Four talking points from a fantastic Rally Finland

Golden year for Finland’s rally jewel

The Monte-Carlo Rally, the Safari and Rally GB have prestige, but Rally Finland – or what used to be known as the 1000 Lakes – has a tradition and a fearsome reputation to match. It is also the one drivers arguably want to win beyond any other, although Evans admitted his maiden WRC victory on home soil in 2017 will always be hard to beat. But winning on the forest roads that remain among rallying’s ultimate challenges, and on which only Finns used to prevail, is something special.

The event marked its 70th anniversary this year, running in autumn for the first time instead of at the height of the Finnish summer to allow enthusiastic crowds to return to the forests after the 2020 edition was cancelled because of Covid. You could say the date change turned out beautifully, as the WRC teams took in breath-taking autumnal scenes. It was cold and the famously daunting gravel stages were at times slippery, but conditions remained dry and perfect for fast rallying as the crews plunged into Finland’s golden-tinged forests. The rally’s change in season also opened up the tantalising prospect of tackling some of the best stages in the world in the dark. That only deepened the sense of anticipation after one of the favourite events of the year returned from its Covid-induced hiatus.

Evans bests Tänak in mammoth duel

Toyota ace Evans played himself in during Friday’s opening leg, then burst into top form during the classic Oittila test that concluded the day and ran into darkness. His commitment through the trees was astounding as the bright lights of the Welshman’s Yaris WRC guided his path. He and co-driver Scott Martin streaked to the first of nine out of 19 stage wins in style and as his team boss (and three-time Rally Finland winner) Jari-Matti Latvala said, that was the key moment of his rally. “Elfyn found another gear in the Oittila darkness,” said Latvala, “and since then we were in a much better zone.”

Evans really found his groove on Saturday morning when he made a clean sweep of all four stages run, before Tänak hit back in the afternoon by earning a hat-trick to go with the brace he’d taken on Friday. Evans responded with the fastest time in the penultimate stage, Patajoki, before the pair managed to dead-heat through the short Harju spectator test run close to the service park in Jyväskylä. Evans held a lead of 9.1 seconds over Tänak heading into the final leg on Sunday.

Just four stages made up the schedule on the last day, but on such roads all it would take was one slip. Tänak took 0.4s out of Evans’s advantage on the first test, but after that the 32-year-old was in a class of his own. He even kept his foot in on the Power Stage at the close, to earn a maximum score of five bonus points to add to the 25 he’d earned for the win as he kept Tänak at bay by 14.1s. Tänak was on a Finnish hat-trick, having won here in 2018 and ’19. What made the difference between victory and defeat this time? “Speed,” he deadpanned. “I had about 14 seconds of speed missing. That’s what it takes.”

Evans piles heat on Ogier for the title

To complete a perfect weekend for Evans, he can also reflect on a 20-point swing in his favour in the WRC title race. Six-time champion Sébastien Ogier was never fully at the races in Finland this year and finished a distant fifth, counting his lucky stars not to be lower following a one-minute penalty for failing to strap up his crash helmet on a stage run on Saturday afternoon. He also missed out on Power Stage bonus points after a late engine problem struck his Yaris as he negotiated the Ruuhimäki test. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is now out of the picture following his retirement on Saturday when his i20 suffered a water leak after a heavy landing. So Evans is the only one to stand between Ogier and a eighth crown, 24 points behind – although with just two asphalt rallies left on the schedule, in Spain and at Monza in Italy, the odds are still heavily weighted in the Frenchman’s favour.

“This one feels good, in the way we managed to do it as well,” said Evans. “We struggled a lot in Estonia and made some changes to the car in the test, and came and found some confidence in the car pretty early on. We had a good rhythm from an early road position on Friday and then managed to take the fight to them on Saturday. It feels pretty good now and a big thanks to the team.”

Evans, son of former British Rally Champion Gwyndaf, is never one to get carried away and remains downbeat on his title hopes. When I asked whether he believes he still has a shot at the title, he said: “I don’t believe. I don’t think too much about it to be honest. After the Acropolis Rally it was a mathematical chance for me and now it’s slightly more realistic. It would only take Séb to have one retirement and it’s all open. But I don’t wish that and all we can worry about is our performance on the next two rallies.”

Breen scores third consecutive podium

Only signed for a partial WRC programme with Hyundai, Craig Breen must take every chance he can get to shine and the Irishman did so once again on Rally Finland. Following second-place finishes in Estonia and on Ypres in Belgium, the 31-year-old secured a hat-trick of 2021 podiums with a fine drive to third place in Finland.

Breen matched Tänak by winning two stages on the opening day, then caused a stir by outpacing the 2019 world champion in the dark on Oittila to lead overnight. That advantage was quickly rubbed out by the flying Evans on Saturday morning and although Breen slipped out of the battle for victory, he kept his composure to deliver a convincing third place, 16.6s clear of home hero Esapekka Lappi in his privateer Yaris.

“It’s a proud moment, three podiums in a row – I can’t believe it,” said Breen. “I would have loved to have gone an extra level and fight for the win – it’s not there yet. But it’s better than in the past.”

The WRC now heads to its penultimate round of the season, the Rally Catalunya, on October 14th-17th. Evans will be hard pressed to beat Ogier on asphalt, but with confidence carried over from Finland and after a performance he admitted “probably ranks the highest” of his career, you wouldn’t put anything past the flying Welshman right now.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.