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Mike Chen's guide to the WRC's Rally Finland
Can World Rally Championship leader Ott Tänak repeat his 2018 victory at Rally Finland or can homegrown drivers Teemu Suninen, Esapekka Lappi and Jari-Matti Latvala dent the Estonian's title hopes?
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After a six-week wait, WRC Rally Finland is finally around the corner. Coined the "Grand Prix on gravel", Finland tests the world's rally elite to the absolute limit – the drivers, the cars, and the teams.
It’s one thing being able to deal with tight and technical rallies such as the jewel in the World Rally Championship crown that is Monte-Carlo, but Rally Finland has and always will be a big draw for rally drivers.
It all happens at very high speeds and predominately in the air because the rally is stacked with jumps at Jyväskylä, so expect plenty of high-octane action along the tree-lined tracks.
It's an event that winds its way through Finnish forest on smooth, flowing, gravel roads where, when everything is going to plan, there's no better feeling. But when it goes wrong, it goes wrong in a big way. Who remembers Colin McRae's plethora of "offs" in 1992 in his Subaru Legacy? Or Mikko Hirvonen's mammoth accident in 2010? Over the years, Rally Finland has claimed the very best.
Watch live action and highlights from WRC Rally Finland on Red Bull TV from August 2-4.
Speaking of the very best, nine-time WRC title winner Sébastien Loeb, who started Rally Finland 13 times, only managed to triumph here on three occasions. As a result, it's not his favourite event and so he's decided to give it a wide berth this year as part of his limited programme for Hyundai.
Instead, we'll see Ireland's Craig Breen taking up driving duties with the Korean manufacturer. He enjoys the fast nature of the event and after a successful test a couple of weeks ago in Estonia, where he finished fifth, we can expect Breen to be at the business end of proceedings in Jyväskylä.
Elfyn Evans will miss out on the 2019 Rally Finland
© McKlein Image Database
Another driver we won't see in Finland is Elfyn Evans. He too was in Estonia, where he finished fourth, but a heavy landing on a massive jump triggered back pain that needs resting. It’s a bitter blow for Evans in what had been an outstanding 2019 campaign – he's fourth in the standings behind the WRC's three main championship protagonists, Ott Tänak, Sébastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville.
It's likely to be one of those top three who will be celebrating on Sunday afternoon, and fingers are pointing predominately at Tänak. Although he didn't win, his performance last time out in Sardinia was nothing short of astonishing.
Tänak also took part in Rally Estonia in mid-July, opening the road, and absolutely annihilated a field of strong WRC drivers in factory WRC kit, including Andreas Mikkelsen and Craig Breen for Hyundai; Elfyn Evans in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta; and Esapekka Lappi in a Citröen.
Finnish WRC star Teemu Suninen at the 2018 Rally Finland
© World / Red Bull Content Pool
The Estonian arrives in Jyväskylä, then, leading the championship – four points clear of Ogier, with Neuville just three further back from the Belgian. But these roads are where the Toyota Yaris was developed and Tänak always shines in the fast stuff.
With the title race on a knife-edge it's a big weekend for the WRC. Finland might not be for the faint-hearted, but we will witness some of the best stages in rallying – and some of the best fans, too. Enjoy!
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