The first full day beckoned for the crews on the fast gravel roads of this iconic rally. We had a short stage run on Thursday evening giving the following top three of Thierry, Takamoto and Ott.
Friday dawned and there was rain on the stages giving hope to the championship leaders Thierry and Martijn that they could be in the hunt for the top spot.
Into SS2 Laukaa 1 – 17.96 km then and Elfyn won the stage climbing five positions into third overall. His teammates were second and third. Top three overall was Seb, Kalle and Elfyn. With just 1.4 seconds covering the Toyota teammates.
Following the first stage came SS3 Saarikas 1 – 15.93 km and there was a mistake from Thierry as he went straight on at a left hander, losing a lot of time, ultimately going 13.5 seconds slower than the stage winner, Kalle. However, this only came later as the stage was stopped. The reason? Ott and Martin crashed their Hyundai around two kilometres into the stage. Both exited the car and later the Hyundai team announced that Martin had been taken to hospital for checks. Sadly, they will not return to the action. Top three was now Kalle, Elfyn and Seb who slipped from the lead.
Next up was SS4 Myhinpää 1 – 15.51 km and Elfyn was fastest from Thierry and Seb. The Welshman moved into the lead by 1.2 seconds over Kalle and Seb still held third.
The final morning stage then, SS5 Ruuhimäki 1 – 7.76 km and Kalle found some pace to go fastest from Thierry and Elfyn. The Finn retook the lead by just 2 tenths of a second and Seb was a further three seconds back still in third. Their teammate Takamoto however hit a tree and broke a wheel. The Japanese star dropped five positions to ninth overall.
After the lunchtime service SS6 Laukaa 2 – 17.96 km was next up. Kalle was again fastest from Sami this time and Elfyn was third and Kalle now led by 4.6 seconds over his teammate. Unfortunately, we lost Esapekka and Janne hit a tree, losing a wheel. They retired from the rally for the rest of the day.
SS7 Saarikas 2 – 15.93 km was next and Kalle was fastest again from Elfyn and Thierry third. Kalle opened up a further 3.1 seconds from his teammate in their fight for the lead. Meanwhile Sami and Enni were continuing to learn and setting good pace, just one tenth from fourth fastest Seb and Vincent.
Next up was SS8 Myhinpää 2 – 15.51 km and Thierry was fastest from Seb and Elfyn, whilst Kalle who was still in the lead saw a little over a second lost to Elfyn, the gap was now 6.5 seconds between the top two.
The final proper stage of the day before the short street stage was next, SS9 Ruuhimäki 2 – 7.76 km. Sami and Enni came through and took their first stage win by half a second from Seb, with Kalle third. Elfyn was fifth and the gap to Kalle in the lead grew to 8.3 seconds, with Seb a further 1.2 seconds back in third.
The short SS10 Harju 2 – 2.01 km was won by Seb from Thierry and Elfyn third.
Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the crews.
Classification after Day One
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Toyota Gazoo Racing
Kalle Rovanperä
“It was a really good day. The conditions were difficult for everyone and in the morning, I was struggling, so I tried to keep it steady. We also made some changes to the car setup with each stage and by the last one of the loop, we had found a better feeling. Then in the afternoon when the conditions were clearer, we could have better pace. Tomorrow will be difficult: long and difficult stages with a small gap, so nothing is decided. It’s always good to be fighting with team-mates as it means there are three Toyotas at the top!”
Elfyn Evans
“It was a day with changeable weather, so I’m happy to reach the end given how unpredictable the road conditions were. The grip was not too bad in some points but at other times it was quite tricky, and the cuts were quite muddy, so for once it was not a disadvantage to be running high in the road order. We managed to keep it mistake-free, and it’s been very close between the three of us so far in these difficult conditions. There are some amazing stages ahead tomorrow – but very demanding too. We have to enjoy them and try and get the most out of them.”
