What a day, and what a series of twists and turns after a steady first loop!
The first four stages of the day were completed without drama. Tänak certainly struggled while opening the road and receiving a five-minute penalty following an incident with a steward yesterday, but the podium positions remained unchanged until the lunch break.
Over the first six stages, only Ogier managed to pass Pajari in the overall classification, while the rain in some sections did not cause any major issues.
Rovanperä was dominant, setting the fastest time in three out of four stages and making the entire country hope for a Finnish victory—the first since 2017. Only a puncture prevented him from setting the best time on all four stages of the first loop.
Neuville was not pleased with the balance of his Hyundai but still managed to be the fastest on SS13 Päijälä 1.
The grid even had time for some speculation: will Sébastien Ogier make a bid for a ninth world title? Despite missing three events, he currently sits third in the championship, 21 points behind Tänak (prior to any results from Finland).
In WRC2, Jari-Matti Latvala made a spectacular remontada, finishing second at the end of the first loop of the day.
The afternoon began with heavy rain, drastically altering grip levels for the contenders —especially for Martins Sesks. The Ford driver found himself in the opening stage of the afternoon with a completely fogged-up windshield, and we were amused to see his co-driver improvising some unusual solutions. Renars Francis could be seen contorting himself in an attempt to wipe the windshield with… his feet! Unfortunately, the attempt was rather ineffective, and they lost two minutes due to the incident.
SS15, Parkkola 2, was soaked and proved tricky for all the top drivers. Fourmauxcommented, “If you try outside the line, it becomes risky.” Evans added, “Difficult to say how it went—it’s tricky!” Neuville continued to struggle with car setup, while Rovanperädescribed the conditions as “the most difficult I have driven in.”
Drama unfolded on the following stage, Västilä 2 (SS16), when Hyundai lost both second and third places due to punctures!
Both drivers were gutted—Neuville admitted it was “hard to find some force to keep pushing,” while Fourmaux was visibly disappointed.
Toyota now holds an incredible 1-2-3-4-5 in the overall classification, a position that remained unchanged until the end of the day.
Will we witness a fratricidal battle tomorrow as the fight for second place intensifies?
Toyota is dominating everywhere, including WRC2, where Jari-Matti Latvala is now just 1.8 seconds behind Roope Korhonen.
An Irish crew, Kelly/Mohan, is now leading JWRC/WRC3, while our Flying Finn Future Star, Aatu Hakalehto, happily remains 4th.
The rally will come down to the finest of margins… over the most legendary 23.98 km stretch in the world: the Ouninpohja stage, run twice tomorrow.
Action will begin at 10:35 a.m.
