It’s the third event in a row which is super-fast as the crews and teams head to what has been known as the gravel grand prix and also the rally of a thousand lakes.
Thierry and Martijn come again to this round as championship leaders as they have done all year with Ott and Martin now second in the championship seven points back and Elfyn and Scott third, thirteen points from the Belgian crew.
This is the ninth round of this season’s championship, and it is so close at the top in the fight for the drivers and manufactures titles. Just a single point separates Hyundai and Toyota as well.
Let’s take a look at the full championship standings as we come to this round.
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 8 (Latvia)
| 1 | T. Neuville | 145 |
| 2 | O. Tänak | 137 |
| 3 | E. Evans | 132 |
| 4 | S. Ogier | 117 |
| 5 | A. Fourmaux | 101 |
| 6 | K. Rovanperä | 86 |
| 7 | T. Katsuta | 65 |
| 8 | A. Mikkelsen | 29 |
| 9 | D. Sordo | 27 |
| 10 | E. Lappi | 23 |
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 8 (Latvia)
| 1 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | 351 |
| 2 | Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team | 350 |
| 3 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | 177 |
Let’s now hear from the drivers.
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“Rally Finland is a challenging but enjoyable rally. One of the most important things is a car you can trust in; you need grip and traction for the slower, narrow sections, but also good lateral grip and stability in the fast sections. Precision will also be key when going into the fast corners to ensure you position the car before you take off on the jumps. Of course, being on the podium here previously provides a confidence boost, however the cars and roads develop year-to-year, so the rally remains as challenging as ever. The target is still to defend our lead in both championships but also to enjoy this fast rally and really be in the game.”
Round 09, Rally Finland, 1-4 August 2024
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Atmosphere during Rally Finland 2024
Photographer: Vincent Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Ott Tänak
“Rally Finland is one of my favourite events on the calendar. However, I know what a challenging and demanding event this can be and so I have a great respect for the unique characteristics of the rally’s profile. In order to be successful here you need two things: experience of the rally and confidence. I believe we have both of those elements going into this event and my aim is to try and take the maximum we can to consolidate the progress we made in Latvia.”
Esapekka Lappi
“It’s always exciting to be competing at a home event; the crowd brings excitement and at the same time pressure, both of which will motivate me to bring my best performance to this rally. The driving that we have done in Latvia will really support our setup here in Finland; the events are very similar, so everything we learnt will be brought into this event to help us take maximum points from our competitors. I was hoping for a podium in Latvia but unfortunately, we were far away from this target. Rally Finland provides an opportunity for redemption.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“Every year, Rally Finland is quite a special occasion. Of course, it’s our home rally and one of the nicest events to do with lots of fans and family around. It’s always exciting and the stages are really nice but quite demanding also. Having legendary roads like Ouninpohja on the schedule this year will be amazing. Our approach and our target will be like on every rally we’ve done this year: try to do the best job we can to fight for the win and bring good points for the team. I haven’t managed to get the very best result on Rally Finland, but I don’t want to place any extra stress on achieving that. I just want to treat it like any other rally and try to do my best.”
Elfyn Evans
“Rally Finland is always a highlight on the calendar for me, and it’s going to be an important week for the team and for the championship. We’ve been strong there in the past and should have a reasonable base to work from, and with the testing we’re doing this week, we should be in a pretty good place to start the rally. The road cleaning effect is normally not as significant as we found in Latvia, so it’s usually possible to fight at the front, but we will have to wait and see how the weather conditions are in the days leading up to Friday. Overall, I’m looking forward to it like always: the roads are amazing to drive, and the best approach will be to enjoy it and see what comes.”
Sébastien Ogier
“Rally Finland is a unique event in the championship that I think every driver loves to drive. It’s also a difficult rally, where the local drivers have always been very strong, but this is the kind of challenge that I like, and it has been a rally that I really wanted to do again after a couple of years away. It’s also a home event for the team, of course, and I’m happy to be part of this strong line-up and I’ll try to bring everything I can to achieve the best team result. After a break from driving in really fast rallies, I think I had some good speed and a good weekend in Latvia and I hope to bring that to Finland.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Rally Finland is a rally that I always really look forward to. Having been living in Finland for many years, it is like a second home rally for me along with Rally Japan, and it was a really big thing for me to finish on the podium last year. I hope that I can fight for a similar result this year, but it will not be easy of course with so many strong drivers competing. The speed was there on the last rally in Latvia, and I had a really good feeling in the car, and I tried to build on this in my test day on Finnish roads earlier this week. So, I’m feeling fully confident for the rally and excited to push hard and enjoy it.”
