Category: Tin Top Racing

The final day then with Elfyn and Scott leading the event by 32.1 seconds over Thierry and Martijn. There was a battle to the finish between Takamoto and Teemu for the final podium spot. I should correct myself following yesterday’s report. Takamoto has already taken three podiums at the top level, so could this be his fourth at the top level?

There remained 51km’s over four stages to decide the 2023 edition of this truly classic rally. Once again Pierre-Louis would open the road throughout the final day.

Into SS19 Moksi – Sahloinen 1 – 16.56 km and Elfyn was fastest from Teemu and Takamoto. The Finn had closed the gap to third placed Takamoto, just 4.5 seconds between them. Elfyn’s pace had increased his lead to 36.6 seconds. Meanwhile in WRC2 the top three fastest were Emil, Roope and Andreas, whilst the top three overall remained Sami, Adrien and Nikolay.

Next up was SS20 Himos – Jämsä 1 – 9.26 km and Takamoto won the stage from Thierry and Teemu. The Finn had a wild moment on the top of the hill as he came down the hill. In WRC2 Nikolay was fastest from Emil and Andreas whilst the top three in the category remained the same.

Into the penultimate stage then, SS21 Moksi – Sahloinen 2 – 16.56 km and Elfyn was again fastest from Thierry and Teemu. In WRC2 Emil was fastest from Nikolay and Sami who remained firmly in charge of the category. He and Enni were on their way to a likely first category win.

It was time for the final stage and early pace setter Pierre-Louis’s time was eclipsed by Jari-Matti as the Finnish legend completed his 210 WRC event. Thierry came through to set the fastest time. The big question was now could or would Elfyn push to take the stage win and all five points to go with it? Well, he was up on every single split and won the stage by nine tenths of a second. What a drive from the Welsh wizard, taking his second Finnish win. In WRC2 Sami and Enni took their first victory, this coming after their first podium in the category last time out in Estonia.

Let’s take a look at the top ten.

Final Overall Classification –Rally Finland

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans 1^st Overall

“It’s been a great weekend for us, and it feels pretty special to win this rally for the second time. It’s one of my favourites and a home rally for the team with the factory being based in Jyväskylä. It also feels really special to win with Akio here this weekend and to share the podium with him and with Taka as well. It’s been fantastic to drive this car on these roads and it’s been a joy to be behind the wheel. We had a really nice feeling almost from the beginning. We were sorry to lose Kalle from the fight on Friday but then we could make a few little steps with the setup for Saturday which really boosted my confidence. Things really clicked and the stage times came naturally. It’s a positive weekend in terms of the championship as well and we’re now a bit closer to Kalle than we were before.”

Takamoto Katsuta 3^rd Overall

“I’m very happy to be on the podium at Rally Finland, my second home rally. It’s a really big thing for me and the team and also for Akio-san. He was giving me extra energy and motivation which was helping in the really intense battle that we had with Teemu. He was doing a really good job so it was not so easy, but we managed to make some gap on Saturday evening when the conditions were tricky, and this made the final day a bit less stressful. After Rally Estonia we worked really hard together with the team’s engineers to analyse where I could improve, and this was why I could perform well already from Friday morning. I must also say thanks to Kalle who was giving me advice during our tests for driving these Finnish roads.”

Jari-Matti Latvala 5^th Overall

“It has been an amazing and fun feeling all weekend, I really enjoyed the driving in this car. Thank you to Akio and the team for giving me this great opportunity. It’s been something really phenomenal that I will remember for the rest of the life. It was extraordinary to be able to drive relaxed without having to think about the results. When the conditions were difficult, we could just drive with our own rhythm and to end up fifth overall and even score in the Power Stage, it’s just fantastic. It is also really special to see Elfyn on the top step of the podium and Takamoto in third and I’m really happy for both of them.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville 2^nd Overall

“It is a big relief to be back on the Rally Finland podium after ten years of what I would say was a struggle. It shows that the team and the changes that are ongoing are heading in the right direction. I think it’s clearly a sign that we have to carry on. I’m happy we have a bit of a break as this weekend was quite exhausting, but we have done the job. Thank you to the team.”

Teemu Suninen 4^th Overall

“I would say the result itself is quite good even if there is some disappointment to miss out the podium. There is a lot to process after these two rallies that will help prepare the next one and come back stronger. It has been a pleasure working with the Hyundai Motorsport team, they are really supporting me and giving me everything they can. I’m really looking forward to the next rally together.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux, 2^nd in WRC2, 7^th Overall

“I have to say that the team has been working really well and we had a great result here in Finland. We had no issues at all on the car, it was a perfect weekend for us, we had all the info we needed in the stages. We are really happy; it wasn’t in the plan to be here and finishing this rally on the podium in second position is a great consolation for everybody and for us. I was really happy to be fighting with the Finnish drivers on these roads, it was quite special.”

Grégoire Munster, 9^th in WRC2, 15^th Overall

“It was a good rally for us, we learned quite a lot. The pace was improving steadily stage by stage, even though on some stages we had difficult weather conditions. We had to try different things with the set up and so that was also a very nice learning experience.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet, 46^th Overall

“I am quite disappointed about the weekend, we tried to be on the pace, but unfortunately, I hit a tree and had to restart. We did a good day on Saturday, but today it was difficult to maintain a high pace as we were nursing a small issue with the engine that meant we lost some power. We tried our best during the power stage to score more points.

“Greece is next, we had some strong pace there last year and I hope everything goes well there. I think even though not everything is going in the right direction with results, the progress is there, and we just need to keep pushing.”

Ott Tänak, Retired Friday

“Of course, we are disappointed, after Estonia this isn’t how we wanted this week to go. It’s a shame we can’t continue but the car is too damaged for us to carry on.

“Now it’s time to have a break after a busy few months, then we will focus fully on Greece in September.”

Toksport

Oliver Solberg

“I am so happy,” he said. “When we came here, we came after two really bad results in Finland [in 2021 and 2022]. I really wanted to make experience on these roads. “On Friday, I was taking a little bit more time. It was my first time in roads like Myhinpää – a really big and classic stage in Finland. I didn’t want to make any mistakes and I was driving with some margin and not taking anything like the ultimate risks.

“I wanted to feel my way into Finland, to take the confidence I’d been missing for the last two years. I didn’t change anything through Estonia and here in Finland, the set-up was working so well – and I could push and take time. “Everybody knows the local drivers are strong in Finland, so to come here and beat them all is something incredible for me. The fight with the Finns was so cool and this rally is so cool – always you’re battling for seconds and tenths of seconds on these amazing roads. “Today was more about managing things and driving at a decent pace to get to the finish with the win.”

Summary

Well, what a fantastic victory for Elfyn and Scott. Their second win on these fast roads again confirm they should never be written off. Their second win of this season and seventh overall win for Elfyn, six for Scott has brought them into the fight for this year’s championship, now just 25 points away from their teammates, Kalle and Jonne.

