INDIA in F1

Tag: Rally Finland

  • WRC – Evans takes lead; Rovanpera rolls out: Rally Finland

    WRC – Evans takes lead; Rovanpera rolls out: Rally Finland

    Elfyn Evans was catapulted into the lead of Secto Rally Finland when team-mate Kalle Rovanperä’s golden streak came to an abrupt halt during Friday’s opening leg.

    Home hero Rovanperä, who carried a commanding 55-point lead into this ninth FIA World Rally Championship round, reeled off five consecutive benchmark times in a Toyota GR Yaris and headed chasing colleague Evans by 5.7sec approaching the day’s seventh stage in Myhinpää.

    But a rare mistake 11.1km after the start brought a disastrous end to the defending world champion’s day when he lost control of his GR Yaris and rolled end-over-end. Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen emerged from the wreckage unscathed despite the force of the impact being strong enough to tear a rear wheel from the car.

    Evans, currently second in the points, inherited the top spot from his stranded team-mate and negotiated the remaining two stages error-free to head Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville by a mere 6.9sec overnight.

    “Overall it’s been an okay day,” said Evans, who was frustrated to give away 2.8sec to Neuville in the Harju finale. “We’re pretty happy overall and obviously we’ve still got a lot of driving to do tomorrow.”

    Mistakes were punished brutally on central Finland’s superfast gravel roads and Rovanperä wasn’t the only victory contender to come unstuck. His Hyundai-driving compatriot Esapekka Lappi crashed into a tree in SS4 whilst running fourth overall.

    Ott Tänak, leader after Thursday’s evening’s super special stage in Jyväskylä city centre, retired his Puma in SS3 with terminal engine failure and his M-Sport Ford partner Pierre-Louis Loubet crashed in the same test.

    Neuville’s day wasn’t without drama, either. The Belgian reported a lack of rear traction early in the day and struggled for visibility under scattered rain showers on multiple occasions. He headed Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, who won the opening stage, by 9.5sec at close of play.

    In fourth overall and within reaching distance of the podium was Teemu Suninen. The Finn is contesting his second rally aboard an i20 N Rally1 and trailed Katsuta by 12.4sec after building his speed throughout the day.

    Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala rounded out the top five on his first WRC start since 2020. Behind him was Jari Huttunen, who led WRC2 in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 after leapfrogging Sami Pajari when the youngster suffered tyre damage in the penultimate stage.

    Toksport WRT2’s Nikolay Gryazin, Oliver Solberg, both in a Škoda Fabia RS,  and Adrien Fourmaux in an M-Sport Ford-entered Fiesta MkII, complete the top 10 going into Saturday, host to the rally’s longest leg with eight special stages totalling 160.68km.

    Benjamin Korhola heads the WRC3 class, ahead of fellow countryman Jesse Kallio (+32.0) and Turkey’s Ali Türkkan, almost two minutes behind, all in Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars.

  • Team MRF Tyres wins in Finnish rally

    Team MRF Tyres wins in Finnish rally

    (Finland), 19 June 2021: Team MRF Tyres has taken victory in the Ralli SM – the Finnish Rally Championship with Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen winning the Pohjanmaa Ralli in their Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. This was against strong competition from the global leaders Pirelli and Michelin.

    The Pohjanmaa Ralli is the fourth round of the Finnish Championship and this win is the first for MRF Tyres in the Finnish Rally Championship and comes on the back of multiple podium finishes for Lindholm and Hämäläinen.

    The Pohjanmaa Ralli challenged the crews to eight stages and 121.78km of fast gravel stages.

    Over the first leg Lindhoom and Hämäläinen lay in fifth position. With 30km of stages completed, it was evident that the rally would be tight and fast.

    The second leg would see three stages and over 48km of competitive action. These three stages were repeated in the third loop.

    Lindholm and Hämäläinen were immediately on the pace for Team MRF Tyres.

    They took the stage win on SS3 and SS5 and second on SS4 to rise through the ranks to second place.

    A titanic battle would emerge between the MRF Tyres crew and Mikko Heikkilä / Topi Luhtinen.

    On SS6, the 19.32km Hirvijärvi test, Lindholm set a time of 10:05.4, to take the stage win and move into the lead of the rally – by just 2.3 seconds.

    He built on his lead in SS7, taking the second fastest stage time and increasing his lead by 1.1 seconds.

    The pressure was on in the final stage. With no room for error, he took the stage win. On the 7.64 km Haasoja stage, he set a time of 4:14.9 to take the stage win and seal the victory.

    MRF Tyres’ first win in the ultra-competitive Finnish Championship comes on the back of MRF Tyres first win in the Italian Gravel Championship.

    It demonstrates the dedication and commitment of MRF Tyres to developing the next generation of tyres for top-line rally.

    For Lindholm, it is his second year with MRF Tyres and has played a vital role in the development of the tyres.

    The team will not rest and the development of the tyres will continue. 

    With two podiums and a victory in the Finnish Rally Championship this year, Team MRF Tyres are in the fight and has proven fast and reliable on different surfaces in tough competition.

    For Team MRF Tyres, the team will be out in Italy next weekend for the San Marino Rally, the third round of the Italian Rally Championship – Gravel. 

    Next for Lindholm and Hämäläinen is the Oulu Ralli which takes place in September.

    Quotes

    Emil Lindholm, winner, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo

    “It is amazing to win here in Pohjanmaa Ralli. This result shows the pace of development from the entire team at Team MRF Tyres and we should all be proud of our work.

    “Coming into the weekend, I was aiming for a good result but never dreamt of a victory. But the car and the tyres felt great all weekend. This rally is very fast, with some stages having an average speed of more than 120km/h. Today, we took four stage wins and two-second places. It is a great result.”

    “We have shown that the tyre is competitive in Finland and I am proud to take MRF Tyres first win here, in what is such a competitive championship. Though we will continue to push the development of the tyres to make sure we can win again in the future. Now we, and the whole team will celebrate this achievement.”