Tag: Rally Finland

Rovanpera closes in on first WRC Rally Finland win after dominant Saturday

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera (above) is a big step closer to taking his first WRC Rally Finland victory after a stunning run of five special stage wins on Saturday’s second leg left the home hero comfortably clear of the field. The two-time and reigning …

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera (above) is a big step closer to taking his first WRC Rally Finland victory after a stunning run of five special stage wins on Saturday’s second leg left the home hero comfortably clear of the field.

The two-time and reigning FIA World Rally champion, who was born and raised in the rally’s home city of Jyvaskyla, completed the penultimate leg of the WRC’s fastest all-gravel event with a 44.2s advantage over his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 teammate Sebastien Ogier. Points leader Thierry Neuville, driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally1, ended the day a further 39.2s back in third overall.

After Friday’s wet, but still super-fast opening leg, Saturday offered more of the same, with Rovanpera, Elfyn Evans and Ogier beginning the morning loop in a Toyota 1-2-3 at the top of the leaderboard. 

But it all went wrong for Evans when his GR Yaris’s front-right driveshaft broke in the second stage of the day, the blisteringly fast Paijala 1 test. That forced him to limp through another 25 miles of special stages in road mode — losing almost six minutes in the process — before repairs could be made in the mid-leg service back at Jyvaskyla.

Elfyn Evans was keeping Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanpera in his sights, until plunging down the order with a driveshaft issue for his GR Yaris Rally1. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Rovanpera’s advantage over the now second-placed Ogier had ballooned to over 20s by the end of the morning leg. The afternoon was a repeat of the three special stages and the 23-year-old Finn, who’s chosen to run only a part-time WRC campaign in 2024, continued his flawless drive. Despite changeable weather through the day, he won all but one of the six stages, including both passes of 20.49-mile Ouninpohja’s legendary rollercoaster ride.

“In the morning there was a good fight and we kept pushing today,” said Rovanpera, who crashed out while leading his home rally last year. “We did some quite strong times without taking any huge risks, so that is quite positive.”

Eight-time WRC champ Ogier — another one of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s roster taking in only a limited 2024 program — was not in the mood for taking unnecessary risks and admitted that, having not competed here since 2021, he lacked the commitment needed to challenge Rovanpera.

“The commitment needs to be at 100 percent,” said Ogier, whose only Rally Finland win came back in 2013 with VW, “and two years missing here makes it more challenging. In Finland, there are not so many guys who can follow the 100 percent of Kalle Rovanpera…”

After struggling for pace on Friday, the second leg was more positive for Neuville and his title aspirations. While Evans, currently third in the WRC drivers’ standings, has so far failed to register a score, Neuville’s overnight third position provisionally earned him 13 precious championship points. His Hyundai teammate, Ott Tanak, who was second in points coming into this round, did not restart following his heavy crash on Friday morning. 

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville has moved into third overall. With problems for his closest WRC title rivals, it’s looking like a useful weekend for the Belgian. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Adrien Fourmaux set a similar pace to Neuville on the day’s stages, but the Frenchman trailed the Belgian by 25.9s after struggling to regain time lost to him yesterday. 

Fourmaux’s M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 teammate Gregoire Munster’s day was over in a flash after the Luxembourg driver rolled 2.5 miles into Saturday’s opening stage.

Behind Fourmaux, Sami Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen are on course to record a top-five result on their GR Yaris Rally1 debut, with 29.5s separating the young Finnish pair from fourth-placed Fourmaux.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg continues to set the pace in his Toksport-run Skoda Fabia RS. 

The 22-year-old Swede ended Friday’s opening leg with a 24.1s lead over former WRC ace and now-Toyota Gazoo Racing team principal Jari-Matti Latvala, who’s enjoying a one-off drive in a new-for-2024 GR Yaris Rally2. 

Solberg eked out the gap over Saturday’s opening stages, then found himself enjoying 47.6s of clear air after Latvala lost time with a spin in the day’s closing test, Ouninpohja 2. A trouble-free run on the final day will see him extending his WRC2 points lead.

Oliver Solberg built a commanding WRC2 lead after a flawless day in his Skoda Fabia RS. McKlein/Motorsport Images

Sunday’s final leg consists of four more super-fast special stages, adding up to a short, sharp 25.89 competitive miles. Sahloinen-Moksi and Laajavuori are each run twice, with the latter as the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage. 