Thierry and Martijn scored their best result as a crew on this event since they started together in 2021. It was also Thierry’s best result on this event for ten years, his last podium coming in 2013 when he had Nicolas co-driving and they were at M-Sport.

Finally, Takamoto and Aaron had a brilliant drive to a fourth ever podium taking some good stage wins on each day and this was their third podium as a crew.

Next rally is the Acropolis Rally from the 7^th to the 10^th of September. The teams will enjoy a good break and come back to complete this year’s championship.

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 9

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 9

The second day of action from Finland dawned with Elfyn holding the lead from Thierry, the gap sitting at 6.9 seconds between the top two. The crews faced eight stages and a total of 160 of competitive kilometres.

Pierre-Louis Loubet returned for M-Sport and would open the road throughout Saturday’s stages. There was news that surprised many though with Kalle and Jonne not restarting at all. The damage to the 69 GR Yaris was too high and the world champions would not be returning.

The action started with SS11 Västilä 1 – 18.94 km and Elfyn was quick out of the blocks, going 4.6 seconds faster than Thierry, thus increasing his lead to 11.5 seconds. Teemu was third fastest, taking 8 tenths of a seconds from Takamoto’s lead as the pair fought over third overall. In WRC2, Sami was fastest from Marco and Mikko, whilst the category was led by Jari from Sami and Adrien who moved up into third overall.

Next up was SS12 Päijälä 1 – 20.19 km and Elfyn was fastest again by 4 tenths of a second over Thierry. Takamoto had a spin in this one and fell behind Teemu, the Finn taking third overall. Top three remained the same in WRC2.

Elfyn maintained the great pace out there in SS13 Rapsula 1 – 20.56 km winning again by 3.4 seconds from Thierry and Takamoto was third, who closed the gap a little to Teemu who remained in third overall. Gus drove well in this one, setting the best time in WRC2 with Sami matching the Brit’s time and Roope third fastest. Meanwhile Jari remained in charge of the category leading from Sami and Adrien.

Elfyn made it four out of four in the final morning stage, with Thierry second and Takamoto third and reduced the gap even further to just a second to Teemu who remained third overall. The Welshman had increased his lead over Thierry to 17.7 seconds and was firmly in charge.

Into the afternoon stages with the rerun of SS15 Västilä 2 – 18.94 km and Elfyn was really fast in this one, with Thierry second but 7.8 slower than the leader. Meanwhile Takamoto regained third overall moving ahead of Teemu by just eight tenths of a second. Meanwhile it was all change in WRC2 with Jari suffering an engine problem and falling down from the lead. Sami moved into the lead from Adrien and Andreas.

Next up was SS16 Päijälä 2 – 20.19 km and Elfyn was again fastest from Thierry by another good margin of 4.5 seconds. Teemu moved back past Takamoto as their battle for third place continued, moving ahead by just three tenths of a second.

Just two stages left and Elfyn won SS17 Rapsula 2 – 20.56 km from Thierry and Takamoto. Just a tenth of a second separated Teemu and Takamoto in their fight for third place. Sami also remained in charge of WRC2 with a similar lead to Elfyn’s over Thierry.

The final stage then of the day, SS18 Vekkula 2 – 20.65 km and it was a clean sweep for the Toyota squad as Takamoto won the final stage of the day from Thierry and Elfyn. The Japanese stars pace and also a problem for Teemu with the loss of his front splitter meant he’d retaken third overall. In WRC2 Adrien was fastest from Sami and Emil. There was a change for third though in the category as Andreas suffered a tyre off the rim and dropped almost 11.8 seconds and one place. Benefitting from this was Nikolay, going back into third place.

Let’s check the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“The feeling’s been good today and the car has been working well. We’ve had the confidence to push and also been able to focus on driving cleanly where necessary. Conditions were difficult at times, especially in the last stage, but we seemed to have everything under control and we’re obviously happy to be in this position tonight. We had some incredible stages today, some of the best in the world, and to have a car that’s working as we want in those conditions has been mega and reminds me of the feeling, we had here in 2021. But there is still some distance to go tomorrow, and we’re focused on what we need to do to bring the car home in this position.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“This morning was tricky as it was still raining quite a lot. In the first stage I was struggling to judge the grip, and then in the second one I was trying to drive better but I made a small mistake that cost us a lot of time. After that, I was trying to fight back but the time gaps were very close, and we were only gaining a few tenths of a second on each stage. But we knew the last stage could have difficult conditions so I decided to push as much as I can. Of course, there was risk, but I knew it could put us in a better position for tomorrow if we could make some time, and luckily we could. Tomorrow will still be a big challenge, but I will try my best.”

Jari-Matti Latvala

“It has been good fun again today. It’s always nice to go to these stages around Jämsä which are wide, fast and flowing with usually a lot of people spectating, and the atmosphere was really nice. The conditions were a bit challenging with a lot of rain, but it was still enjoyable most of the time. The last stage of the day was more like Safari, with big ruts full of water and a lot of mud coming to the windscreen. But it has been great to see so many people cheering for us on the stages and telling us that we’re doing well. The boost I’m getting from them is giving me an amazing feeling and I hope to carry that until the finish tomorrow.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“It wasn’t the day we were hoping for, but still it was a good one. We had some speed this morning, but it was trickier this afternoon. Challenging weather conditions made it difficult for us to keep the car on the road. We tried to push hard but, in the end, we had to settle provisionally for second behind a very quick Elfyn. We’re satisfied though, we weren’t expecting to be in this position in Finland. We’ve done a good job and the car was working fine. The championship hasn’t been easy up until now, but our hope isn’t lost, so let’s see how many points we can maximise from this event.”

Teemu Suninen

“It’s been a good day for us until the last stage. Generally, throughout the day we have been able to catch Takamoto, then pass him and have a proper fight, but we lost time on the final stage. The ruts were full of water, so it was difficult to adjust the speed and assess the grip level in the muddy places. It would be great to get the podium, especially in only my second rally in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid but it is a tricky, long day ahead – still we have a good chance, so we have to go for it.”

Summary

Well, what a brilliant day for Elfyn and Scott. We have seen this kind of drive before from them at many rallies over the last few years and the way he gapped Thierry and Martijn on these incredible stages was fantastic. They utterly deserve to win tomorrow, and it will be a case of bringing it home.

Thierry and Martijn just did not have an answer to the Toyota crew today, but this has been one of the best performances at this rally for over a decade.

Takamoto could take a third career podium in his adopted home land, let’s see if he can hold off Teemu tomorrow.

The first full day of action saw some real drama on the quick stages of Finland. The world champion would open the road throughout the day, courtesy of being the championship leader. The crews faced 108km’s over nine stages in total with the usual four stages being rerun in the afternoon and the second run of Harju which was the opener yesterday evening. The early top three from Thursday evening stage, was Ott, Thierry and Kalle.

