The FIA World Rally Championship heads to the ‘Finnish Grand Prix’ for round eight of the series and the start of the second half of the season. Perceived as the home of the sport, Finland is a highlight on the calendar where cars fly from jump to jump over the fast and flowing smooth gravel roads. Here, the brave and committed crews reap the rewards. The rally dates back to 1951 when it ran as a means of deciding the Finnish entries for Rallye Monte-Carlo. It was then first included in the Championship in 1973, the inaugural year of the WRC, and the specialised nature of the event means local drivers have dominated it; 54 Finns have won during the 65 editions of the rally. Based in the university town of Jyväskylä, the challenge of Rally Finland is immense and pace notes have to be perfect in order to judge the speed and positioning of the car over blind crests that hide a following corner. Mastering the jumps, precision delivery of pace notes and fearlessness are key to success in Finland. Eighty-one crews are on the entry list, including a season-record 21 World Rally Cars. There is a strong field in the FIA WRC 2 Championship category and 10 drivers will be competing for Junior WRC Championship honours, Juuso Nordgren - the only Finn in the category - hoping to shine as the 2016 Future Rally Star of Finland. Following the tradition of changing the route annually to provide fresh challenges and variety, 43% of this year’s Rally Finland itinerary is new. Just three stages are identical to those run in 2015 (Mökkiperä, Surkee and Pihlajakoski), six are totally new (Halinen, Äänekoski-Valtra, Päijälä, Saalahti, Lempää and Oittila) and the remaining stages all have modifications. The rally kicks off with the Harju street stage in Jyväskylä on Thursday evening before heading to the forests on Friday for some of the event’s classic stages. Saturday heads south towards Jämsä for a mix of new and traditional roads, including the legendary Ouninpohja, while Sunday takes in two repeated stages, both of which are new. Lempää was last driven in 1999, while Oittila - doubling as the Power Stage - last featured in 1994 when it was called Mutanen. The Harju street stage, run twice, will be broadcast live on television, as will the closing Power Stage on Sunday. Total distance:
Stage distance:
Number of stages: | 1,369.83 km
333.60 km (24.4%)
24 |
MEDIA ACCREDITATIONThe Accreditation Centre is located in the Sokos Hotel Alexandra, Hannikaisenkatu 35, 40100 Jyväskylä, Finland. The opening hours are: Tuesday 26 July
Wednesday 27 July
Thursday 28 July | 14:00 – 18:00 hrs
09:00 – 22:00 hrs
07:00 – 19:00 hrs |
RALLY FINLAND TIMETABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES ORGANISED BY THE FIA Wednesday 27 JulyMandatory media safety briefing, photographers' room
Drivers Meet the Kids, Valtra Factories, Suolahti
Thursday 28 July
Shakedown (P1 drivers)
Shakedown (P1, P2, P3 drivers)
Shakedown (non-priority drivers)
'Meet the Crews', WRC Stage, Service Park
P2 and P3 drivers Meet the Kids, Service Park
FIA Press Conference, Press Room
Start of the rally
Friday 29 JulyFirst car arrives for regroup, service and Media Zone
First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
'Meet the Crews', WRC Stage, Service Park
Saturday 30 July
First car arrives for regroup, service and Media Zone
First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
'Meet the Crews', WRC Stage, Service Park
Sunday 31 JulyFirst car arrives for regroup and Media Zone, Tammijärvi
First car arrives for regroup and Media Zone, Tammijärvi
First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
Prize-Giving and podium ceremony, Service Park
FIA Press Conference, Press Room |
16:30 hrs
18:00 hrs
08:00-09:30 hrs
09:30-11:30 hrs
11:30-13:30 hrs
12:00 hrs
12:30 hrs
13:00 hrs
18:42 hrs
12:34 hrs
20:50 hrs
During the 45' service
12:42 hrs
19:22 hrs
During the 45' service
10:26 hrs
11:45 hrs
14:13 hrs
15:00 hrs
15:45 hrs
|
FIA PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE Thursday 28 July
| Juuso Nordgren, FIA Junior WRC/WRC 3 Championship
Andrea Crugnola, FIA Junior WRC/WRC 3
Championship
Elfyn Evans, FIA WRC 2 Championship
Teemu Suninen, FIA WRC 2 Championship
Kris Meeke, Abu Dhabi Total World Rally Team
Ott Tänak, DMACK World Rally Team
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport
Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Motorsport
Winning FIA Junior WRC Championship crew
Winning FIA WRC 3 Championship crew
Winning FIA WRC 2 Championship crew
Top three crews in the overall classification
Representative of the winning competitor |
MANUFACTURER ENTRIES, RALLY FINLAND Volkswagen Motorsport
Hyundai Motorsport
M-Sport World Rally Team
Volkswagen Motorsport II
DMACK World Rally Team
Hyundai Motorsport N
Yazeed Racing | Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (#1)
Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (#2)
Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (#3)
Hayden Paddon / John Kennard (#4)
Mads Østberg / Ola Fløene (#5)
Eric Camilli / Benjamin Veillas (#6)
Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger (#9)
Ott Tänak / Raigo Mõlder (#12)
Kevin Abbring / Sebastian Marshall (#20)
Yazeed Al Rajhi / Michael Orr (#30) |
ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
‘Meet the Crews’: On Friday and Saturday the top three drivers will attend a ‘Meet the Crews’ session for media and fans. This will take place on the WRC Stage in the service park at the earliest opportunity during the 45' service. Autograph Signing Session: On Friday and Saturday selected crews will be available for a 15 minute autograph session. This will take place in the service park during the end of day service at the teams’ service areas.