WRC Rally Finland, positions after Leg Two, SS16
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h03m53.8s

2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +44.2s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m23.8s
4 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m49.7s
5 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m19.2s
6 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +7m32.4s
7 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +8m20.0s
8 Lauri Joona/Janni Hussi (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +8m52.4s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2, non-points) +8m57.7s
10 Mikko Heikkila/Kristian Temonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +9m04.8s 

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Rovanpera leads as wet WRC Rally Finland opener claims its victims

Local hero Kalle Rovanpera (above) held an 8.0s WRC Rally Finland lead on Friday night after an incident-filled opening leg ended with Toyota Gazoo Racing locking out the top-three places. The two-time and reigning champion, who’s yet to win his …

Local hero Kalle Rovanpera (above) held an 8.0s WRC Rally Finland lead on Friday night after an incident-filled opening leg ended with Toyota Gazoo Racing locking out the top-three places.

The two-time and reigning champion, who’s yet to win his home round of the FIA World Rally Championship, headed fellow Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver Elfyn Evans after winning four of today’s nine rain-affected special stages. Sebastien Ogier rounded out the top three, six-tenths of a second further back in his GR Yaris.

Like eight-time champ Ogier, the flying Rovanpera, who was born and raised in Rally Finland’s host city of Jyvaskyla, is running only a part-time schedule in 2024. But should the 23-year-old Finn hang on for a victory on the super-fast stages that make up the “Finnish Grand Prix,” he’ll have swept the WRC’s run of three consecutive high-speed gravel events. 

In stark contrast to Toyota’s early domination, arch rival Hyundai suffered a disastrous day, losing two of its i20 N Rally1 cars to crashes. Title hopeful Ott Tanak, who was targeting a fourth Rally Finland win, was forced out by a roll in the morning’s second stage. The heavy impact resulted in co-driver Martin Jarveoja being taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks, where he will remain overnight for monitoring. 

Ott Tanak was aiming for a fourth Rally Finland win, but the Estonian’s quest ended prematurely when he rolled out on the opening morning. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Meanwhile, Esapekka Lappi — a Rally Finland winner in 2017 — retired from fourth after hitting a tree which tore the rear suspension from his car. Lappi, who’s another WRC regular taking on only a part-time role in 2024, is expected to restart his i20 N on Saturday.

Rovanpera battled excessive oversteer in the early stages to hold a slender lead of just 0.2s over Evans at the day’s midpoint, but he raised the bar on the repeated afternoon loop to widen that gap as the puddle-covered gravel roads became rutted and even more challenging.

There’s still two days to go, but the omens look good for the home-grown ace as, for the past two years, Friday night’s leader has gone on to win.

“It has been a tricky day, especially with the weather,” Rovanpera said. “Really changeable and difficult conditions, so I am quite happy to have had a clean day.

“Tomorrow will be difficult for sure — I think there has been a lot of rain on those stages also, but we will see how it is in the morning. All the guys are pushing hard and the gaps are really small, so it’s going to be a big fight.”

After the morning’s carnage, WRC points leader Thierry Neuville was Hyundai’s last man standing. Climbing the standings after the retirements of his teammates, plus Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta’s crash on the morning’s final stage, he held fourth overnight, but was hindered by his car’s setup and a time-consuming overshoot in the morning. The Belgian trailed Ogier by 16.9s at day’s end and, as it stands, is set to see his points buffer over title rival Evans shrink.

The lack of a pre-event test meant Adrien Fourmaux had to tweak the setup of his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 on road sections between stages. Holding an overnight fifth with a 42.5s buffer over Sami Pajari, the Frenchman felt he had made good progress with the car by the end of the leg.

For Pajari, who was making his Rally1 debut in a factory GR Yaris, the day was one of two halves. Two spins saw the rising star end the first stage with a damaged rear wing, forcing him to complete the morning’s remaining tests with significantly reduced aero.

However, justifying the hype around the latest “Flying Finn,” he and co-driver Enni Malkonen went on to win the 4.82-mile Ruuhimaki 2 stage in the afternoon — their first fastest stage time at the sport’s top level.

