The first full day of this iconic rally started early for the crews and teams with stage two at just after eight in the morning local time. The previous evening the first stage was run and the top three was Ott from Thierry and Seb.
First up was SS2 Laukaa 1 – 17.96 km and it was Sami who set the pace in this one from his teammates Takamoto and Kalle. Takamoto jumped up five positions into the overall lead, with Kalle into second, whilst the stage winner moved into fourth. Of course, Ott who was opening the road dropped to eighth position. Martins was the leading M-Sport crew holding ninth overall after climbing two positions.
Next up was SS3 Saarikas 1 – 15.78 km and Kalle was fastest this time from Adrien and Sami. The Finn moved into the lead, whilst Adrien was up to second place. Takamoto fell from the lead into fifth place, but things were very close at the top with less than four seconds covering the top five.
Into SS4 Myhinpää 1 – 14.47 km and Kalle was again fastest from Elfyn and Adrien third. It was a good time from Elfyn who made the most of his road position despite being second into the stage. The gaps were widening a little with Kalle now four seconds ahead of second placed Adrien. Greg did overshoot at a chicane after losing the rear but completed the stage.
The final morning stage then before service, SS5 Ruuhimäki 1 – 7.76 km saw Sami set the fastest time again from Takamoto and Thierry. It was so close though that they both moved past Thierry pushing him down to fifth place. The overall top three was now Kalle from Adrien and Sami. Further back Elfyn’s position in the top six was coming under threat from his teammate Seb who had reduced the gap between them to just four tenths of a second.
After the service break SS6 Laukaa 2 – 17.96 km was next and Takamoto was fastest this time from Thierry and Kalle. The Japanese star saw this pace lift him two positions and into second overall. He’d even reduced Kalle’s lead to 3.3 seconds. The two drivers who lost out were Thierry and Sami and they were now in fourth and fifth overall. Ott continued to struggle and now Martins was getting closer to the Estonian with just seven tenths of a second between them.
Kalle came back to the top of the stage timesheets with the fastest time in SS7 Saarikas 2 – 15.78 km from Sami and Adrien. Thierry moved back into second overall pushing Takamoto down one place. There were changes further down as Seb passed Elfyn for sixth place and also Martins passed Ott moving into seventh place overall. The Latvian was really finding the pace after setting the sixth best time. Sadly, we lost Oliver and Elliott in this one from WRC2 as they rolled out after hitting a rock that was on the line.
Into SS8 Myhinpää 2 – 14.47 km and incredibly Adrien and Kalle set an identical stage time with Thierry and Seb doing the same for the second fastest time! Adrien moved into third overall whilst Takamoto again fell to fourth place albeit on the same overall time as the Frenchman. The gap between Seb and Elfyn was growing, the gap now 5.1 seconds as they maintained sixth and seventh overall.
Onto the final proper stage of the day then, SS9 Ruuhimäki 2 – 7.76 km and Thierry was quickest from Seb and Kalle. The Finn remained the overall leader from Thierry and Adrien. Takamoto was just a single tenth of a second behind Adrien.
The final stage then a second run for SS10 Harju 2 – 2.58 km completed the day with Adrien going fastest from Thierry and Takamoto. Less than ten seconds covered the top four.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day One
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Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“It’s been a good Friday for us. It’s nice to be fighting for the top positions and there’s a lot of people cheering for us, so we’re enjoying it. The feeling behind the wheel is still maybe not the best, but we have been pushing hard and we have been able to be fast: we’ve been doing a lot of work to find more pace and it seems to be better. This afternoon was tricky after the rain came in but still we managed to do some good times and hold onto the lead, and hopefully we can continue in a good way tomorrow.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“I had quite a good feeling from the start this morning. I struggled a bit on some stages, but we made some small changes on the car, and it felt better straightaway. When the rain came for the afternoon I felt it was time to push I immediately had a good feeling and set the fastest time. After that the feeling was still good, there were a few tricky ruts and bumps, and I lost some time from that. But still the gaps are small, there’s a long way to go and I’ll keep focused and keep pushing.”
Sami Pajari
“It’s been a really solid day for us. The morning was really good, with two stage wins and to be up in third place overall, and still there were some places where I felt I could improve. This afternoon the conditions were not so easy, but still, we are not too far from the lead. Everyone is really close and it’s hard to make big differences. It’s really cool to be in the fight on our home rally, and it’s nice how much the crowd is cheering, so I’m sure there’s another two days of enjoyment to come.”
Sébastien Ogier
“The conditions haven’t been easy today. This morning in the dry there was a bit of cleaning for us, and maybe I wasn’t committed enough in a few places and lost a bit of time. This afternoon the rain was also a bit challenging for those of us at the front, but it wasn’t too bad. There’s a couple of things that could have been a bit better, but we’re still not that far from the podium places and that’s what we need to fight for tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans
“We had a good start this morning. There was a little bit of cleaning with the loose gravel like we expected after the hot and dry weather. I think we were pretty strong considering and the times were really close. Unfortunately, the afternoon was quite tricky after the rain with a lot of standing water in the ruts, so the conditions didn’t really work in our favour. So, a bit disappointed with the day overall, but tomorrow’s a big day and there can still be some surprises with the weather, so we’ll just keep doing the best we can.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“I really enjoyed this afternoon. The car was working well, and while Kalle is still very fast, we are not far away. It was challenging in the ruts, there’s usually standing water, so you’re having to look quite far ahead to judge the risk, while also staying present in the moment with the car. It wasn’t easy, but I’m pretty happy with how we’ve done today. If we can carry that into the new sections and stages tomorrow, we will be fine.”
09 Round , Rally Finland
31 July – 03 August 2025
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Adrien Fourmaux
“I’m happy with how today has gone and the pace we have had in these tricky conditions. We managed to keep Takamoto behind us, which is really positive for us. I was a bit faster than Thierry in the dry, but he is faster on the wet, so I’m hoping we have drier weather tomorrow! However, we are expecting some rain, but I think having a later road position will be to our advantage in that regard.”
Ott Tänak
“With the roads improving with every car on the road this morning, we just didn’t have the pace to over-drive the deficit as first on the road. It was unfortunate that the car snapped under braking on SS7, and the impact caused damage to our cooling system. We then couldn’t stop as the engine was overheating, so it was difficult to come through the remaining stages this afternoon.”
Oliver Solberg
“Coming so soon after winning Rally Estonia, this is kind of hard to take,” said Oliver. “The change of emotion is quite incredible in less than two weeks. Really, there was nothing we could do here – we were committed to the line, the rock kicked the car out of the ruts and into the ditch.
“It caught me really by surprise. It’s really frustrating – it’s not like I was pushing super-hard and taking big risks. I’m sorry for the team, but let’s hope we can be back tomorrow.”
Saturday
The second full day of action will continue with 142km’s over eight stages. Can Kalle keep the lead or will those behind move past him?
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