The provisional classifications for all the WRC Championships can be found on the following link: http://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-championship/season-2016/standings
Shortly after the finish of the event, a downloadable stage chart showing the progressive positions of the leading crews during the rally will be available. This is copyright free for editorial purposes and available at the following link: http://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-championship/season-2016/stage-chart-6 | Total distance:
Stage distance:
Number of stages: | 1,369.83 km
333.60 km (24.4%)
24 | Tuesday 26 July
Wednesday 27 July
Thursday 28 July | 14:00 – 18:00 hrs
09:00 – 22:00 hrs
07:00 – 19:00 hrs | Wednesday 27 JulyMandatory media safety briefing, photographers' room
Drivers Meet the Kids, Valtra Factories, Suolahti
Thursday 28 July
Shakedown (P1 drivers)
Shakedown (P1, P2, P3 drivers)
Shakedown (non-priority drivers)
'Meet the Crews', WRC Stage, Service Park
P2 and P3 drivers Meet the Kids, Service Park
FIA Press Conference, Press Room
Start of the rally
Friday 29 JulyFirst car arrives for regroup, service and Media Zone
First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
'Meet the Crews', WRC Stage, Service Park
Saturday 30 July
First car arrives for regroup, service and Media Zone
First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
'Meet the Crews', WRC Stage, Service Park
Sunday 31 JulyFirst car arrives for regroup and Media Zone, Tammijärvi
First car arrives for regroup and Media Zone, Tammijärvi
First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
Prize-Giving and podium ceremony, Service Park
FIA Press Conference, Press Room |
16:30 hrs
18:00 hrs
08:00-09:30 hrs
09:30-11:30 hrs
11:30-13:30 hrs
12:00 hrs
12:30 hrs
13:00 hrs
18:42 hrs
12:34 hrs
20:50 hrs
During the 45' service
12:42 hrs
19:22 hrs
During the 45' service
10:26 hrs
11:45 hrs
14:13 hrs
15:00 hrs
15:45 hrs
| Thursday 28 July
| Juuso Nordgren, FIA Junior WRC/WRC 3 Championship
Andrea Crugnola, FIA Junior WRC/WRC 3
Championship
Elfyn Evans, FIA WRC 2 Championship
Teemu Suninen, FIA WRC 2 Championship
Kris Meeke, Abu Dhabi Total World Rally Team
Ott Tänak, DMACK World Rally Team
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai Motorsport
Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Motorsport
Winning FIA Junior WRC Championship crew
Winning FIA WRC 3 Championship crew
Winning FIA WRC 2 Championship crew
Top three crews in the overall classification
Representative of the winning competitor | Volkswagen Motorsport
Hyundai Motorsport
M-Sport World Rally Team
Volkswagen Motorsport II
DMACK World Rally Team
Hyundai Motorsport N
Yazeed Racing | Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (#1)
Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (#2)
Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (#3)
Hayden Paddon / John Kennard (#4)
Mads Østberg / Ola Fløene (#5)
Eric Camilli / Benjamin Veillas (#6)
Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger (#9)
Ott Tänak / Raigo Mõlder (#12)
Kevin Abbring / Sebastian Marshall (#20)
Yazeed Al Rajhi / Michael Orr (#30) |
| |
Wednesday 27 JulyMandatory media safety briefing, photographers' room
Drivers Meet the Kids, Valtra Factories, Suolahti
Thursday 28 July
Shakedown (P1 drivers)
Shakedown (P1, P2, P3 drivers)
Shakedown (non-priority drivers)
'Meet the Crews', WRC Stage, Service Park
P2 and P3 drivers Meet the Kids, Service Park
FIA Press Conference, Press Room
Start of the rally
Friday 29 JulyFirst car arrives for regroup, service and Media Zone
First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
'Meet the Crews', WRC Stage, Service Park
Saturday 30 July
First car arrives for regroup, service and Media Zone
First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
'Meet the Crews', WRC Stage, Service Park
Sunday 31 JulyFirst car arrives for regroup and Media Zone, Tammijärvi
First car arrives for regroup and Media Zone, Tammijärvi
First car arrives for final service and Media Zone
Prize-Giving and podium ceremony, Service Park
FIA Press Conference, Press Room |
16:30 hrs
18:00 hrs
08:00-09:30 hrs
09:30-11:30 hrs
11:30-13:30 hrs
12:00 hrs
12:30 hrs
13:00 hrs
18:42 hrs
12:34 hrs
20:50 hrs
During the 45' service
12:42 hrs
19:22 hrs
During the 45' service
10:26 hrs
11:45 hrs
14:13 hrs
15:00 hrs
15:45 hrs
|
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