Sebastien Ogier claimed his third World Rally Championship victory of the season after long-time Rally Finland leader Kalle Rovanpera rolled out, denying him a home win in a brutal rally.
Eight-time world champion Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais produced a strong drive throughout a demanding Rally Finland affected by changeable weather to seal a 61st career win by 40.1s from championship leader Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, with M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux third 1m14.1s behind Ogier.
While Ogier briefly held the rally lead after stage two on Friday, the event was dominated by two-time world champion Rovanpera who set his sights on becoming the first Finn to win the rally since Jari-Matti Latvala’s triumph in 2015.
Rovanpera snatched the rally lead from Ogier on stage three before then losing it to team-mate Elfyn Evans on the next test as crews faced challenging wet conditions. However, Rovanpera wrestled back the advantage on stage five to lead by 0.2s.
However, once ahead Rovanpera didn’t look back, moving into an eight-second lead over Evans with Ogier 0.6s further back at the end of Friday. On Saturday, Rovanpera left his rivals behind winning five of the six stages including two passes through the famous Ouninpohja stage that made its return after a seven-year hiatus. Rovanpera’s second pass smashed the stage record previously held by Kris Meeke by 23.9s.
A driveshaft failure and lengthy midday service repair that incurred a 2m40s penalty put Evans out of the victory fight and the Saturday points-paying positions. This elevated Ogier, who opted not to attack, into second, 44.2s behind the dominant Rovanpera, who provisionally claimed 18 points for topping Saturday ahead of Ogier [15 points] and Neuville [10 points].
Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
However, the rally was turned on its head on Sunday. Rovanpera had extended his lead over Ogier out to 45.8s after winning the first two morning stages, but drama struck the Finn on the penultimate stage when he clipped a rock in the road which pitched his GR Yaris into a roll and out of the rally. It was the second year in succession Rovanpera had rolled out of the lead at Rally Finland.
The accident occurred moments after Evans crashed on the first corner of the same stage which left the WRC title contender without any points after missing out on the top 10 at the end of…
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