FIA World Rally Championship

Tänak takes second win of the season in Finland

2 Mins read
Credit: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool

The Estonian Ott Tänak became the first Hyundai Motorsport driver to win in Jyväskylä when he won his third Rally Finland over the weekend which also became his second win of the season.

Tänak took over the lead of the rally on Friday morning and held on to the lead over the three days, but also had to face a number of fast approaching drivers behind whom he managed to defend off and finished the rally with a good margin of 6.8 seconds over the current WRC championship leader Kalle Rovanperä. Tänak struggled to be comfortable in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 from the start due to problems with the settings of the car but was able to achieve top times throughout the rally thanks to good grip on the Finnish dirt roads and determination.

Rovanperä had to open the roads on Friday’s stages and finished the first-full day in fourth place, during the two following days he moved up to two places while to bring home his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 to a second place meanwhile his teammate Esapekka Lappi kept the third place after a brutal rolling on the penultimate stage, where he lost about 18 seconds, the car was however able to drive to the finish line and Lappi managed to held off teammate Elfyn Evans who finished in fourth place with 16.8 seconds behind.

Credit: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool

Thierry Neuville, who has also had problems with his settings in the Hyundai, had to settle for fifth place, while Toyota Gazoo Racing NG driver Takamoto Katsuta did well with a sixth place and Gus Greensmith became the best M-Sport driver with a seventh place.

Emil Lindholm who otherwise finished the rally in second place in the WRC2 class was promoted to become the class winner as Teemu Suninen was disqualified after post-rally inspection, Lindholm finished eighth overall. Jari Huttunen who made his debut for M-Sport in the Rally1 class ended the home rally in ninth place after several problems with the car during the weekend and the Estonian Egon Kaur took tenth place and claimed second place in the WRC2 class.

Official rally results for Rally1 class:

Pos.Number.Driver / Co-driverCountryTeamModel
1.#8Ott Tänak / Martin JärveojaEstoniaHyundai Shell Mobis WRTHyundai i20 N Rally1
2.#69Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne HalttunenFinlandToyota Gazoo Racing WRTToyota GR Yaris Rally1
3.#4Esapekka Lappi / Janne FermFinlandToyota Gazoo Racing WRTToyota GR Yaris Rally1
4.#33Elfyn Evans / Scott MartinUKToyota Gazoo Racing WRTToyota GR Yaris Rally1
5.#11Thierry Neuville / Martijn WydaegheBelgiumHyundai Shell Mobis WRTHyundai i20 N Rally1
6.#18Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron JohnstonJapan / UKToyota Gazoo Racing NG WRTToyota GR Yaris Rally1
7.#44Gus Greensmith / Jonas AnderssonUK / SwedenM-Sport Ford WRTFord Puma Rally1
9.#68Jari Huttunen / Mikko LukkaFinlandM-Sport Ford WRTFord Puma Rally1
18.#16Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre CoriaFranceM-Sport Ford WRTFord Puma Rally1
32.#42Craig Breen / Paul NagleIrelandM-Sport Ford WRTFord Puma Rally1
RET.#7 Pierre-Louis Loubet / Vincent LandaisFranceM-Sport Ford WRTFord Puma Rally1
RET.#2Oliver Solberg / Elliott EdmondsonSweden / UKHyundai Shell Mobis WRTHyundai i20 N Rally1
Avatar photo
1010 posts

About author
Covering off-road news for The Checkered Flag since 2019, with over 10 years of experience working with all sorts of publications, media & PR-related things in motorsport.
Articles
Related posts
British GTBTCCFeaturesFIA WECFIA World Rally ChampionshipFIA World RallycrossFormula 1Porsche Carrera Cup GBPorsche Mobil 1 Supercup

A Farewell Message from The Checkered Flag

4 Mins read
After 15 years of motorsport coverage, TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk announces its closure. What began as a passion project in 2009 grew into a respected voice in motorsport journalism. Thank you for being part of this journey.
FIA World Rally ChampionshipWRC2

Didier Auriol entering Rally Japan, first WRC start since 2005

1 Mins read
1994 World Rally Champion Didier Auriol will run the 2024 season finale in Japan in a WRC2 Toyota GR Yaris. While the car is not homologated by the FIA and he thus won’t be included in the WRC results, it will be his first WRC race since the 2005 Monte Carlo Rally.
DakarFIA World Rally Championship

Kuldar Sikk recovering from broken spine at Central European Rally

1 Mins read
Kuldar Sikk broke his spine and underwent emergency surgery after an accident while supporting Ott Tänak’s gravel crew during last Friday’s Central European Rally. It is unknown if he can heal up in time to be Benediktas Vanagas’ co-driver for the 2025 Dakar Rally.