First up then, SS2 Laukaa 1 – 11.78 km and Takamoto was fastest from Elfyn and Kalle. What a great stage from the Japanese star! There were a few changes in the leaderboard with Kalle moving into the lead from Ott, just four tenths of a second between the top two, with Elfyn on the same overall time as the Estonian. It was Thierry who fell a couple of places and was just half a second ahead of Takamoto as they fought for fourth overall.

The next one, SS3 Lankamaa 1 – 14.21 km was where we saw the first bit of drama with Ott exiting the stage after an impact to the bottom of the engine and this saw the Puma lose power, The Estonian pair were out not only for the day, but it was later confirmed that they would not be re-joining for the remaining two days. It was a double whammy for M-Sport as well, with Pierre-Louis taking a wheel off his Puma. What a shame for the Cumbrian based team. Everyone gained a place apart from the two leaders Kalle and Elfyn who were separated by just 2.2 seconds. In WRC2 Sami was holding the lead from Jari, the gap even closer at 1.5 seconds.

The top three in SS4 Myhinpää 1 – 15.51 km was Kalle, Elfyn and Esapekka. The two top Hyundai crews were beginning to fight for the final spot on the podium, just 0.3 separating them at the end of this one. In WRC2 Sami was fastest from Emil and Adrien and there was a change in the top two, with Emil moving ahead into second, Jari dropping one place to third.

The final stage of the morning loop then, SS5 Halttula 1 – 9.14 km and Kalle was fastest again, but his teammate Elfyn was just three tenths down from the Finnish driver. Unfortunately, we lost EP in this one. The Finn ran wide and ended up hitting some trees, heavily damaging his i20. In WRC2 Andreas was fastest from Jari and Georg. Sami continued to lead the category from Jari who’d moved back into second pushing Emil back to third.

After the lunchtime service, SS6 Laukaa 2 – 11.78 km was won by Kalle from Takamoto and Teemu. Takamoto and Thierry now held third overall, 16 seconds from the lead. The returning Jari-Matti was learning a lot in his first drive of the GR Yaris Rally1 and having a lot of fun to boot! Sami continued to lead in WRC2 from Jari and Emil.

The second run of SS7 Lankamaa 2 – 14.21 km and again Kalle was fastest from Elfyn, just three tenths between them, and Takamoto third again. The Japanese star moved ahead of Thierry and into third overall. Jari was fastest in the WRC2 category from Sami and Nikolay who moved up into third in the category.

Into SS8 Myhinpää 2 – 15.51 km and there was drama for the world champions as Kalle and Jonne rolled their GR Yaris! Thierry won the stage from Elfyn and Takamoto with the result that the Belgian moved into second overall. Elfyn deserved to lead the rally after the exit of his teammate, the gap between him and Thierry now 10.9 seconds. Sami was still the leader of WRC2 from Jari and Nikolay.

The penultimate stage of the day, the final proper stage of Friday and Thierry was fastest from Takamoto and Elfyn, the Toyota teammates setting the same time. Elfyn’s lead remained a very strong 9.7 seconds. There was a change in WRC2 though with Jari moving into the lead of the category and Sami dropping down to second place.

The final stage then of the day, SS10 Harju 2 – 3.48 km and Takamoto set the early pace before Thierry and then Elfyn came through and went first and second fastest. It is well known the Belgian likes the small super special stages and Elfyn not so much. The gap was trimmed a little to 6.9 seconds between the top two.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“We had a good start this morning, quite clean with no big mistakes. It was pretty fast-paced out there and there were a few small places where we could have been better, which can be frustrating when the gaps are only a few tenths of a second on each stage. It was quite wet on and off during the day and grip was not so high, but I generally enjoyed it in the car. The conditions caught a few people out, and unfortunately Kalle was also one of those. He was doing a great job and I was sorry to see him go out that way. There’s still a long way to go, and although tomorrow should be a drier day, we could still be in for some slippery conditions.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“We started very well this morning with the stage win in Laukaa. I like that stage, but the beginning section was new, so I was not sure how the time would be. But I felt very good with the car and we had a good run. Then in the following stages I was a bit too careful and losing quite a bit of time. The conditions this afternoon especially were very tricky and changing a lot. But overall, I’m quite happy as we’re still pretty close to the top positions. Hopefully we can continue like this tomorrow and try to push a bit more, but it will be a big day and a big challenge.”

Jari-Matti Latvala

“It’s been a great day in the car. I could never have imagined that we could be fifth overall after Friday. We haven’t been so fast, but I tried to keep everything under control and have a good rhythm. We have been about six tenths of a second per kilometre from the fastest guys, which is better than I expected, so I’m really happy with that. It’s an amazing feeling driving this car. Some of the stages have been really nice, and some of the conditions have been really difficult. We’ve not had this kind of Rally Finland with such variable conditions for a very long time. Hopefully tomorrow we can continue having a really nice experience.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“The day was going well. We had a good morning loop as the first car on the road, and it was a nice fight with Elfyn. We could be a little bit quicker without over pushing. The way we crashed was quite unfortunate and I feel like I couldn’t have done much more in this corner. Under braking, the speed felt fine, but as first car in the mud we had a big slide. Even with full lock steering I couldn’t straighten the car, and in the ditch, we hit something hard which sent us flying. It’s definitely a pity for the team and for the fans that we are out of the fight like this. Hopefully the car is OK, and we can get back out there tomorrow.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Now we have no choice; Kalle, one of our main contenders, is out, and Elfyn is also in front of us in the championship. We are fighting for a victory, and we are going to go for it. The day was good; I don’t think I have been in a position to fight for a win in Finland before. It was very challenging, lots of grip changes but we kept it all under control. We worked a bit on the car to find more speed, but we could see the Toyotas were faster. We had to keep our rhythm and make no mistakes. Tomorrow, we’re going to push even harder.”

Teemu Suninen

“I’m quite happy with today; it’s been super tricky conditions with the rain and the grip changes, but I have been comfortable with the car and managed to stay close to the front. I’ve been missing a little bit of pace, but I think if we can push to the limit then we can find it. This afternoon I was nearly flat out on the first two stages and set some good times; step by step I am improving my driving. The dream to get a podium is still alive but I need to have a good day tomorrow.”

Esapekka Lappi

“Physically, everything is ok; a swollen ankle for me but no broken bones. The accident was a pace note mistake, I was too optimistic for the right-hand corner, we were too fast, and we went into the trees. The information from my side was wrong when we did the recce. To be honest, I wanted to be closer to the lead of the rally, so I wasn’t overly satisfied with how our day was going. It is a shame we are unable to re-join the rally for the rest of the event, but the main thing is both Janne and myself, are fine. I am really sorry for the team and the Finnish fans as this was the rally, I was most looking forward to and I was eager get a strong result. We now look forward to Greece and hopefully return to the good feeling we had earlier in the season.”

Summary

Well, what an amazing first day. Lots of drama out there. What does Saturday hold? Well, there are 160km’s over eight stages. Elfyn will want to hit the ground running and look to build on his lead. Can Thierry fight back and take the lead? It will be interesting to watch and find out.