Sami Pajari
“I’ve been really looking forward to Rally Finland for a few weeks now. To make my Rally1 debut with TGR-WRT on my home event is going to be a really exciting moment. I’ve had some good test days with the team to help me get used to the car and prepare for the event, but it’s still going to be a big challenge: the stages in Finland can be really demanding with extremely high speeds and many tricky crests. The most important thing is to gain the experience and finish the rally. Of course, I’d like to show some pace as well, but it’s not so easy to set any target in terms of final result. The best approach is not to think about that, and just to learn and progress step by step.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Adrien Fourmaux
“This will be my third time in Finland in a Rally1 car, it’s a rally I really like and shows the legacy of the championship. We’ve got a really famous stages back in the rally, Ouninpohja [32,98 KM], it’s going to be a big stage for the championship, and I’m pleased its back – it’ll be a new stage for me to do it at full-length! I’m just happy to be back in Finland and we’re hoping for another good result and to get back on the podium again.”
Grégoire Munster
“In terms of preparation for Finland, we’ve done some onboard comparisons with Adrien and Mārtiņš from the previous events, and it’s been valuable to learn the differences in driving style and the inputs in terms of braking in order carry to speed through these fast corners. So, we’ll try to use all that knowledge in Finland and look to get a good result.
“The thing with Finland is that we have some experience here and knowledge of the stages, there are always some new ones here, but we can prepare by watching the onboards, so we have some good insight heading into the recce and the rally itself.”
William Creighton
“I’m looking forward to experiencing my first Finland – it’s going to be a challenge on this type of event for our first time, but we’ll use the opportunity to work on making good pacenotes and build on our last event in Latvia.
“This is one of the most special events in the WRC and I have no doubt there will be lots of Irish support on the side of the roads this weekend!”
Skoda Motorsport / TokSport
Oliver Solberg
“This year is about the championship,” said Oliver. “Of course, we want to win rallies and if we keep doing that then the title will come, but at the same time we have to be clever. We took this approach in Poland; we didn’t make the final big risk and we took some good points for second place.
“Last time out [at Tet Rally Latvia] everything was just perfect – we were able to make some really good times and move into a good lead on the first day. After that we were managing the speed and the risk. That win was just what we needed. To win on those fast roads was good for the confidence coming to Finland.
“Last year was one of the most amazing results of my career in Finland. To finish sixth overall and to be setting the times Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] and I were able to with the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 was incredible. We both loved that event so much, everything worked, and we were really flying – jumping in the lake on Sunday night was so cool!
“We start this rally looking for that same feeling again. If we can immediately get everything dialed and take the same speed, then I think we can have a good chance. But, like I said, the championship is the priority, and this is what we focus on.
“Finland is a place which is kind of crazy for the sport of rallying – it’s always such a pleasure to come and compete here, but it’s always such a big fight. This event always brings the fastest cars and crews and has some of the best roads in the world. It’s one of the highlights of the season.”
Summary
This is going to be very special as we have Ott and Elfyn who have won this rally in the most recent years. We also have the return of one of the most iconic stages with Ouninpohja returning to the stage lineup. Let’s take a look at the stages.
Rally Finland’s ceremonial start takes place in Jvyväskylä on Wednesday followed by Shakedown on Thursday and super special stage Harju.
On Friday the crews will tackle nine stages, with service splitting the 116.33km of competitive distance.
Saturday marks the longest day of the weekend, with six stages accounting for almost 50% of the rally’s total distance.
Extra bonus points are on offer to the seven fastest Sunday drivers, with four final stages set to be contested, including the Laajavuori Power Stage additionally rewarding the top five drivers.
Enjoy the rally!