Johan Kristoffersson pulled off a routine clean sweep at Kouvola to make it two World Rallycross wins from three in 2020.
The double World RX Champion dominated qualifying and comfortably won the first semifinal ahead of Timmy Hansen before decimating the field in the final.
After getting away cleanly with a trademark perfect start, closing the door on local hero Juha Rytkönen in the process, Kristoffersson held a full second lead by the end of the first lap.
Rytkönen, who won the second semifinal, settled into second place but faced pressure from the Peugeot-driving Hansen. He then jokered on the third lap to cover off GRX team-mate Niclas Grönholm, who’d opted to take the alternative route on the opening lap in a bid to get clear air.
That exchange left Hansen in second place, but he wasn’t able to close the gap to Kristoffersson who held a massive three second lead by the end of lap four of six.
The gap extended to 3.4s by the time both took the joker on the final lap, which was more than enough to ensure the win for Kristoffersson. Rytkönen’s earlier joker gave him enough time to cover off Hansen, but the Team Hansen Peugeot driver still faced a stiff challenge from Grönholm’s Hyundai in the final corner.
The duo made contact, but it was Hansen who prevailed to take the final podium spot behind Kristoffersson and Rytkönen.
Münnich Motorsport driver Timo Scheider and Kevin Hansen rounded out the final field in fifth and sixth respectively.
While it was yet another comfortable win for Kristoffersson, the final result also demonstrated that both Team Hansen and GRX have managed to recover somewhat from their difficult opening weekends in Höljes.
However it was a much more difficult round for the JC Raceteknik Audi squad, which came to Finland leading the teams’ championship after a win in round two thanks to Mattias Ekström.
Both Ekström and team-mate Robin Larsson failed to advance to the final after retiring in the semis.
Both made a strong start, but Ekström pulled off on the second lap with an electrical issue, while Larsson retired on the final lap with a puncture.
Both incidents may have left them without a final berth, and Ekström now with a 16-point deficit to Kristoffersson in the standings, but JC Raceteknik is still leading Team Hansen by 19 points.
Joining the two Audi S1 drivers on the sidelines after the semifinals was local wildcard Jere Kalliokoski who finished fourth in the second race, ahead of both Larsson and Ekström.
In the first semifinal it was Andreas Bakkerud, Timur Timerzyanov, and Anton Marklund who all failed to advance – the latter after retiring with a mechanical issue as GCK’s 2020 woes continued.