First time out in a headlining Rally1 car, Sami Pajari racked up a fastest stage time in his Toyota GR Yaris. Toyota GAZOO Racing

Gregoire Munster completed the Rally1 cars on the overall leaderboard, the Luxembourg driver taking things steady in his Puma Rally1 and building his experience of the fastest rally on the WRC schedule.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg ended the opening leg with a commanding lead over Jari-Matti Latvala, while several of the category’s big names ran into trouble.

Gus Greensmith, Emil Lindholm and Pierre-Louis Loubet were just some of the leading drivers to fall by the wayside today, with all three suffering accidents on the rain-hit stages east of Jyvaskyla.

For Solberg, who stands in line to extend his WRC2 championship lead, there were no such troubles. Driving a Toksport-run Skoda Fabia RS, the Swede was just half a second clear of Latvala at the day’s halfway point, but an impressive afternoon performance, particularly on the second running of the 11.16-mile Laukaa 2 stage, saw him widen that gap to 24.1s.

Latvala’s performance was impressive in itself considering the Finn, whose “day job” is team principal for Toyota Gazoo Racing, is contesting only his second WRC rally in four years. The 18-time WRC event winner and co-driver Juho Hanninen grabbed stage wins on both passes of the 9.64-mile Myhinpaa test, a Finnish classic.

Oliver Solberg built a commanding WRC2 lead after a flawless day in his Skoda Fabia RS. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

Saturday is the rally’s longest day, featuring six stages and 89.61 competitive miles, including the return of the jumps and switchbacks that make up the legendary Ouninpohja stage.

WRC Rally Finland, positions after Leg One, SS10
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 58m24.7s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +8.0s

3 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +8.6s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +25.5s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1) +48.5s
6 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m31.0s
7 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m52.7s
8 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +3m22.0s
9 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +3m46.1s
10 Robert Virves/Aleks Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +3m53.3s

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Evans wins Rally Finland to reignite his WRC title challenge

Elfyn Evans (above) sealed a dominant WRC Rally Finland victory on Sunday afternoon to keep alive his chances of fighting for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title. A rally-ending crash and roll for his Toyota gazoo Racing teammate, …

Elfyn Evans (above) sealed a dominant WRC Rally Finland victory on Sunday afternoon to keep alive his chances of fighting for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title.

A rally-ending crash and roll for his Toyota gazoo Racing teammate, reigning WRC champ and 2023 points leader Kalle Rovanpera, had propelled Evans’ GR Yaris Rally1 into the lead on Friday afternoon. The Welshman then reeled off seven back-to-back stage wins on Saturday to leave his closest challenger, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, trailing in his wake.

He extended the gap further on Sunday’s short final leg to win by 39.1s. With 25 points for the win and an additional five points for setting fastest time in the rally-closing Wolf Power Stage, Evans slashed Rovanpera’s championship advantage from 55 points to 25, with four rounds remaining and a maximum 120 up for grabs.

Evans’ Toyota Gazoo Racing team is based near the host city of Jyvaskyla, and victory extended its WRC manufacturers’ championship lead over Hyundai Motorsport to 67 points.

“It’s been a pretty good weekend,” said Evans, who also won on the high-speed gravel stages of Rally Finland in 2021. “Of course, we’re sorry for the loss of Kalle at the start of the rally, but after that it’s been really fantastic to drive this car — it’s such a joy to be behind the wheel on these roads and we’re really happy with this one. In terms of the championship, it’s also not bad that we’ve closed the gap.”

Elfyn Evans celebrates a dominant WRC Rally Finland win with co-driver Scott Martin. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT photo

Changeable conditions provided furious action on the fastest roads on the WRC calendar, with early challengers Ott Tanak and Esapekka Lappi both joining Rovanpera on Friday’s list of retirements. Engine failure sidelined Tanak’s M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1, while Lappi emerged unscathed after crashing his Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 into a tree.

Neuville enjoyed one of his strongest performances on Finland’s flat-out and undulating forest roads, but ultimately had no answer to Evans’ rapid pace. Remaining third in the championship after round nine, the Belgian finished with a hefty 57.6s margin over the third-placed Toyota of Takamoto Katsuta behind.