The championship continues with the ninth round of this season. Kalle and Jonne lead the race for the title and have a 55-point lead over their teammates Elfyn and Scott. This will be the 72^nd time that this event is run.

In terms of the challenge facing the crews this year there are 320km’s over 22 stages. The longest day is Saturday with 160km’s over eight stages. The action starts on Friday with the short 3.5km Harju stage.

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

After shakedown on Thursday morning, Rally Finland begins with the fan-favourite 3.48km Harju 1 Super Special Stage.

Friday’s nine-stage itinerary opens with the 11.78km Laukaa stage and closes with the second attempt of the Harju super special stage.

Saturday features fewer stages yet the longest competitive distance, totalling 160.68km across two loops of Västilä, Päijälä, Rapsula and Vekkula.

Sunday will round up the rally with 54.61km and four stages, with the second run of Himos-Jämsä acting as the event’s Power Stage.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“Our home rally always feels a bit different to every other rally, especially because it’s in our hometown and because it’s a home rally for the team as well. So, there’s always more excitement and huge support from all the fans and I want to try my best to win it if we can. At the same time, we have to be clever with the championship in mind, not to waste the lead that we’ve built. Starting first on the road in Finland, it’s never easy to match the speed of the quick drivers starting behind us or catch up the time afterwards: last year we lost around 20 seconds on Friday and gained almost 15 seconds back over the rest of the rally. But let’s see what we can do this year.”

Elfyn Evans

“Rally Finland is certainly a highlight of the season, especially for the local drivers but also for myself. I always enjoy the event and I’m looking forward to it. There’s no feeling quite like driving on the Finnish rally roads, and if you can be at one with your car then I think nothing can match that in terms of enjoyment behind the wheel. I wasn’t completely satisfied in Estonia but Finland is not exactly the same: there are some different characteristics and a different setup can be required. Our testing in Finland this week is giving us a good chance to prepare and make sure we start the rally with the right setup, which is crucial.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Rally Finland is a very special rally and one that I always look forward to. I think of it like my second home rally as I pretty much grew up as a rally driver on Finnish roads. The speeds are similar to Estonia, but the feeling is totally different, because the grip from the road is usually very high. I want to improve on my speed from the last rally, and I could use my test day this week to try and understand what didn’t work for me in Estonia and to find a good car setup for the Finnish roads. I will try to enjoy the rally and push as much as I can. It’s important to get a good result for the team, for myself and my family who will be there watching too.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)

“Rally Finland is always a special occasion for our team. For me it’s going to be an extra-special feeling this year to get back behind the wheel on a WRC event, and my aim as a driver will be first and foremost to enjoy that experience. The team’s target as always is to win and the focus for that is with our regular crews. There will be fantastic support for Kalle and Jonne as world champions and championship leaders, and the victory in Estonia gives them a good boost. I think Rally Finland could be a bigger challenge, with different grip levels and returning stages like Myhinpää that Kalle hasn’t driven before. Elfyn meanwhile knows what it takes to win in Finland, and we hope that he can challenge again, and also that Taka can drive with confidence on roads he usually enjoys. We can expect a close-fought rally and the team has been working hard in testing this week to give our drivers the best car possible.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Fighting for the podium in Finland will be important in terms of the championship, but it’s going to be tough. Finland is always difficult to predict; during the recce, you never really know what the actual speed will be when you arrive at certain points in your rally car, but my experience over the past years will help. Tyre choice here is very easy: only the soft tyre works, even when the temperatures are higher, because the wear isn’t that high here. You need lots of precision and protection in the car for all of the landings. The competition will be fierce. Most of them are Scandinavian drivers, so they will be hard to beat, but we are feeling confident in ourselves and the car following our podium in Estonia.”

Esapekka Lappi

“I would love to win this weekend in Finland. Regardless of the result, the atmosphere is exactly what you want to have in front of your home crowd – it’s very special. Rally Finland is an event with a lot of crests and jumps and normally quite high grip, and it is famous for the incredible speed. To prepare for the rally we have to do some endurance training, but we also need some muscle to keep our spines alive because the landings are really hard on some jumps! We had some good fights in Estonia with our competitors, and I hope we can be in the mix again – hopefully in front of them – in Finland next weekend.”

Teemu Suninen

“Rally Finland is probably my favourite rally and this year it’s going to be really interesting for us. I will take the good experience from Estonia to help prepare for Rally Finland. Almost all of the corners are over crests at least, if not jumps, and it’s an amazing feeling when the car feels like it is flying every second corner. Maintaining focus will be a bit challenging because there is always something happening, so we basically have double pace notes. It’s a lot of information coming from the co-driver as we have to be really focused and precise. I was really happy with what we achieved in Estonia, which has given me confidence we can continue to progress in Finland and make a step towards my teammates.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“Finland generally is much more demanding event than Estonia. I’ve enjoyed driving there in the past and we have had some great performances in Finland before. Estonia was very tough, and we couldn’t score points we needed from there unfortunately, but we still produced some good pace.

“Our focus is to find best possible feeling from Rally Finland shakedown and then we just push for the best possible result over the weekend!”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“I am happy to continue on to my third rally in three weeks, it’s been a busy July! But it’s given me a lot of driving time and I think we are well prepared for Finland. We drove in very hard conditions at the weekend in Tampere, and we are ready to take on Rally Finland. The target is to do a bit better than in Estonia, stay a bit closer to Ott in terms of pace and continue our progress in the car.”

WRC2 Category

Oliver Solberg

“This rally is a special one for everybody,” said Oliver. “It’s really special for our family – I grew up watching my dad’s record-breaking run through Ouninpohja, it’s still one of the coolest places to go on YouTube!

“It’s the kind of event which goes beyond the stages; rallying is kind of a way of life in Finland and especially in Jyväskylä. Anybody who knows me knows that rallying is my way of life – so you can imagine I’m really excited about this week.

“It’s fair to say my first two attempts at this event haven’t gone completely to plan,” he said. “I didn’t finish the stages and that’s what I need to do this time. I need to get through the rally and understand more about things like the evolution of the road from the first to the second pass.

“It would be nice to win more stages this week, but the main thing is to leave with a really good understanding of Rally Finland. It’s an event which demands specific things from the car – for example you need good lateral grip as much as you need commitment and perfect pacenotes. That’s what me and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] are working on this week.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Finland is a very fast, soft gravel rally, the stages are beautiful and it’s really nice to drive. It’s a nice surprise for me to be here, it wasn’t originally on my programme, so I’m taking it as a nice gift after a good start to the season! I really want to enjoy this rally and the experience of being in Finland again.

“Our BRC outings are really helping with our confidence as well as development of the car, which is all good for the WRC2 campaign. The goal for Finland is to take this experience and try to be in the fight for the podium, so we’ll see where we can be. It’ll be my first time in Finland in the Rally2, so it will be interesting and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Grégoire Munster

“Our victory in Estonia in JWRC will be a big help to us in Finland, the roads are quite similar and quite fast. It was good preparation to get in the rhythm for roads that we aren’t so familiar with. There is a really strong competitor field in Finland, with lots of local, specialist drivers. It will be challenging but we’re aiming for a good result, hopefully we can show some good speed against those guys who know these roads so well.”

