Dirt roads and very fast. The Rally of Finland, eighth round of the 2022 World Rally Championship, was won by the Estonian Tänak with Järveoja at the notes on the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 which after three days of racing preceded the local Rovamperä-Halttunen team on Toyota by just 6.8 seconds. Yaris Rally1 which, however, firmly maintains the lead in the drivers’ classification. To close the podium an unleashed Lappi who, together with Ferm, overturned in the penultimate special stage putting at risk the participation in the last stage and the final finish.
The Tänak-Rovamperä battle: divided by only 6.8 seconds
Tänak (Hyundai) and Rovamperä (Toyota) starred in a beautiful challenge on the edge of seconds from the start to the end of the Power Stage. The two drivers tried to push hard from the first few kilometers on Finland’s very fast dirt roads. Few mistakes, perhaps only a few details that however made the difference, allowing the Estonian driver to get on the top step of the podium and recover some points from a championship point of view, but not enough given that the local Rovamperä driver has already taken off in the standings conductors.
How did the race go
A few kilometers traveled by the young Solberg and his navigator Edmondson who, a few hundred meters away from the second round, end up off the road by overturning their Hyundai i20 N Rally1.
Twist on the second day of competition for Breen-Nagle in a Ford Puma Rally1 that in PS12 landed badly in a jump and tore a wheel. For them, the ambitions to bring home points from a championship point of view come to an end even if they still re-enter the race thanks to the super rally formula.
And, of great attention the adventure of Lappi and Ferm on the penultimate special stage, where they went on the roof with their Toyota Yaris Rally1, damaging it conspicuously both in terms of bodywork and mechanics, with the radiator leaking from the car. A fact that seriously questioned their participation in the last timed test, the Power Stage, useful for taking extra points in the championship. But, the crew managed to “save what can be saved” and, thanks to the advantage accumulated in the three groups, they took home an excellent third place overall in front of team mate Evans.