Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier mastered torrential rain to lead Rally Finland as changeable weather shook up the order at the end of an eventful Friday.
The reigning world champion, partnered by stand-in co-driver Julien Ingrassia, emerged from the treacherous conditions with a 16.3-second lead over championship leader Elfyn Evans.
“It’s been a very good day,” said Ogier. “It was very tricky this afternoon and probably not so enjoyable for anybody, but it’s good that we managed to come out of it.”
In their first start together since 2021, Ogier and Ingrassia quickly rediscovered their rhythm. They won three of the four morning gravel stages, held in dry conditions, to build a 5.3-second lead over Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux.
Teams had expected rain to arrive but nobody could predict the ferocity of the showers more reminiscent of Safari Rally Kenya than Rally Finland.
Ogier extended his lead by one tenth on stage six, Laukaa 2, as Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari moved 0.3 seconds clear of Fourmaux in second.
By the next stage the heavens opened but it was those at the top of the order that faced the best of the conditions. Unfortunately for Fourmaux, the Hyundai driver caught the rain at its worst and lost 1m29.8s, which dropped him out of podium contention.
Ogier completed the test only 4.4 seconds slower than stage winner Evans, although his advantage over Pajari was reduced to 3.3 seconds. The stage win for Evans catapulted the Welshman from fifth to third overall.
The rain continued as crews headed to stage eight but it was there that Ogier’s lead grew to 26.1s, when his nearest rival Pajari struggled in the conditions and lost 34.1 seconds, allowing Evans to climb into second.
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Federico Manoni / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Ogier opted for a safety-first approach in the final two stages of the day and was happy to cede time to Evans, who closed the gap to 16.3s as the crews headed to service.
“The morning wasn’t bad from our side, but the afternoon was a bit of a lottery,” said Evans. “We had it better on the second stage of the loop, but then probably had the worst of it on the next. I’m happy to get through it.”
Rally Estonia winner Pajari held onto third (+26.7s) but was forced to look over his shoulder with only a 14.6s margin over Oliver Solberg.
“We lost the game for the win on that one stage,” said Pajari. “The blower wasn’t working and we didn’t realise it, so we had full mist on the windscreen. It’s a big shame, but we are still fighting for the podium.”
Solberg struggled for speed in the morning but in the afternoon there was a clear improvement. A second-fastest time in stage six closed the gap to the lead down to 9.6s. But the Swede was among those who faced the worst of the rain in stage seven and dropped almost a minute. The conditions were so severe that water poured inside the car from the air vent. Solberg claimed stage eight with a stunning time before ending the day very much in the hunt for a podium, 41.3s from the lead.
M-Sport-Ford’s Martins Sesks was among those to make ground across the afternoon as the Latvian rose from seventh to fifth, 19.1s ahead of the luckless Fourmaux.
Joshua McErlean, Eoin Treacy, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1
Photo by: M-Sport
“The afternoon was not so easy, it is clear. We went from second to sixth in one stage. It is very bad but the rain was incredible and I could not see 20 metres in front of the car. I needed a boat, not a car. I tried my best but the time flew and it is impossible to catch it back,” said Fourmaux.
Josh McErlean ended the day in seventh, 1.7s in front of Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, who endured a difficult day. Katusta battled understeer and oversteer in the morning before a misted-up windscreen in the wet stage eight cost the Japanese more than two minutes.
Friday featured two Rally1 retirements. M-Sport’s Jon Armstrong clipped an object with the rear-right of his Ford Puma Rally1 and bounced into a ditch on stage three. The Northern Irishman will rejoin the rally on Saturday.
Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi lost the rear of the car in stage four and ran into a ditch that pitched his i20 N Rally1 into a roll. While 2017 Rally Finland winner Lappi and co-driver Enni Mälkönen were unhurt, the car’s roll-cage damage was too severe to repair.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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