What’s at stake in WRC2 in Finland

For all the leading WRC2 contenders, victory really matters this weekend – and not just because of the allure of coming out on top of Rally Finland.

While there are still four potential points-scoring opportunities available after the ‘Gravel Grand Prix’, the stakes are high this week given how many rounds each championship contender has done and how their respective season has gone.

For some, a win is realistically the only way to keep their title dreams alive. For others, Finland presents a real chance to stamp their authority on proceedings. And for a few, it’s simply an opportunity to arrest some devastating form of late.

Here’s why Secto Rally Finland is so important in WRC2, and who it really matters for:

Oliver Solberg

Finland represents a last chance saloon for many others on this list, but for Oliver Solberg it’s instead an opportunity to make hay while the sun shines.

Everything points to the Škoda driver being favorite this week. He leads the championship, won the Rally2 class in Finland last year, has considerably the most stage wins in WRC2 so far in 2024 and is a recognized threat on all fast rallies.

So why the pressure?

Solberg’s closest title challengers look to be Sami Pajari and Yohan Rossel, and neither will race against him in Finland. Pajari has been given a shot in Toyota’s Rally1 car, while Rossel will compete but not for points.

That gives Solberg a golden opportunity to race clear of his two big rivals in the standings (more on them later), and it also gives him the chance to extinguish the hopes of several others who need a Finland win to propel themselves back into contention.

Equally though, a non-score this weekend would require Solberg to carry a zero in his final tally (with only one dropped score allowed from seven nominated points-scoring events) after that crash in Portugal, so the stakes are high.

Gus Greensmith

Solberg’s Toksport team-mate Gus Greensmith is one of those drivers in a ‘win or bust’ situation.

After a superb victory in Kenya where he was feeling sick as a dog yet still managed to defeat Solberg, Greensmith’s WRC2 campaign fell apart in Portugal when he beached his Fabia RS Rally2 and retired from the lead.

Since, he struggled his way to ninth in Poland – a huge problem because with just one dropped score allowed, those two points scored now have to count towards Greensmith’s points tally.

Victory is the only target, and likely the only route to ensuring Greensmith remains in the conversation for WRC2 title glory. As the Briton said at the end of Rally Latvia (where he wasn’t nominated for points): “I’m going to have to put a stint in for the rest of the season.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

Things look even more bleak for Pierre-Louis Loubet, who currently languishes all the way down in 23rd place in the championship.

That’s not a completely fair reflection on the Frenchman’s performance level this season, but after a roll in Portugal, a mechanical in Sardinia and then just a fifth in Poland (hamstrung by a puncture), the former M-Sport driver’s chances of a second WRC2 title are looking rather remote.

Unlike most he still has four rallies left to score on, but carrying a zero likely means he’s realistically already out of the contest.

A win in Finland though would be a great way to at least remind the world of his capabilities, because winning the championship is not the only way to attract the attention of the Rally1 outfits.

Teemu Suninen

If you thought Loubet’s 2024 WRC2 points return was bad, spare a thought for Teemu Suninen: four rallies entered, zero points scored.

In fairness to the Finn, much of that hasn’t really been his fault. He suffered a spectacular roll in Portugal, but a mechanical problem ruined his Sardinia, a lack of performance from his Hyundai i20 N Rally2 played a big role in him only finishing 11th in Poland and then a power-steering failure on the very first stage in Latvia made any kind of a result impossible.

Clearly, Suninen can no longer win this year’s WRC2 title. But he can still strut his stuff and punch in a timely performance on one of the biggest rallies of the year.

Finland form is on Suninen’s side – he’s won the category twice on the road (he was disqualified for an underweight front bumper in 2022) – but just like Hayden Paddon in the ERC, Suninen’s ceiling may be limited by the i20’s lack of development relative to its Škoda, Toyota, Citroën and M-Sport Ford rivals.

The non-points scorers

Four of the top five in the current championship standings aren’t scoring in Finland, despite them all being on the entry list.

As already explained, Pajari is driving a Rally1 GR Yaris instead while Rossel hasn’t nominated Finland as one of his points-scoring rounds. But the same rings true for fourth and fifth placed Nikolay Gryazin and Jan Solans.

Both are currently on 48 points (38 down on Solberg) and have one victory apiece, but the odds look better for Gryazin who’s scored on three rounds instead of Solans who’s done four.

As is also the case for Pajari and Rossel, their best-case scenario is Solberg fails to score and either a championship struggler (like Greensmith, Loubet and Suninen) or one of the many local Finnish drivers win.

The locals

While none of the hoard of Finns are in the WRC2 title race (Lauri Joona is the possible exception but he’s got exactly half of Solberg’s points having entered the same number of events), they could end up having a decisive say in the final outcome this weekend.

All while putting themselves in the potential shopping window for bigger and better opportunities, of course!

The aforementioned Joona is perhaps best placed to challenge for victory in his Škoda if his classy performance on last weekend’s HYAcenter Ralli is anything to go by, but Mikko Heikkilä’s clear speed – exemplified by his WRC2 podium in Latvia – and the affinity his Toyota has with Finnish roads could make him the strongest bet.

In truth the list is endless: Roope Korhonen, Emil Lindholm, Teemu Asunmaa and even Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala could all prove capable of achieving at least a podium, and maybe even the win.

Either way, the WRC2 title hopefuls have plenty of wildcard rivals they need to beat in order to achieve what they need this week.