Summary

Well, what an iconic rally that we are awaiting the start for. The question is, who will fight at the front? It’s hard to look past the Finns that will be competing. 2017 winner, Esapekka will certainly be on the pace and given his starting position as well, will be winning stages. However, Thierry who showed really surprising pace in Estonia and led early on. Can he and Martijn show the same pace that they did in Estonia? Of course, Hyundai won this rally last year with Ott and Martin when they were there.

However, Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport team will hope that having former Rally Finland winners Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja in one of their Puma Rally1 cars will lead to a great result. They certainly showed great pace in Estonia last time out and will be on the pace, I am sure! With their teammates, Pierre-Louis and Nicolas Gilsoul, the young Frenchman will be looking to show great pace and understand the unique nature of these stages.

Finally at Toyota, Jari-Matti will sit in an extra car, whilst Kalle, Elfyn and Takamoto go for the top times. The Welshman only has to think back three years to this rally when he and Scott took a brilliant result. They could repeat that result this weekend, and I know a certain group of fans that would be really happy with that. Takamoto could get a really good result here. It is well known that he has lived in Finland for some years and could deliver a really good performance.

The final day then and once again Ott would be opening the road over the remaining 61km’s and four stages. The start list looked like this – Tänak, Katsuta, Loubet, Suninen, Evans, Lappi,

Neuville, Rovanperä. What could the local favourite do, particularly with the power stage?

First up then was SS18 Karaski 1 – 12.04 km and Kalle continued his run winning the stage from Esapekka and Elfyn. The Finn in his i20 edged away a little more from Elfyn, the gap now 9.6 seconds between the pair. In WRC2 Sami was setting the pace with the fastest time in the stage and reducing the gap to Andreas by 2.7 seconds.

Into SS19 Kambja 1 – 18.50 km and again Kalle was setting the pace and making the most of his road position. Elfyn was second fastest and Thierry third. The Welshman’s pace brought him a little closer to EP. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest from Sami and Andreas, whilst the Norwegian remained in the lead of the category, albite with an again reduced lead of 12.6 over Sami.

The penultimate stage then SS20 Karaski 2 – 12.04 km and the top three again was Kalle from Esapekka and Thierry. There as a change in the fight between Takamoto and Pierre-Louis with the Japanese driver passing the Puma driver and moving into sixth overall. Sami was again fastest from Andreas and brought the gap to the WRC2 leader below ten seconds.

The final stage then, SS21 Kambja 2[Power Stage] – 18.50 km and Ott set the early pace before Elfyn came through and beat the time. Then all eyes were on the top three as too if they would beat the Welshman’s time. EP was first to come through and was just off the pace that Elfyn set but his third-place finish was confirmed. Then Thierry was next but was not able to beat Ott’s time. Finally, Kalle came through and set the fastest time, beating Elfyn’s best by two seconds. The top five in the stage looked like this, Kalle, Elfyn, Esapekka, Ott and Thierry. There was one final change of positions though with Pierre-Louis passing Takamoto for sixth overall, the gap at the end? Just three tenths of a second! In WRC2 Andreas took the category win, whilst Sami made it his best result in the category with second place and Emil third in his first start in the i20Rally2.

Let’s take a look at the top ten.

Final Overall Classification –Rally Estonia

Let’s hear from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It is an amazing feeling to achieve our 10th WRC win here in Estonia and to win this rally for the third time in a row. For me it’s a really nice rally and one I have always enjoyed. This weekend was something special, winning all the stages from Saturday morning onwards. I think we showed our speed and what the car can do quite well, so I’m really happy. We did a good job with Jonne, driving at this speed without really having any moments, and pushing all the time but still enjoying the driving, which is not always the case in rallying. I felt happy in the car and I was enjoying the nice stages and the great support we had here. It was also amazing to celebrate with Sato-san just after the stage and on the podium afterwards – he was so happy.”

Elfyn Evans

“We were in a pretty intense fight throughout the weekend for the podium places and naturally it’s disappointing not to have made it in the end. We weren’t a million miles away but unfortunately, we just fell a bit short. On Friday it took some time to feel comfortable and I think that’s when the majority of the damage was done in terms of our road position for the rest of the rally. Well done to Kalle who was dominant this weekend. It’s hard to be satisfied with our result but we come away with some good points from the Power Stage and from the rally. It’s also a good warm-up for Rally Finland and we’ll work hard over the next week to try and do better there.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“There have been some positives and some negatives for me this weekend. It has been good to finish the rally without any mistakes or moments, so it has been quite a clean weekend. But I was lacking speed in many places and that is what I need to improve for the next event. I was struggling a lot in the beginning, and after that the feeling was improving but I still wanted to show more speed and I can’t be happy with my performance. I will try to take the positives, to analyse what we did here and try to improve for Rally Finland. Congratulations to Kalle, Jonne and the whole team for the win.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I am very happy to finish on the podium; this is a good boost of motivation for both the team and myself. I have never been so fast at rallies like this. Looking forward to Finland, this is a great sign as we can clearly see we have improved our car on high-speed gravel. Of course, we had hoped that we could finish in front of Kalle, who had another incredible weekend and there was nothing we could do to fight him. On our side it was a very strong performance, and I am very satisfied. We made no mistakes, and we were able to push, as well as keep cars behind us. Hopefully we can do a little bit more for Rally Finland and be fighting again for podium positions.”

Esapekka Lappi

“It has been a strong weekend for our team. I think we were closer to Toyota than we all expected to be, but still a bit too far behind, which we need to keep working on. This is the first time I have been flat out for three days in a row fighting with someone – Elfyn was really fast here last year so it was fantastic to win this battle. Thank you to the team; we didn’t have any problems this weekend except from the hybrid, which was my fault. We have done a good job on the testing and development of the car, so we just need to continue that. There is still work to do but as we can see from these results, we are heading in the right direction.”

Teemu Suninen

“It is a really special feeling to finish fifth. I’m sure Craig has been following my weekend. It would have been nice to have finished on the podium for him, but we didn’t manage it here. I have done all I can to try and work as he had been working, and it’s been an emotional rally for me. I would like to say a big thanks to Hyundai Motorsport and everyone in the team; it is a super environment to work in. We were able to make good progress with our driving and experience of the car, and we were improving our times stage by stage. I enjoyed every one of them and I am grateful for the support of the team to help me become an even better driver.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“I think in general we can be happy about our pace, especially when you compare to last year. We made some good steps, and some stages we were very close to Ott, and I know Ott is using the full potential of the car. For me it’s a very good comparison, he’s the best kind of driver on these rallies.”

