WRC - Rally Finland - Preview

Sport news The FIA World Rally Championship resumes after a six-week break with Rally Finland (August 1-4), round nine of the 2019 season and one of rallying’s most demanding events.
Part of the WRC schedule since the inaugural season in 1973, the event was formerly known as the ‘1000 Lakes Rally’ and is famed for its fast and smooth gravel roads, which test both the bravery of the drivers and the performance of their machines. Co-drivers also play a crucial role on the rally, as accurate pace-notes are vital for the crew to carry maximum speed on the stages lined with numerous jumps and crests.
With six events to go, the fight for the drivers’ championship remains intense. Ott Tänak, who took an impressive win in Finland 12 months ago, is at the top of the 2019 standings since the last event in Sardinia. But the Toyota driver only holds a very slim margin over his closest rivals: Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) is just four points behind him with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville only three points further back.
Elfyn Evans, currently fourth in the overall classification, will miss Finland while he recovers from a back injury sustained in the recent Rally Estonia – a round of the European Rally Trophy’s Baltic series which took place mid-July. His place among the top-class contenders will be taken by WRC 2 Pro regular Gus Greensmith, who will get a second outing in the Ford Fiesta WRC, following an encouraging debut in Portugal. Also joining the M-Sport line-up as an additional third entry for Finland is Hayden Paddon. The New Zealander is making his first WRC appearance this season, just like Craig Breen, who makes his debut for the Hyundai team alongside Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen.
A native of the rally’s host city Jyväskylä, Finland’s young gun Kalle Rovanperä will be out to add to his FIA WRC2 Pro championship lead on his home event. Škoda Motorsport enters an all-Finnish line-up with Eerik Pietarinen driving a second Fabia R5 Evo. M-Sport meanwhile gives a WRC debut to its new Ford Fiesta R5 with the Frenchman Eric Camilli at the wheel.
Camilli’s fellow compatriot Pierre-Louis Loubet heads the FIA WRC 2 entry after back-to-back wins in Portugal and Sardinia, and upgrades to the latest-specification Škoda for Finland. The Corsican will face tough competition with the fast young Finns Jari Huttunen and Emil Lindholm, Russia’s Nikolay Gryazin, as well as Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta.
Rally Finland is the fourth round of five in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship, with Spaniard Jan Solans leading the standings. Debutant Sami Pajari will be one of the youngsters to watch as the latest product of the Flying Finn Future Star initiative.
 
THE 2019 ROUTE
This year’s Rally Finland route features only small changes to the 2018 itinerary. The traditional mixed-surface Harju test kicks off the action in Jyväskylä on Thursday evening, before a total of 10 stages on Friday, held mostly to the west. Saturday features a return of the Leustu stage - last run in 2014 - in a marathon day that totals 132.98 kilometers. Two passes of the Laukaa and Ruuhimäki tests provide an exciting finale on Sunday.
 
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
The Accreditation Centre is located at Original Sokos Hotel Alexandra (Hannikaisenkatu 35, 40100 Jyväskylä).
The opening hours are:
Tuesday 30 July: 14:00 - 20:00 Wednesday 31 July: 09:00 - 22:00 Thursday 1 August: 08:00 - 20:00 Friday 2 August: 06:30 - 13:00
The Media Center is located at Jyväskylä Paviljonki (Messukatu 10, 40100 Jyväskylä).
 
2019 RALLY FINLAND TIMETABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES ORGANISED BY THE FIA



Wednesday 31 July
 


Mandatory media safety briefing, Photographers’ Room, Media Center
17:00 hrs


 
 


Thursday 1 August 
 


Mandatory shakedown for P1 & P2P, Vesala
09:00 - 10:30 hrs


Shakedown for all Priority drivers (P1, P2P, P2, P3), Vesala
10:30 - 12:00 hrs


Shakedown (others), Vesala
12:00 - 13:30 hrs


‘Meet the Crews’ Top 3 Shakedown, Michelin stage, Jyväskylä SP
13:00 hrs


FIA Press Conference, Press Room, Media Center, Rally HQ, Jyväskylä SP
13:30 hrs


Photo-shoot “family photo” P1 crews, meet at Media Center, Jyväskylä SP
14:40


“WRC Drivers Meet the Kids” – Karting track at WRC Plaza, Jyväskylä SP
14:00 – 15:30 hrs


Start of the rally (section 1), Jyväskylä SP
18:37 hrs


 
 


Friday 2 August
 


First car arrives for regroup, media zone & service, Jyväskylä SP
13:41 hrs


First car arrives for regroup, media zone & final service, Jyväskylä SP
20:20 hrs


‘Meet the Crews’ post-Leg 1, Michelin stage, Jyväskylä SP
During the 45’ service


 
 


Saturday 3 August
 


First car arrives for regroup, media zone & service, Jyväskylä SP
12:37 hrs


First car arrives for media zone, regroup & final service, Jyväskylä SP
19:37 hrs


‘Meet the Crews’ post-Leg 2, Michelin stage, Jyväskylä SP
During the 45’ service


 
 


Sunday 4 August
 


Regroup, Ruuhimäki
09:53 hrs


Rally finish, Jyväskylä SP
14:31 hrs


Podium Ceremony & Price Giving, Jyväskylä SP
16:00 hrs


FIA Press Conference, Press Room, Media Center, Jyväskylä SP
16:45 hrs







 
FIA PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE



Thursday 1 August
FIA WRC 


 
Sébastien OGIER (FRA), Citroen Total ERT


 
Jari-Matti LATVALA (FIN), Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT


 
Craig BREEN (IRL), Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT


 
Haydden PADDON (NZL), M-Sport Ford WRT


 
FIA WRC 2 PRO 


 
Kalle ROVANPERÄ (FIN), Skoda Motorsport


 
Eric CAMILLI (FRA), M-Sport Ford WRT


 
FIA WRC 2


 
Jari HUTTUNEN (FIN)


 
Pierre-Louis LOUBET (FRA)


 
FIA JUNIOR WRC


 
Roland POOM (EST)


 
Sami PAJARI (FIN)


 
 


Sunday 4 August
Winning FIA WRC 2 Pro Championship crew


 
Winning FIA WRC 2 Championship crew


 
Winning FIA Junior WRC Championship crew


 
Top three crews in the overall classification


 
Representative of the winning manufacturer







 
MANUFACTURER WRC ENTRIES, 2019 WRC RALLY FINLAND



Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT
Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (#11)


 
Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger-Amland (#89)


 
Craig Breen / Paul Nagle (#42)


 
 


Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (#8)


 
Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall (#5)


 
Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila (#10)


 
 


Citroën Total WRT
Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (#1)


 
Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (#4)


 
 


M-Sport Ford WRT
Teemu Suninen / Jarmo Lehtinen (#3)


 
Hayden Paddon / John Kennard (#20)


 
Gus Greensmith / Elliott Edmondson (#33)*


 
*replacing Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin







 
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS
The provisional classifications for all the WRC Championships is available on the following link: https://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-championship/season-2019/standings World Rally Championship
Rally Finland WRC SEASON 2019 Sport Rallies 1SportWorld Rally ChampionshipRalliesWRCSEASON 2019Rally Finland01 Thursday, July 25, 2019 - 3:41pm Thursday, July 25, 2019 - 3:41pm