Thierry Neuville put in a strong showing on the super-fast Finnish stages to take second. @World/Red Bull Content Pool

Katsuta dueled relentlessly with Hyundai driver Teemu Suninen. The latter, starting only his second event in an i20 N Rally1, rolled the dice and bravely opted to save weight by not carrying a spare wheel through Sunday’s four-stage finale. But that still wasn’t enough to relegate the Japanese Yaris driver, who ended 4.3s clear to celebrate his fourth career WRC podium.

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala made a popular return to top-level competition after more than three years away. The 38-year-old Finna was never really in the thick of the podium battle as he used the one-off chance to familiarize himself with the hybrid Rally1 cars first introduced in 2022, but consistency rewarded him with fifth, 2m28.4s behind Suninen.

The high attrition among the Rally1 cars enabled Oliver Solberg, driving a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, to claim sixth overall, but the Swede wasn’t registered for WRC2 points. That left Sami Pajari to take the class spoils in WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, the 20-year-old Finn finishing 30.1s behind the flying Solberg in seventh overall.

Prior to Rally Finland, Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen had twice finished on the WRC2 podium in their Toksport-prepared Skoda Fabia RS, but the stars aligned to deliver their first win in the category on home gravel.

Pajari fought back from a Friday afternoon puncture to reclaim the lead on Saturday when fellow Finn Jari Huttunen retired his similar car with technical issues.

A sizeable overnight advantage meant 2021 FIA Junior World Rally champion Pajari could afford to cruise through Sunday’s final leg and he clinched the victory by 33.8s.

Sami Pajari earned his first career WRC2 class win on his home gravel. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Second in the class went to Adrien Fourmaux, driving a Ford Fiesta MkII for M-Sport Ford. The Frenchman grabbed a handful of stage wins in a field filled with quick local drivers to head third-placed Nikolay Gryazin by 34s at the finish.

After the super-fast and super-smooth stages of Finland, the action heads to some of the WRC’s roughest gravel with Acropolis Rally Greece, Sept. 7-10. Can Elfyn Evans continue his surge on the Lamia-based event, or will Kalle Rovanpera fight back on an event he won in 2021?

WRC Rally Finland, final positions after Day Three, SS22
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2h33m11.3s 
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +39.1s
3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m36.7s
4 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m41.0s
5 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +4m09.4s
6 Oliver Solberg/Wlliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2/non-points) +9m33.6s
7 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 winner) +10m03.7s
8 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Fiesta MkII – WRC2) +10m37.5s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +11m11.5s
10 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Sloda Fabia RS – WRC2) +11m35.2s 

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 9 rounds
1 Rovanpera 170 points
2 Evans 145
3 Neuville 134
4 Tanak 104
5 Ogier 97

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 9 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 378 points
2 Hyundai Motorsport 311
3 M-Sport Ford 205   

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Attack-mode Evans stretches his WRC Rally Finland lead

Elfyn Evans (above) made major strides towards his second WRC Rally Finland victory after the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver moved into full attack mode on Saturday’s penultimate leg. The GR Yaris Rally1 driver was fastest on seven out of eight of the …

Elfyn Evans (above) made major strides towards his second WRC Rally Finland victory after the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver moved into full attack mode on Saturday’s penultimate leg.

The GR Yaris Rally1 driver was fastest on seven out of eight of the gravel road stages in the super-fast Finnish forests to extend a 6.9s lead at the start of the day into a commanding 32.1s buffer at the end of the leg, leaving Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N Rally trailing in his wake.

Rain showers early in the day played to the Evans’ strengths, and while Neuville grappled with wheelspin in the wet conditions, the 2021 Rally Finland winner excelled. The Welshman was equally at home in the repeated afternoon loop where the drying gravel roads became increasingly rutted.

With WRC points leader Kalle Rovanpera already sidelined by a crash on Friday, victory at this ninth FIA World Rally Championship round is essential for Evans — currently second in the points behind his Toyota teammate — to keep his title hopes alive. He was delighted with his performance on a demanding day that contained more than half the rally’s competitive distance.

“Obviously, it’s a nice position to be in, but of course there are still more stages to come tomorrow,” said Evans. “The focus will be on that now and we’ll try to keep doing the same.”

