Just over there is the Holy Grail for Finnish rallying. Ouninpohja. Today’s not about that road. Today’s about this road. Savontie. It’s nowhere near as celebrated as the gravel found half an hour east along the E63, but try telling that to the thousands standing in the rain.
This is stage one of the HYAcenter Ralli, the event more commonly known by the name of the town it inhabits on Saturday late each July: Tampere.
This is a nation’s first opportunity to say hello to the world championship-winning combination of a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and Kalle Rovanperä. Yes, #KR69 has driven his Starlet in the snow (Jyväskylän Talviralli in March) since topping the world in New Zealand last autumn.
And torrential rain’s not putting anybody off.
The chatter of a startline launch is replaced by the clatter of stones on sills as the hybrid boosted Toyota deploys all 540bhp. He’s on it.
He and Jonne Halttunen arrive into view approximately three feet in the air with an armful of opposite lock and a bootful of throttle.
There’s that momentary gasp followed by the voiced frustration at forgetting to push the big red button to record the moment on the phone. No need to worry. Such a sight’s not easily forgotten.
Kalle’s come home. And he’s staying home for the rest of the week.
Did he win Tampere? Of course he did. Admittedly, not by much – just 11.6 seconds after eight stages and 45 competitive miles – from team-mate Elfyn Evans. But it was enough to dial himself in to Finland.
“The weather was quite extreme,” said the youngest ever world champion. “There was a lot of rain and a lot of mud, but we have confirmed what we found in our pre-event test – I think we’re ready.
“The car felt really good in the muddy conditions, but we still had some moments when we were fully on top of the mud and the water. The second pass was quite challenging at times. I hope we have a wet one next week, so we can use this setup!
“OK, it would be nice to have dry weather for the fans, but I’m happy with our settings going to [Rally] Finland.”
As usual, Rovanperä found more than the odd moment for his adoring public.
“I’ve never been to this event before,” he said. “It’s nice to come away with the win and really nice to see the fans here already and coming to a smaller rally. It’s been a cool day.”
Winning three of the eight stages, Evans was happy enough with his day.
“The focus is very much on making sure we have the correct set-up here,” said the Welshman. “We’re not taking the usual risks we would on a WRC rally – but the driving was going well and it’s nice to get some mileage in before the real event starts.
“Finland’s always a highlight of the season and I’m looking forward to getting going now.”
M-Sport Ford was also present in central Finland, running a Puma Rally1 Hybrid for Pierre-Louis Loubet. The Frenchman’s day was halted briefly by an ECU issue, but otherwise he completed seven of eight stages with good speed ahead of round nine this week.
