It was a long and tough rally. On Friday it was hard to believe what happened, but our team did a great job to fix the car. On Saturday we put it out of our minds and just focused on getting the miles and experience. My pace-note reading was still a little bit late in a few places, but Jarkko has good experience here and it helped me a lot. Gradually I feel I am really improving my co-driver skills.”

Jarkko Nikara
“I was very disappointed after the crash on Friday. In one corner I took too much speed, we went wide and we hit the bank and rolled. On Saturday I found my driving rhythm again and we set some good times, even though we had quite a few problems with the car. The communication with Sayaka was mainly working well. At such high speeds it was difficult to get the right rhythm with the pace-notes. I’m happy that we got two days together and a lot of kilometres.”

Jouni Ampuja (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge Program instructor)
“Friday was a really tough day for us. Hiroki and Jarkko paid for small mistakes, while Takamoto had a mechanical issue that caused him to go off and could not even restart on Saturday. Again, we can see positives in the speed, but we don’t have the results we wanted. We will keep our heads up, analyse what happened and do better on the next event.”

Almost everything about World Rallying…

WRC 2018, Round 8/13 – Rally Finland (July 26/29)

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