WRC - Will the Finns be the masters of WRC2 at home?

Within a large list, locals constitute almost half of the workforce. If several candidates stand out, they will have to deal with Olivier Solberg, Fergus Greensmith, Robert Virves and perhaps Pierre-Louis Loubet.

Published 30/07/2024 à 10:54

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Rally Finland – Will the Finns be the masters of WRC2 at home?

After his success in Latvia, Olivier Solberg wants to increase his lead in the championship (Photo: Nikos Katikis)

With 30 cars announced out of a total of 79, WRC2 once again plays an important role in the size of the field. It is also very tough and should offer an additional center of interest with around ten drivers able to aim for the podium in this category.

For the victory, the Finnish contingent was spectacular. In the absence of Sami Pajari who will compete in the Yaris Rally1, several of them have pretensions. Considering the last races, Mikko Heikkilä (Yaris, 2^e in Latvia), Lauri Joona (Fabia) or Roope Korhonen (Yaris) should find themselves at the forefront. Experiencing a difficult time with their Hyundai i20 Rally2, Emil Lindholm and Teemu Suninen will try to save their season. Finally, Jari-Matti Latvala is an unknown. Will the TGR boss be able to compete with the young people? The question arises all the more since it will not only be Finns who will want to hang JML's emerging tonsure on their hunting board.

Brilliant during the rally from Estonia to ERC, Georg Linnamäe (Yaris, winner) and Robert Virves (Fabia, 2^e) will they manage to beat their neighbors? The latter remains on a nice 3^e place in Poland and he would like to extend the series in Finland. On the British side, if Irishman Josh McErlean (Fabia) manages to avoid mistakes (outing in Poland and Latvia), he could create a surprise. Fergus Greensmith (Fabia) urgently needs points. After preparation which went through Latvia and the HYAcenter Ralli in Finland, he must improve his situation. At the moment it is 11^e with 59 lengths behind the leader of the competition, but he only recorded 3 results. Isolated in the tricolor clan, Pierre-Louis Loubet (Fabia) probably no longer has much hope for the title (20^e with 10 points after 3 rallies), but he will seek to showcase himself on roads where he enjoys driving.

The Finns' most serious rival will ultimately be the current WRC2 leader. Oliver Solberg (Fabia) did not make the same mistake as last year. In 2023, he dominated the Rally2 category, but chose not to score points. This time, he intends to add a 2^e success in a row after that of Latvia. This would allow him to increase his lead over Pajari and Yohan Rossel (C3). The Frenchman will be present, but just to gain experience.

With its classic format, the Rally Finland offers 20 special stages totaling 305,69 km timed.

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