Ott Tӓnak

“Reaching the top eight was the target, and we achieved that. I would say our strength came from the small rally we did in Estonia last week, we were already in a high speed rhythm compared to everyone else. It was clear to see how our one-day rally experience before made our speed better. But it was a fun weekend and we’ve had a nice experience with the fans.

“I would say we are at maximum capacity at the minute. For sure, Finland is very specific so we will do a one-day test to do a bit of fine-tuning, but there aren’t any plans for big changes.”

Summary

Well, what can I say about the winner? Kalle showed again why he’s our world champion and took his second win of this year. Elfyn had a great rally although he was not particularly happy but battled well for the final step on the podium with EP. Takamoto drove well and avoided any mistakes.

At Hyundai it was a surprise to see Thierry run so well at the front and ultimately take a very good second place to boost his championship run. Any attempt to challenge for victory came to an end with the tyre off the rim and then he got his head down and pulled away again from his teammate, EP and Elfyn. Esapekka showed well again taking another very good third place and yet another podium. Finally, Teemu’s drive to fifth overall again showed his class and quality in his debut in the Rally1 i20. No mistakes all weekend.

Finally at M-Sport it was a case of what might have been for the fan favourite! Ott would have certainly battled with Kalle at the front were it not for the five-minute penalty after an engine change following shakedown. His French teammate, Pierre-Louis again had a great event, with consistently good pace and even though he had the extra boost in stage seven giving him extra pace, his third best time in that stage showed that he really is starting to show his quality.

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 8

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 8

Next round is Rally Finland, the ninth round of the championship from the 3^rd to the 6^th of August.

The second full day of action had 106km’s over nine stages. Ott Tanak would open the road throughout the second day.

Into the first stage then, SS9 Mäeküla 1 – 10.27 km and Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Elfyn. The Welshman closed the gap to EP who was holding third. Ott was now in eleventh overall and just 6.2 seconds from the points paying positions. Andreas remained in charge of WRC2 holding a 9.3 second lead over Gus whilst Sami held third.

Kalle made it two in a row winning SS10 Otepää 1 – 11.15 km also with Thierry and Elfyn second and third fastest. Elfyn’s morning pace was bringing him close to Esapekka, the gap now just seven tenths of a second! Meanwhile Ott jumped up two places and into ninth overall and was just eight seconds from WRC2 leader Andreas.

After the regroup and tyre fitting zone there was the second run of SS11 Mäeküla 2 – 10.27 km. Kalle was fastest again but this time EP was second fastest from Elfyn, whilst Thierry was fourth. The gap between Elfyn and Esapekka rose very slightly to 1.2 seconds. Ott moved into eighth place, pushing WRC2 leader Andreas down to ninth, whilst Sami passed Gus for second place in the category.

Kalle was really on a roll now, winning SS12 Otepää 2 – 11.15 km from Esapekka and Elfyn. Thierry fell away from the battle for the lead as he suffered from a tyre coming away from the wheel rim. In WRC2 Andreas remained in the lead, but Sami edged a little closer by a few tenths of a second.

After the service break, we had a whole new set of stages for the crews to tackle, starting with SS13 Elva 1 – 11.73 km. This stage included a visit to a rally cross circuit. The top three was Kalle, Thierry and EP. The Finns lead over the Belgian was now 23.9 seconds and EP was also gapping Elfyn, there being a gap now of two and a half seconds. There was no change in the WRC2 category with Andreas still leading, but the gap did come down a little to 16.3 seconds to Sami who was faster in the stage.

Into SS14 Kanepi 1 – 16.48 km and again Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Esapekka. The Finn in his i20 was opening a gap to Elfyn and now was ahead by 3.7 seconds. There was no change either with the top three in the WRC2 category.

Kalle again was fastest in SS15 Elva 2 – 11.73 km but this time from his teammate Elfyn who was one second faster than EP, thus reducing the gap again, whilst Thierry was third fastest.

In the next one, SS16 Kanepi 2 – 16.48 km Kalle again was fastest from Thierry and Esapekka and Elfyn was fourth, losing more time to EP. The gap was now 5.6 seconds. In WRC2 Sami edged a little closer to Andreas, bringing the gap down to 15.1 seconds. The young Finn was eyeing up a category win.

Onto the final stage, run near the service park and a bit of a mickey mouse stage really, SS17 Tartu vald 2 – 3.35 km. Last run-on Thursday evening and as the opening stage of the event. Kalle made it a clean sweep of all nine stages, winning this one as well from EP and Thierry. WRC2 category leader was sixth fastest in the stage.

Let’s take a look at the top positions.

Classification after Day Two

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s been an amazing day. It doesn’t happen so often that you can win all the stages in one day. We had a clear plan this morning to push hard and get a bit of a gap if we can, and to make use of our better starting place. It was a bit easier to match the speed, we had a clean morning and gained a lot of time. This afternoon I really enjoyed the stages, and it went well, the feeling was great in the car. Tomorrow is still a tricky day, with a new stage that is quite technical, so we need to stay sharp, do a good job and then hopefully we can have a final push on the Power Stage.”

Elfyn Evans

“It has been a pretty close battle with Esapekka: there has been a fair bit of back and forth between us during the day and we’ve both enjoyed the fight. It was particularly tight this morning: I took a bit in the first couple of stages, and then he took exactly the same amount back. The gap went a bit more in his favour towards the end of the day, so it’s a bit bigger now than we would like. The longer stage this afternoon maybe didn’t suit us so well and we conceded a bit too much time there. But it’s still relatively close and all to play for tomorrow. We’re going to give it everything we have and see what we can do.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Together with the team we changed a few things on the car last night and we made a good step forward with the setup, so I felt much better than yesterday. Of course, I was struggling a bit with the grip because of our starting position, which we knew would be the case. But other than that, it was going well this morning. I was trying to improve my driving more this afternoon, but then many things happened. We had a few issues with the car and the intercom, and it was a bit difficult to work out what was going on, but we got through all the stages OK and that’s the main thing.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I enjoyed today; we were driving the car to its maximum most of the time and having a lot of fun while still feeling comfortable, which was key. We made no mistakes and had no moments, but we got unlucky with a puncture, which cost us a few seconds. The goal tomorrow is to bring home the result, but Esapekka and Elfyn are pushing hard behind us. Esapekka has had an incredible day – I felt I was driving really well, and we were nearly matching times in the stages, which shows that our car is giving us what we need to go fast. We have been strong in the past here and the car feels good, but we are clearly missing something that would get us closer to Kalle.”

Esapekka Lappi

“I think this is the first time in my career where I have had this kind of fight for position over two days. We struggled to build a bigger gap in the forest, but it is impressive that on the super special we managed to stretch the gap a fair bit. It has been up and down against Elfyn, but it has been a nice battle. I took more risks in the afternoon and drove on the limit more It has been enjoyable, but I thought I gave everything on SS15 – maybe even a little bit more – and so for the time to not be impressive was quite frustrating. We will do everything we can to stay ahead tomorrow; while we all know the Power Stage, there is also a brand new one which can always throw up some surprises.”

