Ott Tanak takes overnight lead at WRC Rally Finland
31st July 2025Hyundai’s championship leader Ott Tanak has taken the overnight lead at the World Rally Championship’s Rally Finland after Thursday’s sole stage.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
The new drivers’ championship leader, Tanak, has taken the overnight lead at the iconic Rally Finland after the event opened up with the Harju stage, storming out with an impressive lead over his teammate Thierry Neuville.
Only one stage lined up on the opening day of the event, the iconic Harju, a 2.58km sprint through the forest and streets of Jyväskylä.
M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks was the first Rally1 contender to face the conditions after the WRC2 class passed through, and set the benchmark pace with a 2m 7.7s run through the stage. However, by the end, the trailing contenders shaved off a total of 3.7s off the Latvian’s time.
Despite taking the overnight lead, Tanak – as the new championship leader – will be faced with opening and sweeping the stages across Friday, as per regulations.
So, how did the opening day end?
Tanak set the fastest time for the Rally1 contenders with a 2m 4s sprint through Harju. The Estonian was followed by Neuville and Toyota’s eight-time world champion, Sebastien Ogier, in second and third, respectively.
The world champions found themselves a minimum of 1.3 seconds off Tanak’s pace whilst Ogier sat 1.5 seconds behind.
One of two home heroes for Toyota, Kalle Rovanpera found himself down in fourth, 1.7 seconds behind, whilst Sami Pajari occupied ninth, three seconds away from the leading time.
This left Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, and M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster to fill in the void, in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
M-Sport’s Joshua McErlean and Martins Sesks completed the Rally1 runners down in 10th and 11th.
Friday will stand as the longest day of the weekend, in terms of stages, with nine stages to be completed. Laukaa will be the first test of the day and will get underway at 8:03am, local.
Read more WRC here:
- WRC confirm 2026 calendar ahead of Rally Finland
- Sami Pajari fastest on first shakedown pass at Rally Finland
- Stage guide: what is the itinerary for WRC Rally Finland?
- Rally Finland: the latest weather forecast ahead of WRC
- WRC Championship: How does it shape up after the lead change?
- Petter Solberg gives heartfelt tribute after Oliver Solberg Rally Estonia win
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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.
