Home hero Rovanpera wins WRC Rally Finland at record-setting speed

Kalle Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen ended an eight-year wait for a home winner at Rally Finland, claiming victory in record-breaking fashion after a near-flawless performance in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.

The duo dominated the fastest rally in FIA World Rally Championship history, setting an average speed of 80.75mph across four days, 20 special stages and 190.9 miles of flat-out action on the super-quick gravel roads around host city Jyvaskyla and winning by 39.2s. 

Their triumph capped an extraordinary weekend that saw Toyota achieve only the second 1-2-3-4-5 sweep in WRC history, matching Lancia's feat on Rally Portugal in 1990. Juha Kankkunen played a role in both – as the third-placed driver in 1990 and now as the deputy team principal for the Jyvaskyla-based Toyota Gazoo Racing squad.

Rovanpera seized the lead on Friday morning's opening stage and never relinquished control, the two-time WRC champ methodically building his advantage throughout the weekend. 

Drama on Saturday’s second leg saw his nearest rivals, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux, eliminated from contention by identical tire deflations on their i20 N Rally1s, handing the 24-year-old Rovanpera crucial breathing space heading into Sunday's short final leg.

Clean runs through both passes of the legendary Ouninpohja stage, including fastest time on the rally-ending, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage, ensured Rovanpera's first home victory was never in doubt. 

Kalle Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen had never won on their home gravel – until this weekend’s record-setting performance. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

The result pushes Rovanpera back into championship contention and he now sits second in the WRC drivers’ standings, just three points behind teammate Elfyn Evans after nine of the 14 rounds.

"It’s quite an amazing feeling,” said Rovanpera. “Obviously, we have been close a few times here and I just felt we really needed to do it this year. Big thanks to everyone at the workshop for doing a great job with the car. We worked hard for this one, I was driving really on the limit this weekend and pushing a lot. We really needed the points, and it was good at the end.”

Behind the winner, an intense battle raged for the remaining podium positions with just 6.6s blanketing the Toyotas of runner-up Takamoto Katsuta, eight-time WRC champ Sebastien Ogier and newly reinstalled points leader Evans at the finish.

Katsuta held his nerve to secure second place by 5.9s over Ogier, giving the Japanese driver his best result since the snow and ice of February's Rally Sweden. Ogier, last year’s Rally Finland winner, held onto the final podium spot by just 3.0s after an intense final-day showdown with Evans.

Another home driver, Sami Pajari, completed Toyota's historic lockout in fifth ahead of Hyundai’s Neuville, while Fourmaux retired his i20 N just a half-mile from the finish. Their teammate, Ott Tanak, fell from first to fourth in the WRC points, finishing a frustrated 10th overall after accident damage and a five-minute time penalty ended his chance to fight for a podium on Friday. 

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak fell from first to fourth in the WRC drivers’ standings after a frustrating weekend in Finland. McKlein/Getty Images

M-Sport Ford crews filled the remaining top-10 positions, but had never looked like challenging the leading Toyotas and Hyundais. Josh McErlean came out top in the intra-team scrap with seventh overall in his Puma Rally1. Part-season entry Martins Sesks was eighth, with the second of the full-timers, Gregoire Munster, ninth.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Roope Korhonen beat Jari-Matti Latvala by just 1.1s to claim his maiden class win.

The 26-year-old Korhonen came out on top after a see-saw battle with fellow Finn and off-duty Toyota Gazoo Racing team principal Latvala, an 18-time WRC event winner. Both were piloting GR Yaris Rally2 cars.

Korhonen began Sunday’s two-stage finale with a 1.8s buffer over Latvala, but saw that gap trimmed to 1.3s after the first run through the 14.9-mile Ouninpohja test. 

Latvala was again quicker on the repeated pass, but only by two-tenths of a second, allowing Korhonen to claim his breakthrough triumph on home gravel. 

“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Korhonen. “Yesterday, after service, there was quite heavy rain and I missed confidence in those kinds of conditions. The fight was really tight with Jari-Matti and today I pushed really hard. It means much more to win on my home rally.”

Robert Virves couldn’t quite match his home win on Rally Estonia two weeks ago, but the Skoda Fabia RS driver once again found himself on the podium, 42.0s adrift of Latvala, but almost one minute clear of fourth-placed Emil Lindholm’s similar car.

Roope Korhonen secured his first WRC2 victory, triumphing on his home event after a close fight with 18-time WRC event winner Jari-Matti Latvala. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

The WRC now heads across the Atlantic for a South American doubleheader that begins with the inaugural Rally Paraguay. The gravel event, based in Encarnacion, runs Aug. 28-31.

WRC Rally Finland, final positions after Sunday/Leg Three, SS20
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h21m51.4s
2 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +39.2s
3 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +45.1s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +48.1s
5 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m18.8s
6 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m01.5s
7 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m07.4s
8 Martins Sesks/Renars Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m17.2s
9 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m24.9s
10 Ott Tanak/Matin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +7m38.4s
11 Roope Korhonen/Anssi Viinikka (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2 winner) +7m56.4s
12 Jari-Matti Latvala/Janni Hussi (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +7m57.5s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 9 of 14 rounds
1 Evans 176 points
2 Rovanpera 173
3 Ogier 163
4 Tanak 163 
5 Neuville 125
6 Katsuta 87

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 9 of 14 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 458 points   
2 Hyundai Word Rally Team 371   
3 M-Sport Ford 129
4 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 85

• Watch the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage action from Rally Finland LIVE on RACER Network and the RACER+ App on Sunday, Aug. 3 at 6:00-7:30am ET, with same-day re-airings on the RACER Network at 8:30pm ET and 11:30pm ET. 
• Plus, for a deeper dive into the FIA World Rally Championship, check out the WRC Magazine Show on RACER Network. Catch the latest episode on Sunday, Aug. 3 at 5:30am ET, 8:00pm ET and 11:00pm ET. 
• You can find out more about the RACER+ App at racerplus.com.