Rally Finland – Day Two
Hyundai Motorsport has extended its overall lead of Rally Finland at the end of Saturday’s action with Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja building up an 8.4-second advantage on the penultimate day.
Overnight leaders by just 3.8 seconds, the Estonians added two more stage wins to increase their grasp on the top spot steadily. The duo have topped the classification since SS2 but have been immersed in a tantalisingly close exchange with the chasing Kalle Rovanperä on today’s stages.
A wet start to Saturday morning’s opening loop saw crews negotiate tricky conditions through Päijäla (SS11/SS15, 20.19km) and Rapsula (SS12/SS16, 20.56km). The loop continued with Patajoki (SS13/SS17, 13.75km) and the brand-new Vekkula (SS14/SS18, 20.65km).
Over the course of the morning, Tänak stretched his gap to 9.5 seconds, completing the first loop with his fourth stage win of the rally. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, meanwhile, moved up into fifth spot after the opening two tests following struggles for their immediate rivals Craig Breen and Takamoto Katsuta. The Belgians then extended the gap over Katsuta to 5.2 seconds as they strengthened their grip on the top-five.
Lunchtime flexi service back at Jyväskylä gave teams the chance to regroup ahead of the afternoon pass. Hyundai Motorsport’s engineers and mechanics worked hard to ensure its two crews had the best set-up on their respective Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars for the repeated stages.
Tänak and Järveoja furthered their advantage at the head of the timesheets but were keeping a close eye on Rovanperä, who moved up to second place after SS16, and closed the gap slightly in the final stage. Neuville and Wydaeghe focused on their battle for fifth and ended the day with a buffer of 42.0 seconds over Katsuta.
Four fast Finnish stages remain on the schedule for Sunday, meaning that there will be no respite for the team’s pairings, with Tänak steadfast in his pursuit of a second season victory in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 – and the team’s first in Finland.
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
A wet start to Saturday morning’s opening loop saw crews negotiate tricky conditions through Päijäla (SS11/SS15, 20.19km) and Rapsula (SS12/SS16, 20.56km). The loop continued with Patajoki (SS13/SS17, 13.75km) and the brand-new Vekkula (SS14/SS18, 20.65km).
Over the course of the morning, Tänak stretched his gap to 9.5 seconds, completing the first loop with his fourth stage win of the rally. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, meanwhile, moved up into fifth spot after the opening two tests following struggles for their immediate rivals Craig Breen and Takamoto Katsuta. The Belgians then extended the gap over Katsuta to 5.2 seconds as they strengthened their grip on the top-five.
Lunchtime flexi service back at Jyväskylä gave teams the chance to regroup ahead of the afternoon pass. Hyundai Motorsport’s engineers and mechanics worked hard to ensure its two crews had the best set-up on their respective Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars for the repeated stages.
Tänak and Järveoja furthered their advantage at the head of the timesheets but were keeping a close eye on Rovanperä, who moved up to second place after SS16, and closed the gap slightly in the final stage. Neuville and Wydaeghe focused on their battle for fifth and ended the day with a buffer of 42.0 seconds over Katsuta.
Four fast Finnish stages remain on the schedule for Sunday, meaning that there will be no respite for the team’s pairings, with Tänak steadfast in his pursuit of a second season victory in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 – and the team’s first in Finland.
Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- The crew enjoyed a reliable and high performing day to continue their rally lead
- Two stage wins took the team’s total to six so far in this event
Tänak said: “We have done a good job and we’ve definitely been going quite hard. Yesterday evening, I wouldn’t have said that we would still be out front at the end of today, so it’s a pleasant surprise that we’re still leading. The afternoon worked out well; the conditions were a bit rougher, so it was also hard on the car as well. For sure there have been a few moments along the way. I’m not driving exactly as I would like; I’d prefer to be cleaner, smoother, and picking better lines, but so far, it’s giving us good times. The stages tomorrow are not so long, so I guess it is going to be a tight finish. I think everything is possible.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
- Solid, reliable, and committed Saturday for the Belgian crew as they moved into the top-five
- The pair increased its buffer over sixth-placed Katsuta to 42.0 seconds
Neuville said: “Our target for the day – to grab fifth place – was achieved, actually quite early on, but we had to defend our position and I think we did that well. We had a trouble-free run, and I was able to enjoy the stages; in some sections we could push a bit harder and in others we just kept things clean and were consistently among the top-five fastest times. We found a good compromise on the suspension of the car in the end. We still have a few small improvements to make here and there, but it’s been promising to see Ott able to defend his lead. The Power Stage will be tough but at least we’re going to try, and we’ll find out what we can do.”
Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said: “What an incredible day that has kept us spellbound from the very start! The battle between Ott and Kalle has been intense, fighting for every tenth-of-a-second during the eight stages. Ott and Martin have been tremendous, giving it everything and no doubt they will keep pushing to stay in front tomorrow. It’s game on! After some positive set-up changes to their car, Thierry and Martijn enjoyed reliable, clean stages, looking for the all-important consistency in their fight for the top-five. They will target more points in the Power Stage on Sunday. We have had no reliability issues and our entire team has been working hard to find the best set-up on each Hyundai i20 N Rally1. We will try to squeeze every bit out of the car and we’re ready for an exciting final day.”
Sunday at a glance
- Four stages remain on the Rally Finland itinerary: Oittila (SS19/SS21, 10.84km) and Ruuhimäki (SS20/SS22, 11.12km), each run twice
- The total stage distance on the final day totals just 43.92km and culminates with the usual Power Stage, where extra points are available for the five fastest crews.
Classification after Day Two
| 1 | O. Tänak | M. Järveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | 2:02:44.0 |
| 2 | K. Rovanperä | J. Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +8.4 |
| 3 | E. Lappi | J. Ferm | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +35.2 |
| 4 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1:19.7 |
| 5 | T. Neuville | M. Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +2:05.5 |
| 6 | T. Katsuta | A. Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2:47.5 |
| 7 | G. Greensmith | J. Andersson | Ford Puma Rally1 | +3:23.0 |
| 8 | P. L. Loubet | V. Landais | Ford Puma Rally1 | +3:27.2 |