Teemu Suninen

“Step by step, we have been able to improve and increase our pace today. I am thankful to Dani; he has been like a big brother to me, helping with my first steps in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. There were two stages where we lost just over a second, so we are not far away however, I still need a bit more rhythm to maintain a consistently good pace. Now there is a risk that we make a mistake; we haven’t had a single moment so far, which might mean there is a bit of margin to go faster, but to be honest I need the kilometres. As I’m in the third car, I need to be in a good position to bring home points in case anything happens tomorrow.”

Sunday

The final day sees the crews tackle 61km’s over four stages with a service break in the middle. Can Kalle continue in the same form and win all the final stages, or will we see another stage winner?

The first full day of action would see the crews tackle 136km’s over seven stages. Following the opening stage, the previous evening, Ott was leading from Thierry and Kalle. The start list looked like this – Rovanperä, Evans, Tänak, Neuville, Lappi, Katsuta, Loubet, Suninen, Solberg (WRC2), Greensmith (WRC2).

First up was SS2 Peipsiääre 1 – 24.35 km and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Kalle. There were a few changes in the leader board, with Thierry moving into the lead, Kalle moving into second, whilst Esapekka and Elfyn dropped a place each to third and fourth. In WRC2 Oliver moved into the lead and Andreas into second, whilst Egon held third. At this stage, Ott was holding 46^th overall.

Into SS3 Mustvee 1 – 17.09 km and Ott was fastest through this one from Thierry and Kalle. The Belgian now held a 3.9 second lead over the Finn. There was a change for third, with Elfyn moving ahead of EP who suffered a boost problem with his hybrid system. The stage winner gained nine places on the leader board, moving into 37^th place. In WRC2, Oliver continued to lead, but was not altogether happy with the way his Skoda was handling. Andreas remained second with Gus moving into third place.

The final morning stage SS4 Raanitsa 1 – 21.45 km saw Ott once again set the pace from Thierry again and Kalle. The Estonian gained another six positions as well. His expected march up the leader board was going well. There was a change in WRC2 for third place behind the two leaders with Gus dropping two places and Georg and Egon passing the Brit.

After the service break, Kalle swooped, winning SS5 Peipsiääre 2 – 24.35 km from Esapekka and Elfyn. Overall leader, Thierry could only manage the fourth best time, seeing his lead cut to 2.1 seconds. Meanwhile, Pierre-Louis moved ahead of Takamoto and into sixth overall. Teemu was going really well in his debut event with the i20 Rally1 holding fifth overall and matching Thierry’s pace as well. There was drama in WRC2 with erstwhile leader Oliver hitting the scenery and damaging his suspension. With the young Swede’s demise for the day, Andreas moved into the lead of the category Sami was now second and Egon third. Ott gained another ten places and was now in twenty-first place.

We had a lead change in SS6 Mustvee 2 – 17.09 km with Kalle going fastest from Ott and Esapekka. Former leader Thierry could only manage the fifth best time and fell to second, albeit with a 2.3 gap to the Finn. In WRC2 Andreas remained in the lead from Egon who’d passed Sami for second. The rise of the local favourite continued with Ott gaining a further four positions and moving into seventeenth overall.

Ott was again fastest in SS7 Raanitsa 2 – 21.45 km and gained a further five places to move into twelfth place. EP was second and Pierre-Louis third. Sadly, Elfyn dropped behind EP, who now held third overall. There were some changes in WRC2 behind Andreas. Egon who was holding second in the category prior to the stage dropped seven positions, with Gus, Sami and Emil benefitting.

The final stage of the day, SS8 Neeruti – 7.60 km saw Ott fastest again from Elfyn and Kalle. There were no changes in the top three, meaning Kalle is the overall leader heading into Saturday’s stages and Andreas is holding the WRC2 lead. Ott gained one last position moving into eleventh overall, just twenty-two seconds from tenth place, currently held by Sami.

Let’s look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It was a really big challenge this morning opening the road, as it was much looser than I was expecting. It seems the roads had been drying quite a bit since the recce. I think we did a good job, we pushed really hard without making mistakes and there was not much more that we could do. This afternoon was a bit better, as we could at least have similar grip levels to the guys behind. We needed to open the ruts a bit in places but at least we could push and at the end of the day it’s not looking so bad. It’s still close with Thierry so let’s see how it is tomorrow when we both have better starting places. I hope at least that our pace will come easier than today.”

Elfyn Evans

“Our day started not too bad this morning considering our road position, but I didn’t have the best feeling with the car. I was struggling with the balance a little bit and it wasn’t as easy as I’d like. So, there were definitely some improvements to be made with the setup during service, and things were quite a bit better this afternoon. Unfortunately, we just had one stage – the third one of the loop – where we seemed to drop a lot of time but other than that I’ve had an improved feeling behind the wheel and that puts us in a better place looking ahead to tomorrow.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It has been quite a long and tough day for me. In the morning, I was struggling a bit and didn’t feel so good with the car. Then, this afternoon, the conditions on the second pass were much rougher. The team did a good job to improve the car a lot, but on my side, I was still finding it difficult. The high-speed sections are OK for me, but when it’s very technical or when it’s rutted and the risk is getting higher, I’m hesitating too much. Tomorrow we will drive four stages twice and I will try step-by-step to find some confidence and hopefully start to use the potential of the car more.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I’m definitely satisfied to finish the day in second place. We would like to have kept our first position, but we expected Kalle Rovanperä to be very fast this afternoon. I kept trying but in some sections I was losing a little bit here and there. We may have lost the position, but at the end of the day we are only three seconds behind. Compared to last year, my feeling in the car is much better and I was quite confident, as well as having a lot of fun out there. Tomorrow will be tough, Kalle has the better road position if there is no rain, so let’s see what we can do.”

Esapekka Lappi

“We have had a very consistent day from the first stage to the last. In the morning we faced a hybrid issue, which we later discovered was caused by me, but doing a whole loop without the boost was definitely a disadvantage. I really tried to push hard to minimise the time loss before we reset the issue in service. The second loop was easier, but the conditions were quite tricky. It was especially so on the first two afternoon stages where there were deep ruts and some holes, which caught me out under braking. Overall, it’s been a very fun day. The car is behaving so well, and I am able to do exactly what I want – I can push to the limit, and sometimes even go over it.”

Teemu Suninen

“The feeling today has been amazing. I really enjoyed it and focused on learning the car as quickly as possible. I think we have shown good pace and I loved every single stage. It has been so nice to be back working in the top class and with the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, especially Dani Sordo who has been a big support to me so far. I knew it is impossible to drive conservatively here, because then you are nowhere, so I tried to avoid bigger risks and was careful in really high-speed places. I think there is still more to come, and while we want to bring the car home safely without mistakes, I hope I can make a few small steps forward.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tanak

“On the first one we were struggling quite a bit and the second one we improved a bit, but had some technical problem with the set-up, and the last two were much smoother and two good stages. First on the road tomorrow and it appears dry, so definitely not helping, anyhow we catch quite a bit of time and the rally2’s are not far and that’s been the target”

Saturday

The second full day of action will see the crews tackle 106km’s over nine stages. Can Kalle remain in front, or will Thierry turn up the speed like always appears to do on Saturday’s and take the lead back? The battle between the fan favourites Elfyn and Esapekka for third is even closer at just 1.9 seconds!

