A summer of high-speed gravel events in the World Rally Championship reaches its climax this week with Secto Rally Finland. Just 11 days after the finish of Rally Latvia, crews will be back in action on the revered Finnish roads.
One of the jewels in the WRC’s crown, Finland offers the ultimate challenge of high-speed commitment, with a win here more sought after than arguably any other event.
This year brings the added attraction of a return to the world’s most famous rally stage: the full 20.5 miles of Ouninpohja.
Entry list
Total 80 crews
10 Rally1 crews
39 Rally2 crews (31 WRC2)
25 Rally3 crews (22 WRC3, 17 JWRC)
Rally1
Just like in Latvia, 10 Rally1 cars will take the start in Finland
The Rally1 field remains at a season-high 10 cars for this event with only one change among the entry compared with Rally Latvia earlier this month.
For the first time in modern history, Toyota Gazoo Racing will field five full works cars. Last year’s winner Elfyn Evans and full-time team-mate Takamoto Katsuta are joined, as they were in Latvia, by world champion part-timers Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier.
Rovanperä is still seeking a first win on his home rally, while one-time winner Ogier is contesting the event for the first time since scaling back his schedule. The fifth GR Yaris Rally1 will be driven by WRC2 title contender Sami Pajari, making his top-class WRC debut. It is Ogier and Rovanperä who are nominated to secure manufacturers’ championship points alongside Evans.
While Toyota expands to five cars, M-Sport slims back down to two, following the conclusion of Mārtiņš Sesks’ two-round program. Adrien Fourmaux leads the way alongside Grégoire Munster.
The three-car Hyundai squad remains unchanged from its Latvia line-up. World title contenders Thierry Neuville and three-time Finland winner Ott Tänak are joined by local driver Esapekka Lappi, winner of the event back in 2017.
WRC2
Solberg is the top seed and hot favorite in the WRC2 class
The entry of Rally2 cars is even bigger than at last year’s event with 39 cars starting – representing nearly half the entire field. Thirty-one of them are competing for WRC2 points, plus another three WRC2 regular frontrunners who are contesting the event but not as one of their seven scoring rounds.
Points leader Oliver Solberg will aim to take maximum advantage of nearest challenger Pajari’s Rally1 sojourn this week by continuing his Latvia-winning form in his Toksport-run Škoda Fabia RS.
DG Sport Citroën pairing Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin, third and fourth in the standings, will both take the start but neither are scoring WRC2 points. Fifth-placed Jan Solans, who is level on points with Gryazin, is in exactly the same situation.
That leaves Georg Linnamäe, Roope Korhonen and Mikko Heikkilä as the leading Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 points-scoring drivers. But the biggest name in one of the Finnish-developed machines is three-time Secto Rally Finland overall winner Jari-Matti Latvala, as the Toyota team principal makes his world championship debut in the car.
The Škoda Fabia dominates the upper reaches of the WRC2 entry list. In addition to Solberg, Lauri Joona and Gus Greensmith (currently sixth and 11th in the standings) are in Škodas, along with Robert Virves, Pierre-Louis Loubet, Martin Prokop and Josh McErlean.
One-time WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm and Teemu Suninen – fourth overall on last year’s event – lead the line for Hyundai, while the only WRC2 points scorer in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 is Ireland’s William Creighton.
There are of course a host of locals joining the field. In addition to Finnish championship leader Korhonen, his nearest rivals Teemu Asunmaa (Škoda), Benjamin Korhola (Hyundai) and Anssi Rytkönen (Škoda) are all on the bulging entry list.
WRC3 / Junior WRC
The Junior WRC contenders bolster Finland's Rally3 entry
Secto Rally Finland is a round of Junior WRC, which has helped the WRC3 entry list swell to 22 cars, plus another three Rally3 entrants not scoring WRC3 points.
The JWRC entry numbers 17, led by championship leader Romet Jürgenson whose score is nearly double that of his nearest rivals despite hitting trouble on the previous round in Sardinia.
Diego Domínguez, Norbert Maior and FIA Rally Star duo Taylor Gill and Max Smart will be hoping to make inroads into their points deficits.
In WRC3 overall, Domínguez leads the way having taken three consecutive victories prior to skipping Rally Latvia. Mattéo Chatillon is his closest rival in the standings, and the leading non-Fiesta driver on the WRC3 entry list, piloting a Renault Clio.
Itinerary
Compared with last year, 61% of the 190 stage miles on the Secto Rally Finland route have changed and 12% is new since the start of the World Rally Car era in 1997. The headline is the much-anticipated return of the legendary Ouninpohja in its full 20.5-mile glory, made possible by virtual chicanes.
Wednesday evening’s ceremonial start dockside on the Jyväskylä harbor remains, with Ruuhimäki used for shakedown on Thursday before a longer version is part of Friday’s competitive action. As usual, the rally itself kicks off with Thursday night’s dash around the two-mile Harju street stage.
For the first full day, the 11-mile Laukaa and 10-mile Myhinpää stages remain from last year. The former is longer than previously. In addition, there’s the all-new 10-mile Saarikas test and nearly five miles Ruuhimäki. A lunchtime service breaks up the day before all four are repeated, plus a second shot at Harju. The Friday changes are aimed at making the route more fan-friendly, offering the opportunity to find a spot and stay there all day, with plenty to keep spectators entertained.
Saturday is based around Jämsä again with two loops of three (punctured by midday service): Västilä, Päijälä (both a little over 12 miles) and Ouninpohja. The first two are the same, but the third is back to its best – and run in the traditional south-north direction. Sections of Ouninpohja have been used in recent years – last season the Kakaristo junction was a hugely popular part of the Rapsula stage – but this time it’s got everything.
Sunday includes last year’s nine-mile Moksi stage run in the opposite direction, starting from Sahloinen this time, and the classic Laajavuori test for the powerstage. Both are run twice, but unlike many other WRC events Laajavuori is longer when it forms the powerstage (5.2 miles as opposed to 2.5 on the first run).
