The championship returns to the fast roads of Ott and Martins homeland. Now the crews will have eighteen stages over almost 302 kilometres. Last year, Oliver and Elliott stepped from their Yaris Rally2 into the top spec Yaris and promptly took stage win after stage win, ultimately taking their first overall championship win.

 

They would love to do this again this weekend, but they will have some serious competition from their teammates and also those at Hyundai and M-Sport Ford.

 

Let’s hear from the crews and take a proper look at the stages.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“Greece was a challenging event for us, but we can look forward to something completely different on much faster roads in Estonia and Finland. It’s important to find a good feeling and prepare the car as well as possible for these events, and it was helpful to drive a national rally in Estonia last week to get used to the highest speeds once again. If it’s very dry in Estonia then there can still be some cleaning for us to do, but we just need to focus on doing our best whatever conditions we face.”

Sébastien Ogier

“To win in Greece was very important for us. Moving from there to Estonia will be a big contrast, and especially for me as I haven’t driven this rally for five years. I’m looking forward to being back, though. It’s one of the most spectacular rallies of the season, and a well-organised event with a great atmosphere. I enjoyed my test last week, getting back the feeling for high speed, and hopefully we can be competitive. I’m sure that it will not be easy, but I always enjoy a challenge like this and will give it my best shot.”

Oliver Solberg

“I’m really looking forward to going back to Rally Estonia. It’s a very special place to me after we took our first win there last year. It’s a really cool rally that I’ve always enjoyed: with the high speeds, massive jumps and excited rally fans, it’s a lot of fun. We haven’t had the easiest run of rallies recently, but now I’m going back to a rally where I have experience with this car, and I just want to try my best and see what we can do.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“After a good rally for us in Greece, I’ve got a good feeling to move onto very high-speed stages in Estonia and Finland, which are some of my favourite rallies. You have to be very committed in Estonia, especially on the second pass when the road gets rutted, but the margins are also very small at those speeds. All of my team-mates can also be very strong in these rallies, but I will try my best to achieve good results and take as many points as possible.”

Sami Pajari

“I’m really looking forward to these next two rallies in Estonia and Finland: they are my favourite ones on the calendar. I’m pretty happy with how we finished the last rally in Greece after a difficult start, we’re still in a good position in the championship, and at the same time our starting position should not be too bad for the next rallies and should allow us to be in the fight, so let’s see what we can do.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“We’re heading into Estonia with confidence after two gravel rallies where we have consistently shown strong pace and fought for victory. Taking a win and a second place is encouraging, and our pre-event test also felt very positive. We’ve been competitive in Estonia in recent years, and if the conditions stay dry, they should suit us well. The key to this rally is finding the right balance between traction, precision and protection over the huge jumps, while having complete trust in the car. Our goal is clear: to fight for victory and score a lot of points to fight back in the championship.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Estonia is a completely different challenge to Acropolis, instead of rough, slow and technical roads, you’re straight into some of the fastest stages on the calendar, so confidence is everything. I really enjoy this type of rally and we’ve completed a good test to prepare for it. We didn’t get the result we wanted in Greece, but that’s behind us now we are focused on the challenges ahead. Estonia gives us a fresh opportunity and if we can put together a clean and consistent weekend, I’m confident we have the potential to be competitive.”

Esapekka Lappi

“I am very much looking forward to being back in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 again, especially as it will be the last outing of this car at these super-fast events, which is cool to be part of. We used the pre-event test to find the correct balance with differentials, suspension, and downforce. If we nail our pace notes, the rest should be easy. It is hard to know exactly where we are on fast gravel, although the recent results have shown the car has performed well on this surface. My hope is to be fighting higher than the top five.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Josh McErlean

“Estonia is always one of the fastest and most enjoyable rallies of the season, so I’m really looking forward to getting back out there. Greece gave us a solid platform to build from, and the aim now is to carry that momentum into Estonia. I really enjoy these types of events, so hopefully we can keep improving and come away with another strong result.”

Jon Armstrong

“I’m looking forward to going back to Estonia, I’ve been there twice in JWRC and also once in ERC with the Fiesta Rally2. The stages are completely flat out and the style of the surface is generally nicer for me as it’s a bit more sandy. It’s a good way to kick off the summer of speed in a Rally1 car!”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“This is the time of the year when we are as close as possible to our home country, and happy to call Rally Estonia our home rally this year. We’re hoping to see a lot of Latvian fans to feel as at home as possible! I’m looking forward to a great result here; I think we have a lot of positives to take from last year and we’re looking at having a competitive weekend in Estonia.”

Romet Jürgenson

“Obviously, our home event in Estonia is one of the highlights of the season for us. There is a bit more pressure as well, but we have a lot of local support from our fans which definitely gives us this extra push to get the maximum out of ourselves and the car.

 

“Looking at last year’s pace, I think the goal will be to be up there fighting with the top guys. The route itself has stayed the same over the last few years, so the advantage for the Estonians is decreasing as a lot of drivers have knowledge of these stages; it’ll be a very even fight with small margins. I’m looking forward to it.”

In terms of the stages this is how the days look over the event.

Friday has seven stages over just under 104 kilometres, then Saturday has nine stages over almost 150 kilometres and then Sunday has just two stages and a total of just under 50 kilometres.

Summary

Road position is going to be hugely relevant this weekend and in particular Friday’s stages. Elfyn and Scott, plus Takamoto and Aaron will have the most tricky road position as the first two crews into the stage, they will be sweeping the road clear of the loose gravel and making the road cleaner and ultimately faster for those further back.

Oliver and Elliott were eighth on the road during the first day last year which gave them a good advantage to set the pace and build a lead. This year they will be third on the road which will make things harder, whilst Seb and Vincent, Adrien and Alex, Thierry and Martijn and finally Esapekka and Enni fill the lower positions in the top ten and will give them the best road conditions.

The action begins with shakedown on Friday morning and then the first stage starts at just after one o’clock local time.