Rally Finland – Day One
Following a dramatic opening day at Rally Finland, the ninth round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Hyundai Motorsport is in provisional second with Thierry Neuville just 6.9 seconds away from the lead.
Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe found a good rhythm in the opening stages and are now targeting the top step of the podium. Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula are fourth overall following a consistent start to their second WRC event in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. However, it was heart-breaking day for their fellow Finns Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm, who retired on the fifth stage of the event.
Rally Finland began with the short super special stage Harju (SSS1/10, 3.48km) on Thursday evening close to the Jyväskylä service park. Friday’s itinerary featured four new stages – Laukaa (SS2/6, 11.78km), Lankamaa (SS3/7, 14.21km), Myhinpää (SS4/8, 15.51km) and Halttula (SS5/9, 9.14km) followed by a repeat of Harju in the evening.
Overnight rain meant crews were greeted with damp roads and frequent standing water. Intermittent heavy showers during the day created changing conditions, with some crews experiencing worse weather than others as they traversed the flowing Finnish stages.
Neuville/Wydaeghe were one of the first crews on the road on Friday and were quickly challenging for the podium places, underscoring the improvement of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid on fast gravel events. The Belgians had moved from fourth to third in the overall classification by the end of the morning loop before afternoon trouble for other competitors, including a retirement for the then-rally leader, saw them gain second place. Three stage wins on SS8 Myhinpää 2, SS9 Halttula 2 and SSS10 Harju 2 further reduced the gap to first.
Another solid performance from Suninen/Markkula saw them claim their first top-three stage time in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid on SS6 Laukaa 2. The duo tackled the tricky conditions confidently, climbing from seventh to fourth overall by the close of the day as others ran into difficulty. Although the gap lies at 12.4 seconds, the crew is targeting a podium finish on home soil.
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team crew Lappi/Ferm were within touching distance of the top three before their dreams of a home podium were snatched away. A mistake in the pace notes resulted in the crew running wide 3.5km into SS5 Myhinpää 1 and making impact with a tree. The crew were unharmed in the accident however, they will not return to contest the remainder of Rally Finland.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Belgians claimed back-to-back wins in the final three stages of the day
- Crew focused on a strong Saturday to challenge for rally victory
Neuville said: “Now we have no choice; Kalle, one of our main contenders, is out, and Elfyn is also in front of us in the championship. We are fighting for a victory and we are going to go for it. The day was good; I don’t think I have been in a position to fight for a win in Finland before. It was very challenging, lots of grip changes but we kept it all under control. We worked a bit on the car to find more speed, but we could see the Toyotas were faster. We had to keep our rhythm and make no mistakes. Tomorrow, we’re going to push even harder.”
Crew Notes: Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (#3 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Finns claimed first top-three stage time in Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid on SS6 Laukaa 2
- Progressed up the classification from seventh to fourth with consistent drive
Suninen said: “I’m quite happy with today; it’s been super tricky conditions with the rain and the grip changes, but I have been comfortable with the car and managed to stay close to the front. I’ve been missing a little bit of pace, but I think if we can push to the limit then we can find it. This afternoon I was nearly flat out on the first two stages and set some good times; step by step I am improving my driving. The dream to get a podium is still alive but I need to have a good day tomorrow.”
Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Finns registered a top-three stage time on penultimate morning stage
- Accident on SS5 Halttula 1 resulted in crew’s retirement from the weekend
Lappi said: “Physically, everything is ok; a swollen ankle for me but no broken bones. The accident was a pace note mistake, I was too optimistic for the right hand corner, we were too fast and we went into the trees. The information from my side was wrong when we did the recce. To be honest, I wanted to be closer to the lead of the rally, so I wasn’t overly satisfied with how our day was going. It is a shame we are unable to re-join the rally for the rest of the event, but the main thing is both Janne and myself are fine. I am really sorry for the team and the Finnish fans as this was the rally I was most looking forward to and I was eager get a strong result. We now look forward to Greece and hopefully return to the good feeling we had earlier in the season.”
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “It’s difficult to summarise a day like today. Obviously the first feeling is that we are disappointed that Esapekka will not continue, as we are unable to repair the damage to his car. We know how much he wanted to do well here, and we could feel his frustration that he was unable to do better, which may have led to him driving more aggressively this afternoon. On the other hand, we can be satisfied with Thierry and Teemu’s positions; we’re in the hunt for the rest of the rally, although we have seen today that things can change very quickly. We need to stay really focused on the job at hand.”
Saturday at a glance
- Saturday’s lengthy itinerary covers over 160km of competitive distance across eight stages, which are split by a midday service
- Four stages feature in the morning and afternoon loops: Västilä (SS11/15, 18.94km), Päijälä (SS12/16, 20.19km), Rapsula (SS13/17, 20.56km) and Vekkula (SS14/18, 20.65km).
Classification after Day One
| 1 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | 51:34.4 |
| 2 | T. Neuville | M. Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | +6.9 |
| 3 | T. Katsuta | A. Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | +16.4 |
| 4 | T. Suninen | M. Marrkula | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | +28.8 |
| 5 | J. M. Latvala | J. Hänninen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | +1:23.7 |
