Rovanperä leads Toyota hat-trick in Finland, Pajari impresses at home

Everything is going well for Toyota in Finland after ten specials: Rovanperä dominates his national rally ahead of Evans and Ogier, while Pajari created a sensation by taking his first special victory in the WRC. At Hyundai, on the other hand, things are grimacing after the retirements of Tänak and Lappi...

Published on 02/08/2024 à 19:34

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Toyota may well be a Japanese brand, in WRC, the team is certainly as Finnish as it is Japanese! A stone's throw from its base in Jyväskylä, the three-time reigning world champion team dominates the debates at the end of the day on Friday by monopolizing the first three places in the Rally from Finland.
After ten stages, Kalle Rovanperä leads the way ahead of his two teammates, Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier. The Finn, who is chasing a first success at home, has a lead of 8″0 over the Welshman and 8″6 over the Frenchman, which promises a great three-way battle for victory this weekend. The double world champion, imperial at the start of the afternoon, does not yet have the cushion necessary to manage his lead...
Beyond the general classification, Toyota can also rejoice in the performances of its young nugget: in difficulty this morning with damage to his Yaris, Sami Pajari was able to express his talent this afternoon with a first victory of special in the premier category during SS9! At 22 years, 8 months and one day, Sami Pajari became the 10th youngest driver to win a WRC special stage victory!

SAMIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 🥳#WRC | #SectoRallyFinland 🇫🇮 pic.twitter.com/NyljsJU7O3

— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) August 2, 2024

If everything is going well at Toyota in Finland, at Hyundai, we look gloomy. Two of the three i20 N Rally1, those ofOtt Tänak and Esapekka Lappi, were on the mat from this first day. The Estonian will not leave this weekend, his teammate Martin Järveoja having remained under observation in hospital. The only survivor of this nightmarish day for the Korean clan, Thierry Neuville saved the furniture by finishing the day in 4th place, 25″5 behind the leader. The Belgian was able to take advantage of the rain to erase the handicap of his opening position on the track.
Far from Toyotas, M-Sport is very (too) discreet in Finland. Adrien fourmaux experienced a two-speed day: a complicated morning, the fault of a lack of testing in Finland before the rally, and a more convincing afternoon with his Ford Puma with better settings. The Northerner finished this first day in 5th place, but lost out in the fight for the podium.
In WRC2, Oliver Solberg still leads the way with a 21-second lead ahead of an impressive Jari-Matti Latvala, who set two fastest times this Friday aboard the Toyota Yaris Rally2!