Ott’s continued rise will surely continue as he targets the forty second gap between himself and WRC2 leader Andreas who currently holds eighth overall.

After last month’s epic Safari Rally Kenya, the championship arrives back in Europe with the reigning champions leading the way. Of course, the exclusion of Thierry Neuville from the results of that rally puts Elfyn into send in the championship and also second on the road and he will surely be a threat to his teammates who lead the way. Takamoto again steps up to drive a car nominated for manufacturer points with Seb Ogier enjoying a longer holiday and missing this event.

At M-Sport, Ott will certainly be targeting a big result to get himself back into the championship battle, and will have a good road position as well, whilst his teammate Pierre-Louis will look to get more useful experience for the future.

Finally at Hyundai Thierry has not helped his championship challenge with his mistakes at the last round, and it has to be said that he’s not really felt at home on these fast type of roads over the years. Will he be able to find some pace both in Estonia and Finland which is at the start in August? Esapekka has shown great pace throughout this year and could again star at the front, perhaps even lead with a great road position throughout Friday.

Here’s a look at the stages.

Twenty-one in total and 300km’s spread across the weekend make this rally a big challenge. Friday sees the longest day with 136km’s, then 102km’s on Saturday and finally 61km’s on Sunday.

Let’s hear from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“Rally Estonia is definitely one of my favourite events on the calendar. I have spent a lot of time in Estonia and the fast and flowing roads suit my driving style really well. I have good memories from the rally, and it has always been an enjoyable one for me. Even in 2020 when I didn’t have much experience we could fight for the podium, and then 2021 was very special as it was our first win. Last year the weather was making a difference and I hope we can have some rain this year too, because we will be opening the road again on Friday. Like on any rally, the plan will be to aim for the win, and especially as this is one, we have been so strong on before.”

Elfyn Evans

“Estonia brings a complete change of territory and with it a change of mentality. We’re coming off the back of some rough and relatively low-speed rallies and moving onto extremely high-speed and smooth gravel, and these next events are all about confidence and commitment behind the wheel. As a driver, you need to have trust in your pacenotes and also have a good feeling with the car, so we were working hard during our pre-event test last week to try and get everything right. Hopefully we can go into it feeling good from the beginning and really enjoy the driving, which is really key to performing well on a rally like this one.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I really like the kind of high-speed stages we have in Estonia and Finland. It’s going to be a big challenge but I’m really looking forward to these rallies. In Estonia, the stages are very fast but there are also some really narrow and twisty sections. The surface can be quite soft sometimes, so the ruts can make the second pass of stages even more difficult: as a driver you still need to really commit but you also have to be able to manage the ruts well. I will try to do my best and I hope that I can perform well and get a good result for the team.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Rally Estonia is a challenging event for me every year. Fast and wide roads mean the average speed is very high, so you need to really to commit to it and feel comfortable in the car. Most of the time you are running a low car, at least on the first pass. On the second pass you might have to rise the ride height because of the ruts. Generally, you need to find the balance between a stiff car to get the precision and the directivity, but also keep enough traction. It’s hard to find the right balance but those are the main challenges.”

Esapekka Lappi

“As everyone knows, in terms of speed this event is similar to Finland and Chile. The driving style is you are either full throttle or braking – there is no in-between. Normally in central European rallies, you need to drive a different way, but in Estonia and Finland you are full throttle and that is the biggest difference. One of the main challenges in my point of view is that road usage is not so clear; you can cut from the bushes and use the exits if there is a field. To be able to comfortably go outside of the road you have to have perfect pace notes at that speed, that is the trickiest thing to get right.”

Teemu Suninen

“I’m really excited to get in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, especially when it’s one of my favourite rallies. I’ve been dreaming of it for a long time, and I’ve been working hard to get back to the top class so it’s great to be here. Normally Rally Estonia is one of the fastest rallies on the whole calendar and it’s like a sprint, so we have to drive flat out from start to finish. The surface is normally quite soft so the grip level is really high, especially on the second loop with some big ruts. My main goal is to bring some good manufacturer points, but I also need to show good pace, and if the feeling is good, then we will push for a strong result.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“We’ve had some quite intense preparations; we did a pre-event test and then a small event, so it’s been a big effort to make it as good as possible for Estonia. Obviously, the next two events are purely about performance, so we’re putting everything into it and we’ll find out how close we get to the others.

“Now we are going into the second half of the season we’re definitely not letting the championship go, so we feel like we need to increase our game and put everything in. It’s going to be a short turnaround to Finland, so if something isn’t quite working in Estonia the week in between will be flat out, but hopefully in Estonia we will be on a good level already.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“There are a lot of changes to be made ahead of this kind of rally. It’s almost the complete opposite of what we saw in Kenya and some of the previous rallies which have been very rough! We can expect Estonia’s road to be very clean and very fast.

“We will be making a lot of changes to the car’s settings; the ride height, the dampers, everything really. I’m looking forward to it, it’s definitely one of the most enjoyable events of the season. Because of the high speeds on straights and on corners and everywhere, it’s really a great event for these Rally1 cars to showcase their power. We will try to enjoy it and hopefully achieve a good result!”

WRC2 Category

Hyundai

Emil Lindholm

“It’s exciting to go into my first event in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2. It’s a new team and a new car, and it’s already feeling impressive so I’m confident going into Estonia. The roads are soft so they get rutted but, of course, they’re super-fast – some unique road conditions. It reminds me of my home rally, so of course I like it. The target for the weekend is to enjoy the car, enjoy the roads and to do our best. I believe we have everything we need to achieve a podium in Estonia.”

Fabrizio Zaldivar

“I’m ready to get back into the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 and focus on going flat-out for the rest of our campaign. There is no better rally to apply this approach than Rally Estonia, which requires you to maintain a consistent rhythm. We were disappointed with our struggles in Sardinia, so we are keen to wipe our slate clean and demonstrate what we and the car are capable of doing. If everything goes to plan, we will complete the rally without any large mistakes and hopefully score a good result.”

Oliver Solberg

I really like this rally; Rally Estonia is one of the fastest rallies of the season and it’s somewhere I’ve really enjoyed myself in the past.”

“We are allowed to take one dropped score in the championship,” said Oliver. “The retirement in Italy was obviously not what we wanted and now we need to stay focused and keep a consistent speed. “

Summary

Well, we are all set for high-speed on the forest roads of Estonia! This rally will be spectacular and there will be close battles up and down the timesheets. Unfortunately, Ott and Martin will start with a five minute penalty due to needing an engine change following problems in shakedown.

Enjoy and pop back to check my daily reports.