Sarah Rumeau and Pablo Sarrazin already on Finnish time

Accompanied by Julie Amblard and Yannick Roche, the two French drivers will have the opportunity to get an idea of the difficulty of the Nordic roads during the HYAcenter Ralli which will take place this weekend (July 25-26). The C3 Rally2 crews will thus begin the Rally Finland (July 31-August 3) with a useful first experience.

Published 22/07/2025 à 12:30

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Sarah Rumeau and Pablo Sarrazin already on Finnish time

Sarah Rumeau and Pablo Sarazin will discover the joys of Finnish roads (Photo: Quentin Ribaud/DPPI)

Based in the city of Tampere, which is 150 km southwest of Jyväskylä (and 180 km northwest of the capital Helsinki), the rally HYAcenter is the ideal event to prepare for the one in Finland in WRC. Although the name has changed several times in recent years depending on the main sponsor (Rally Chanel Four in 1998, AutoGlym in 2016 and HYAcenter since 2023), what remains is the regular presence of competitors coming to practice before the World Cup. Carlos Sainz for example, won there in 1997 in his Escort WRC. A few years later, Marcus Grönholm won with the 206 WRC (2000) before Thierry Neuville does not enter his name in the prize list in 2017 with his Hyundai i20.

This year, Rally1 crews are not expected to be on the program, but a last-minute non-classification entry is always possible. However, several among the recreational championships have chosen to stop in Tampere during their peregrination to Jyväskylä. This will be the case for Sarah Rumeau and Pablo Sarrazin who are competing in WRC2 this season. The Iron Dames driver and the young Iron Lynx driver will have the excellent opportunity to familiarize themselves with the specific Finnish roads. Both have just competed in several rounds in the world championship (Portugal, Sardinia, Acropolis) and they also raced in the Land of Discovery where Sarrazin won (Sarah, 4^e). Finland will be another different experience with its very fast paths and curves where you have to know how to slide, but not too much to achieve a fluid rhythm.

"I have heard a lot of things about the roads in this country, explains Rumeau. As has been the case in our other WRC appearances, it's always best to form your own opinion. We're delighted to be able to rack up some miles on this terrain before the big one next week.. » The HYA has the advantage of taking place with a condensed schedule. Reconnaissance will be possible between 9:00 a.m. and 17:00 p.m. on Friday, July 25, before the possibility of carrying out a test session. The race will take place on Saturday. 6 SS are on the program (3 to be contested twice) for a total of 2 km timed.

In addition to the two Sarrazin Motorsport crews, Jan Cerny (C3), Eamonn Kelly (Fiesta Rally3) and Ali Türkkan (Fiesta Rally3) will also be at the start.