Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport Formula 1 has Monaco. Endurance racing has Le Mans. And rallying has Finland. The "Grand Prix on gravel", the "Rally of 1000 Lakes", the won they all want to win. In 2017, this on the edge, flat out roller-coaster ride of a rally marks the ninth of 13 rounds, with the championship fight closer than it has been for years.
Rally Finland and its special road characteristics has long been a place for the Scandinavian drivers to flex their muscles, with only six drivers not from Finland, Sweden or Norway taking the victory. Two of them start the rally next week, but I have reason to believe there will be a seventh name joining that elusive club next Sunday. Thierry Neuville is the man in question. Right in the thick of a championship battle with four-times champion Sebastien Ogier, each rally is becoming more and more vital in this most exciting of seasons. The Belgian is the one in form, having taken three wins in 2017 to Ogier's two including last time out in Poland, and by and large Neuville has been the man to beat on pure pace in this first year of the new-generation WRC car. Neuville and the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC have been a match made in heaven, whereas Ogier has taken time to adapt to his new weapon after VW's shock departure late last year. If it weren't for two catastrophic mistakes in Monte-Carlo and Sweden, Neuville may well have been streaking clear. But it could be argued he has benefited from being the hunter rather than the hunted. He heads to the spectacular Finnish jumps in the best possible shape, having been right up there on the two ultra-quick rounds in Sweden and Poland this year already, and after a comfortable win on last weekend's Auto Glym Rally in the Finnish forests on what was the first ever national rally for the i20 Coupe WRC. Ogier's preparation has been slightly less smooth, with a crash in testing that ruled Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen out of any decent pre-event practice. Is this a sign of things to come? Jari-Matti Latvala will be hoping so, as he seeks to gain the ground he lost in Poland where his Toyota Yaris WRC lost drive. Sweden and Finland have long been Latvala's strongest rounds of the World Rally Championship; one box has been ticked and Jari-Matti will be trying harder than ever to tick the second. The other man in the title fight periphery is Ott Tanak. He too lost ground in Poland when crashing out of the lead on the final day, but he is one of the quickest men out there so could be an outside bet for a second Estonian victory in Jyvaskyla. Hayden Paddon achieved his first podium in 12 months last time out in Poland, and will be looking to continue that form into Finland. Team mate Dani Sordo has slipped under the radar of late after the heroics of those around him, but holds fifth in the championship and has increased his gravel pace this year. Elfyn Evans is another to watch, in need of a good result, while home heroes Juho Hanninen, Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen will look to maintain their current promising form to uphold Finnish honour. Mads Ostberg heads to the forests with a new voice in his ear. Out has gone Ola Floene and in his place come two British Rally Championship stars. Oscar Solberg's right hand man Patrik Barth will join the Norwegian in Germnay but Fredrik Ahlin's co-driver Torstein Eriksen steps into the Fiesta RS WRC for Finland. Talk about a baptism of fire. Citroen Racing are one of the key talking points however as the WRC heads to Jyvaskyla. After their re-shuffle of drivers, Kris Meeke returns after missing Poland to the scene of his greatest triumph 12 months ago where he became the first Brit to win Rally Finland. The car has undergone a slight revamp, so it's now time to see what the Ulsterman can do back behind the wheel. Stephane Lefebvre and Craig Breen will partner him, with the former having "the best rally of his career" on round eight while the latter returns to the event that gave him his maiden WRC podium. All three may prove to be ones to watch. But all eyes will be on the battle out front. With just 11 points in it and a gap of 7 between first and second that can rise with Power Stage points equated, the championship lead could very feasibly change hands after Finland. It's all to play for, and it's going to be staged in the most dramatic setting of them all.
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WRCArticles covering the World Rally Championship Archives
January 2018
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