Although Neuville struggled to get his Hyundai’s setup dialed in for the changeable conditions, the Belgian was consistently quicker than the remainder of the field. Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta, his closest challenger, lagged almost one minute behind in third.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville continued his setup struggles, but still consolidated the second-overall spot. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

Katsuta had dropped behind Hyundai’s Teemu Suninen after spinning in the morning’s first run through the Paijala stage, but charged back to reclaim the final podium spot in the first stage after the lunchtime service halt. He yielded the position again in the following test, then surged back in front by posting a benchmark time through the day’s closing stage, Vekkula 2. The pair were split by just 6.4s at the overnight halt.

Takamoto Katsuta charged back to a preliminary podium spot after spinning in the morning. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala was fifth overall, two minutes further back. The 38-year-old Finn, who is making his first WRC start since February 2020 to gain a better understanding of the current breed of hybrid Rally1 cars, overshot a junction in the day’s penultimate stage, but relished the chance to drive on his home roads again.

Oliver Solberg is not registered to score WRC2 points this week but climbed to sixth overall in his Skoda Fabia RS. Behind him, Sami Pajari is in line to celebrate victory in WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, after his closest challenger, Jari Huttunen, retired.  

The 21-year-old Pajari had set the pace for much of Friday’s opening leg, but fell behind Huttunen as a result of a left-front puncture. He trailed his fellow Finn and Skoda Fabia RS driver by 12.9s heading into the penultimate day, but clawed back an amazing 10.0s in the wet-weather opener, the 11.77-mile Vastila 1 stage.

After being caught napping, Huttunen then doubled his buffer with a strong response on the legendary roads of the 12.54-mile Paijale stage, but later pulled off the road in the second pass of Vekkula. A technical issue meant he went no further and promoted Pajari back to the WRC2 top spot.

Sami Pajari claimed the WRC2 lead following Jari Huttunen’s tech-related retirement. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

The youngster, who sits seventh in the overall rally standings, leads M-Sport Ford Fiesta MkII driver Adrien Fourmaux by 33.9s going into Sunday’s short final leg. Victory in Finland would be the first at this level for Pajari and his co-driver, Enni Malkonen.

Just four tests covering 32.09 competitive miles make up Sunday’s final leg. Drivers face two runs each on the classic roads of Moksi-Sahloinen and Himos-Jamsa. The second pass of the latter forms the bonus points-paying, rally-closing Wolf Power Stage. 

WRC Rally Finland, leading positions after Day Two, SS18
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2h08m07.0s 
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +32.1s
3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m27.8s
4 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m34.2s
5 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m39.5s
6 Oliver Solberg/Wlliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2/non-points) +8m05.0s
7 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +8m17.5s
8 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Fiesta MkII – WRC2) +8m51.4s
9 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Sloda Fabia RS – WRC2) +9m42.7s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +10m02.6s

Check out WRC.com, the official home of the FIA World Rally Championship. And for the ultimate WRC experience, sign up for a WRC+ All Live subscription to watch all stages of every rally live and on demand, whenever and wherever.

Evans grabs WRC Rally Finland lead as Rovanpera crashes out

Elfyn Evans (above) was thrust into the lead of WRC Rally Finland when Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Kalle Rovanpera’s untouchable streak came to an abrupt halt during Friday’s opening leg. Home hero Rovanpera, who brought a commanding 55-point lead …

Elfyn Evans (above) was thrust into the lead of WRC Rally Finland when Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Kalle Rovanpera’s untouchable streak came to an abrupt halt during Friday’s opening leg.

Home hero Rovanpera, who brought a commanding 55-point lead into the ninth round of the FIA World Rally Championship was running first car on the road, yet reeled off five consecutive fastest times through the super-fast gravel stages in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Heading into the day’s seventh test, 9.64-mile Myhinpaa 2, the 22-year-old Finn was leading second-placed Evans by 5.7s and looking comfortable.

But a rare mistake 6.9 miles after the start brought a disastrous end to the reigning WRC champ’s day when he lost control of his GR Yaris, hit a rock in the roadside ditch, and rolled end over end. Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen emerged from the wreckage unscathed, despite the force of the impact being strong enough to tear a rear wheel from the car.

