WRC Rally Finland round-up: Rovanpera heartbreak, pointless scores and title contention.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville has extended his championship lead after Rally Finland as both Ott Tanak and Toyota’s Elfyn Evans crashed out, catapulting Sebastien Ogier into the title fight. 

Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool

Heartbreak for Rovanpera

It was a heartbreaking Rally Finland for the double-world champions, Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen, as the Finnish crew crashed out on the penultimate stage.  

You could not fault the Finnish crew in their dominating run amongst the Finnish forests. A loose rock, mid-corner on the last real corner of the penultimate stage, brought Rovanpera’s hopes and ambition of a home win crashing into the tree line. 

That home win was in the palm of his hands… You just have to feel for him. 

At the same time, it means his Finland curse continues which saw him crash out in Finland three out of the last four times with a second place finish – behind Ott Tanak – being the exception in 2022. 

Crashes leave Elfyn Evans and Ott Tanak empty-handed

Hyundai’s Tanak and Toyota’s Elfyn Evans needed a good weekend last weekend to drag themselves ever closer to the championship leader, Theirry Neuville. However, that was not the case.

Both driver crews crashed out with Tanak hitting a tree early on, on SS3, and Evans tumbled down the order on Saturday with a suspected transmission issue. This was compacted with his own DNF as he hit a tree on SS19. 

As a result, it means Tanak and Evans have dropped down to third and fourth respectively. With four rallies left on the Calendar, Tanak is still within touching distance as he sits 31 points adrift of Neuville whereas Evans has much more work to do. 

Sebastien Ogier in the title fight?

Following Rovanpera’s untimely crash out of his home rally, on the penultimate stage, the celebrations were very downbeat as a result. Ogier agreed it’s great to win the rally but it wasn’t the way he wanted to win. 

As a result, following Tanak’s and Evan’s DNF’s, it means the eight-time world champion left Finland with a point in hand over the championship leader. In addition, he has leap-frogged both championship contenders to move into second place, but he continues to trail Neuville by 27 points. 

Ogier has claimed he may have ‘no other choice’ but to contend for the rest of the season, even though championship glory is no longer his priority. 

Despite the mouth-watering prospect, it has not been confirmed that Ogier will compete in the rest of the season. However, it would be an enticing thought to consider he could fight for a potential ninth world championship, tying up the record with Sebastien Loeb.

Read more WRC here:

• Sebastien Ogier inadvertently set for WRC title fight
• Kalle Rovanpera claims nothing would’ve stopped Rally Finland crash
• Ogier takes Rally Finland WRC win after Rovanpera crashes out
• Kalle Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans crash out of Rally Finland on penultimate stage
• Gregoire Munster crashes out in Rally Finland on SS11
• Rovanpera heads Toyota 1-2-3 on home soil in WRC Rally Finland

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.