The 2024 edition of Rally Finland continues to provide a series of twists and turns, the latest of which involved Elfyn Evans.
On the 20.19-kilometre Special Stage 12 Paijala 1, the Welsh Toyota Gazoo Racing driver spun at kilometre 9 after exiting a left-hand bend. After reversing and returning to the correct direction, it was easy to see that the error was the result of a fault.
The No. 11 GR Yaris Rally1 that Evans shares with Scott Martin began to run on just two-wheel drive, a sign of a possible transmission failure. Up until that point, Evans was 1.9sec off the provisional best time of the stage. From there he lost almost a minute and a half.
Evans resumed his efforts to reach the finish, but with the help of only 2WD he lost so much that he slipped from second to fifth in the overall standings.
Sébastien Ogier – now second and first pursuer of Kalle Rovanpera – Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux took advantage of it, all moving up one place. Those who gain the most from this failure are Ogier and Neuville. The Belgian climbed into the podium zone and this means gaining points on both of his direct rivals for the world title, namely Ott Tanak, who retired yesterday after an accident, and Evans himself.
Elfyn has an additional problem. It is true that there is just one stage left until the end of the morning lap and, therefore, the mid-day Service where the team can fix the car, but it is the famous Ouninpohja 1 stage of 32.98 kilometers, the longest of the event. Evans will have to run it with only 2-wheel drive and will lose more minutes from the best.
Meanwhile, Kalle Rovanpera also won Special Stage 12, increasing his lead over Sébastien Ogier, his new main rival for the win. The gap between the two is 21.8 seconds. Neuville, on the other hand, is 17.9 seconds behind Ogier.
In WRC2, Jari-Matti Latvala won the stage and gained a few seconds on leader Oliver Solberg. The Norwegian from Skoda TokSport now has a 22.3″ advantage over the Finn, the closest pursuer. Mikko Heikkila, on the other hand, has just overtaken Robert Virves in the overall standings and is third, 16.9″ behind Latvala.
WRC 2024 – Rally Finland – Standings after SS12
| Pos. | Pilot/Navigator | Car | Time/Detachment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rovan pear / Halt | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 1h16’22”5 |
| 2 | Ogier/Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +21″8 |
| 3 | Neuville/Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +39″7 |
| 4 | Fourmaux/Coria | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | +1’07″7 |
| 5 | Evans/Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1’38”3 |
| 6 | Pajari/Malkonen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1’45″5 |
| 7 | Solberg/Edmondson | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +4’36″7 |
| 8 | Latvala/Hanninen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +4’59″0 |
| 9 | Heikkila/Temon | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +5’15″9 |
| 10 | Virves/Lesk | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +5’19″3 |
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