Kalle Rovanpera was bossing the Finnish stages — until a costly error ended his hopes of a home win. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

“It didn’t really feel like we should have crashed,” said Rovanpera on his return — minus his stranded car — to the service park in Jyvaskyla. “Being the first car and not seeing a line to follow, especially for the rear wheels, maybe there was some mud that the rears got into? It was a full slide, full lock, and I couldn’t straighten the car. Then we hit something hard in the ditch — maybe bedrock.”   

Evans, currently second in the WRC points, inherited the top spot from his stranded teammate and negotiated the remaining two stages almost error-free to head Thierry Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N Rally by just 6.9s overnight.

“A bit of a half-spin in the final stage didn’t help, but overall it’s been an OK day,” said Evans, who was frustrated to give away 2.8s to Neuville thanks to that moment in the Harju 2 finale. “We’re pretty happy overall and obviously we’ve still got a lot of driving to do tomorrow.”

Mistakes were punished brutally on the central Finland gravel roads, and Rovanpera wasn’t the only victory contender to come unstuck. Fellow Finn Esapekka Lappi crashed his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 into a tree in SS4 while running fourth overall, while M-Sport Ford saw its chances of a decent result end before they’d barely began.

M-Sport Ford team leader and three-time Rally Finland winner Ott Tanak, who led the event after Thursday’s evening’s short super special stage in downtown Jyvaskyla, retired his Puma Rally1 in Friday’s second stage with terminal engine failure and his M-Sport teammate Pierre-Louis Loubet crashed in the same test.

Neuville’s day wasn’t without drama, either. The Belgian reported a lack of rear traction during the morning’s loop of stages and struggled for visibility under scattered rain showers on multiple occasions. By the end of the day, he headed Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, who won the morning’s opening stage, by 9.5s.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville struggled for traction and visibility, but is only 9.5s out of the lead. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

In fourth overall and definitely still within reach of a podium place is Teemu Suninen. The Finn is contesting his second rally aboard an i20 N Rally1 and trailed Katsuta by 12.4s at the overnight halt after building his speed throughout the day.

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala, a three-time Rally Finland winner, rounded out the top five on his first WRC start since 2020. The 38-year-old Finn is using the one-off event to gain a better understanding of the hybrid Rally1 cars that have competed in the WRC’s headlining class since 2022, and despite prioritizing bringing his GR Yaris safely to the finish, he’s only 54.9s behind Suninen. 

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Jari Huttunen showed he’s lost none of the speed which carried him to the 2020 WRC3 title as the 29-year-old Finn leads the way in WRC2 after Friday’s opening leg.

A year ago, Huttunen was driving a top-level Ford Puma Rally1 at his home WRC round. This year he’s out to prove a point against the WRC2 regulars after a lack of funding has left him unable to contest a full program in the class.

Huttunen led after Thursday’s super special stage in Jyvaskyla, but was quickly demoted to the second spot by fellow Finn Sami Pajari, who romped to an impressive four stage wins in a similar Skoda Fabia RS on Friday morning.

Pajari ran as high as sixth on the overall leader board, but disaster struck the 21-year-old Finn in the day’s penultimate stage when he punctured and shipped 11.1s, limping through the 5.68 miles of Halttula 2. That misfortune handed Huttunen an overnight lead of 12.9s.

WRC2 leader Jari Huttunen is out to prove a point in his Skoda after struggling for 2023 funding. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Nikolay Gryazin made a steady start in his Skoda, but climbed to third after increasing his pace throughout the day and trails Pajari by just three-tenths of a second heading into Saturday’s second leg.

Saturday’s second leg is the rally’s longest leg, with eight special stages totaling 99.84 competitive miles. The loop of four morning stages are repeated in the afternoon, and with more rain in the forecast, there’s the potential for more shocks and drama on the WRC’s fastest event. 

WRC Rally Finland, leading positions after Day One, SS10
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +51m34.4s 
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +6.9s
3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +16.4s
4 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +28.8s
5 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m23.7s
6 Jari Huttunen/Antti Haapala (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +3m14.1s
7 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +3m27.0s
8 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +3m27.3s
9 Oliver Solberg/Wlliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +3m28.8s
10 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Fiesta MkII – WRC2) +3m36.4s

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