Sébastien Ogier
“I’m happy to be where we are in a podium place tonight. I think my performance level was not so bad after not doing this rally the last two years. This morning it was tricky to judge the grip in places. The conditions were more or less consistent, but there were still a couple of corners which were not easy to anticipate. This afternoon we lost a bit of ground to Kalle but we expected that and it’s been a positive day for the team overall. Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow as it features the best stages of this rally, including Ouninpohja. I haven’t done the first stage, Västilä, before so I’ll have to be on it against the others who did it last year.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“This morning the conditions were very tricky and inconsistent. Some corners were slippery, some had good grip and it was very difficult to judge. But our loop was going quite well until the mistake I made at the beginning of the last stage. It was a very slippery corner, I went a bit wide and the rear snapped around and hit the tree on the outside. We tried to bring the car back to service but unfortunately the wheel didn’t stay attached and we had to stop. It’s disappointing because I wanted to push from the start and get a good result. Thanks to the team for fixing the car so we can drive again tomorrow: I will try to get back the feeling and do my best.”
Sami Pajari
“What a rollercoaster of emotions this day has been. The pace was good in the first stage this morning, but I made a silly mistake, damaging the rear of the car. But the afternoon loop was really good; on the first stage I was second-fastest behind Kalle and when the stages had conditions that I was used to and had experience of, then everything was coming to me quite naturally. I wasn’t chasing a stage win on Ruuhimäki, but it was a clean drive, and I was enjoying it. Even though the start of the day wasn’t so great, we didn’t give up; you need to refocus and keep going. It’s only my first day in a Rally1 car but it already feels like a long story! Thank you to everyone and to Toyota.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“I was fighting with the set-up in the morning, and I still was not completely satisfied with it in the afternoon. It was also difficult day for the team with us ending up being the only car left. We had to manage the risks we were taking with the championship and the struggle we had to find the right set-up. We lost 13 seconds today in the fight this morning: being first on the road with a blind corner, I braked far too early, and when I released the brakes and kept going it was a little too late. On some stages we had good grip, on others it was a disaster – it was constantly up and down today. Tomorrow, we return and hope to climb into the podium positions.”
Round 09, Rally Finland
1 – 4 August 2024
Thierry Neuville
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Esapekka Lappi
“Of course, I am disappointed to end the day early, for both me and the team. I knew the ruts would be really deep, but I was not expecting to bounce back like that. I bottomed and the car then jumped out from the line, so I could not do anything more because we were already too close to the tree. We started to show good pace, and I think it would have been possible to fight with the Toyotas. Tomorrow I am hoping to get back out there and continue with the momentum we started to find.”
Ott Tänak
“Thankfully, both Martin and I are ok after the accident. We went wide, rolled over and hit a tree. I don’t think it was anything special – some rain, but all normal. Of course, it is a shame that we will leave scoring no points, but the most important thing is that we are fine following the accident. Martin will take some time to recover but the plan is to be in the car again in Greece.”
WRC2
Oliver Solberg
“It’s been a very good day. I’ve felt really comfortable with the car and quite confident in the driving. Of course, the conditions with the rain have made it quite tricky at times, but we’re here and here in a good place.
“I have been quite careful in places; we’ve been pushing at about 90%. OK, for sure, sometimes we’ve gone harder where you can be a bit more sure, for the grip, but mainly we have had a little bit in reserve. The biggest thing for us is the championship and we have to keep an eye on everybody who we are fighting.
“One thing which is quite tricky today is how spread out the WRC2 field is – some of the drivers we’re battling with are starting further down the field and they’re coming to the stages maybe half an hour after us. The conditions on the road can vary a lot in that time. Tomorrow we’ll all be a lot closer together, which will be more interesting.
“Tomorrow will be a really good day with Ouninpohja coming back. It’s the full-length stage that we’ve all be waiting for – I am very excited for that one. It’s one heck of a road!”
Saturday
The second day sees the crews tackle 144km’s over six stages. Who will be holding the top positions at the end of the second day?