Elfyn Evans scores memorable victory in Finland

The Scandinavians could do nothing against the flying Welshman, Elfyn Evans (Toyota). The vice-world rally champion (WRC) 2020 became the second Briton to register his name in the list of legendary Rally from Finland this Sunday, October 3, thanks to piloting free of any errors.

" That feels good ! I had a lot of trouble in Estonia. We made a lot of changes to the car afterwards during private testing, and it benefited me. I took advantage of my advantageous road position during the first stage. I immediately felt confident.

My goal is to achieve the best possible result in all the rounds at the end of the season. We will try to do the same thing in Catalonia. »

Hyundai must be satisfied with the other two places on the podium. Ott Tänak kept in touch until the start of the last stage, and never completely caught up with Elfyn Evans. As for Craig Breen, leader on the evening of the first stage, his racing pace dropped significantly on Saturday; pragmatic, he focused on securing his third position against a supercharged Esapekka Lappi for his first WRC rally with a Rally 1 (4th).

Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) could cherish the dream of being crowned in Finland, but the Frenchman will have to wait at least until Catalonia. The Gapençais was never in contention for the win, and a one-minute penalty for an unfastened helmet took away any hope of finishing better than fifth. Finally, the small hope of scoring points during the Power Stage quickly disappeared, the fault of an engine shutdown.

Adrien fourmaux for his part, sees the arrival of his first Rally Finland with the Ford Fiesta WRC and his new co-driver Alexandre Coria. With the added bonus of a perfectly executed 68 meter jump! “The goal was to finish this rally. I took in as much new information as possible for me. I'm happy not to have made a big mistake and to bring the car back in good condition. »

In WRC2, Teemu Suninen (Volkswagen) achieved undeniable success. The Finn, down one floor and behind the wheel of a private car, smiles again after leaving M-Sport Ford at the end of the Ypres Rally this summer. " I am happy ! I changed a lot of things for this rally, the team and the car. It's good to win here, I gave everything to achieve this result. I will return to WRC2 at the Rally de Catalunya in two weeks with Hyundai Motorsport. » Mads Ostberg (Citroën) finished second.

Final general classification:

Driver Ranking:

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Find in the next AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands, the analysis of the WRC in Finland by our special correspondent.