Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen ended Friday’s nine stages of Secto Rally Finland with an eight-second lead over teammate Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin who in turn is a slender 0.6 seconds ahead of Sébastian Ogier and Vincent Landais in a Toyota 1-2-3.
The morning loop saw Ogier lead after the day’s opening stage before Rovanperä snatched first place on the following stage then Evans took the lead after stage four. Rovanperä re-took first place in the final stage of the loop and held it for the rest of the day. Evans kept hold of second place ahead of his illustrious teammate but saw his lead whittled away over the course of the afternoon.
What was a Toyota 1-2-3-4 heading into the final stage of the morning loop saw the ‘4’ drop away as Takamoto Katsuta hit a tree which removed the right-rear corner of his car. Despite frantic roadside repairs, the team was unable to get back to the service park in Jyväskylä.
The leading Hyundai – the only surviving i20 N – belongs to championship leader Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe after Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja crashed heavily in stage three. “Basically, we went wide, rolled over and hit a tree”, said Tänak. Järveoja remains in hospital under observation. Hyundai’s statement read: “While competing at Rally Finland, round nine of the FIA World Rally Championship season, Hyundai Motorsport’s Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were involved in a crash on Friday morning during SS3 Saarikas 1.
Their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid slid off the road at high speed in tricky and slippery conditions just over 2km in stage. The car subsequently rolled and hit a tree. After the accident, Tänak and Järveoja exited the car themselves without assistance and the stage was immediately red flagged to allow medical services to attend the scene.
Both Tänak and Järveoja were quickly attended to by the medical team, with Järveoja taken to hospital by helicopter for further examination. While both driver and co-driver are well, Järveoja will need to remain in hospital overnight for observation as a precaution. As a result, the #8 crew will not return for the remainder of the Rally Finland weekend.”
Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria were fifth in their M-Sport Ford Puma after a sensible drive in the changeable conditions.
With wet and muddy stages the order of the day, local lad Sami Pajari and co-driver Enni Mälkönen made their Rally1 debut in a fifth Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Yaris and in the day’s opening stage, went off the road and removed the rear wing. With limited downforce, Pajari drove sensibly until they returned to service.
In the first stage after service, Pajari set the second fastest time and went on to claim a maiden Rally1 stage win in SS9, beating Ogier’s time by 0.5 seconds. They hold sixth overall, some 20 seconds ahead of the second M-Sport Puma of Gregoire Munster and Louis Louka.
Stage six saw Esapekka Lappi retire his Hyundai after it bounced out of deep ruts and hit a tree, causing terminal damage.
Oliver Solberg and Elliot Edmondson made WRC2 their own, leading in their Toksport-run Skoda Fabia RS from Thursday’s opening Super Special stage until returning to service. The fight over second place raged between Lauri Joona/Janni Hussi and the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Principal Jari Mati Latvala was fierce, with Latvala taking second before the service break and holding his position ahead of the Skoda of Robert Virves
