Day two then dawned again with mixed conditions out on the stages. The crews had 144km over six stages including the return of Ouninpohja. Esapekka and Takamoto both returned to the action and the Japanese would open the road throughout the day.
First up though was SS11 Västilä 1 – 18.94 km and both Takamoto and Esapekka completed the stage with no problems. However, Gregoire and Louis unfortunately crashed out at around 5km’s into the stage and the first crew to come across the M-Sport crew was Sami and Enni and as they had to slow due to the red flag, later they were given a notional time which placed them fourth fastest. In terms of the M-Sport crew, both Gregoire and Louis were both fine after a slow roll. The top three fastest were Kalle, Elfyn and Seb.
Into SS12 Päijälä 1 – 20.19 km and Kalle was fastest from Esapekka and Takamoto. The rain brought the two first into the stage to the second and third fastest times and only Kalle was able to go faster. Unfortunately, Elfyn and Scott suffered a driveshaft failure in the stage and dropped a minute and a half to Kalle. They fell to fifth position and any hope of a third win in Finland went with that.
The first run of SS13 Ouninpohja 1 – 32.98 km and Kalle led a Toyota 1-2-3-4 with Seb and Takamoto going second and third fastest, plus Sami fourth in this legendary stage. Elfyn and Scott had attempted a fix on the road section between the stages but could not sort the problem out. They would lose a further four minutes and forty seconds in the stage and would drop a further three positions to eighth place. The other driver having a problem was Esapekka as he suffered a puncture and had to stop to change the wheel.
After the service break it was a return to SS14 Västilä 2 – 18.94 km and Kalle was fastest again from Seb and Thierry, with these three holding the top three overall positions as well. Elfyn was delayed in leaving service by sixteen minutes and would be given a penalty of two minutes and forty seconds, the result being they were now in sixteenth position.
Into SS15 Päijälä 2 – 20.19 km and Esapekka came to the line, setting the fastest time, which was not beaten, although Kalle came closest, just half a second behind his fellow Finn and Adrien finding some pace to go third. Elfyn and Scott were climbing the leaderboard going fourth fastest and gaining two positions to fourteenth.
The final stage then, SS16 Ouninpohja 2 – 32.98 km and Kalle was again fastest from Seb and Sami third. Esapekka also suffered a second tyre problem as the right front tyre delaminated, and incredible situation. Also further back, Elfyn was outside the top ten still, so the Toyota team retired the car, and they will return to the fray under the super rally rules.
Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the crews.
Classification after Day Two
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Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“It was quite a long and difficult day. In the morning we had a lot of rain and muddy conditions, but we kept pushing and our driving remained clean – that was the main thing. The 0.1s gap in Ouninpohja this morning between myself and Seb shows that both of us were driving quite fast and there was not much margin left! In the afternoon our setup was even better; I felt a bit more comfortable in the car and we could achieve even better stage times, so I was enjoying it quite a lot. Tomorrow will still be quite tricky, especially the Laajavuori Power Stage, but we’ll try to do our best and bring it home.”
Elfyn Evans
“This morning started off pretty OK but in the second stage, coming into a junction, we lost drive to one of the wheels and we spun around. From there on it was just a case of nursing the car back to service. The team did a good job to fix the car at lunchtime, but they had more work than anticipated and then the afternoon was just about trying to get through cleanly. It was too big a gap to close to get into the points positions, so now we need to try and salvage what we can from tomorrow.”
Sébastien Ogier
“We tried to keep it safe today and confirm a one-two for the team. It was a difficult morning with the grip conditions, especially in the morning with some stages that were new to me, and I was lacking a little bit of confidence. Ouninpohja was amazing but the other two stages were still wet from rain showers and had slippery conditions. You can’t enjoy those sections so much, but we made it through those, did the job needed today and together with Kalle we’re on to bring maximum points for the team. Tomorrow’s target is simple: we have to push flat out, it’s the only way to fully benefit from our performance so far.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“The stages today were really nice, especially Ouninpohja which we enjoyed very much. It wasn’t easy, especially on the second pass with the rain causing trickier conditions. It wasn’t the most comfortable drive, but the car was working well and we managed some good times on the morning loop. We just need to work on the feeling in the car further and target some good points on Sunday.”
Sami Pajari
“Today it’s been easier to learn about the car. The weather conditions have been much more consistent even with some rain, so I’ve been able to enjoy the stages, get a good feeling with the car and grow my confidence. Ouninpohja really lived up to expectations: the emotions were nice and I had a really nice run. But I can also see where the small gap to Kalle is. You always need to look for areas to improve and find something new; we only lost five seconds in 33 kilometres but we’re still working to make every corner perfect.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“It was a little bit weather dependent on whether we would have a good or bad weekend, and in the end the weather somehow was on our side for the first day, so it was a good opener for the weekend. Today was a bit more challenging, the roads were a bit faster, we couldn’t find anything to improve our speed despite trying very hard to change around the car. The points are still there, and that is the positive from today. We need to maximise the points from tomorrow but also be careful not to throw everything away – a balance between taking risks and securing the points needs to be found. We know we are not the fastest here this weekend, but we know the Power Stage is atypical for this rally so anyone can win it.”
Esapekka Lappi
“We were testing different set-ups all day, on the first one it felt good and then we did some fine tuning across the middle of the day, and on the last stage it felt really good. I had found the grip that I hadn’t been able to before. On the final stage our tyre completely delaminated. I started to feel a small vibration, and a couple of seconds later pieces were flying in the air. It was a productive day despite the end result, and we are looking forward to taking part in Super Sunday at home.”
Round 09, Rally Finland, 1-4 August 2024
Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 2 of WRC Rally Finland 2024
Photographer: Vincent Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
WRC2
Oliver Solberg
“This has been another good day. It’s been so cool to drive these roads in this car. I had a lot of fun today. This morning was tricky in places, so we were taking it a little bit careful, then we had a couple of big moments in Ouninpohja. I was flat in fifth gear with full sideways – it was a little bit scary for a second there!
“This afternoon was good and the second run through Ouninpohja was just amazing – that really is one hell of a stage. It helped that we were a bit more familiar with the roads and we had a bit more knowledge, but it was so, so much fun. That’s definitely one of the best stages I’ve ever done.
“Now, we need to focus on the finish. The gap is quite good now, so we will look to manage this for tomorrow.”
Sunday
The final day then of the ninth round of the championship beckons and will have 42km’s over four stages.
Let’s see what Elfyn and Scott do with those stages and see if they can take all the top points for Sunday’s stages.