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Tänak triumphs in the land of the Flying Finns
29/07/2018
The 2018 Rally Finland saw Estonia’s Ott Tänak steer his Toyota Yaris WRC/Michelin to a resounding victory ahead of Norwegian rival Mads Ostberg (Citroën/Michelin) and Finn Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota/Michelin). The championship’s pacesetters Thierry Neuville (Hyundai/Michelin) and Sébastien Ogier (Ford/Michelin) were fifth and ninth respectively.
The hordes of Estonian rally fans who made the short trip across the Gulf of Finland to follow Round 8 of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship (the two nations are separated by as little as 52km at their closest points) were treated to an assertive win by their national hero, Ott Tänak.
The combination of Rally Finland’s notoriously high average speeds (in excess of 130kph in places), exceptionally hot weather (ground temperatures up to 40°C) and new, stony stages put the brand new medium-compound LTX Force M6 to a challenging test. It rose to the challenge in style, however, to provide the world’s rally stars with a winning cocktail of strength, grip, durability and performance on the event’s unique stages.
As in Argentina earlier in the year, and despite having to run third on the road on Day 1, Tänak dominated from start to finish to claim 12 fastest times from 23 and become the second Estonian to win in Finland after Markko Märtin who notched up Michelin’s 200
Ostberg (Citroën C3 WRC/Michelin) and Latvala (Toyota Yaris WRC/Michelin) starred in an enthralling scrap for second place which ended in the Norwegian’s favour by a margin of just 2.8 seconds.
There was another a thrilling scrap in their wake between last year’s Rally Finland victor Esapekka Lappi (Toyota/Michelin) and New Zealander Hayden Paddon. Fourth spot ultimately went to the Hyundai/Michelin driver after the Finnish youngster crashed out on Sunday morning.
Lappi’s retirement allowed Ogier to secure fifth place ahead of Ford/Michelin team-mates Teemu Suninen and Elfyn Evans. The Frenchman’s big rival for the 2018 crown – Thierry Neuville (Hyundai/Michelin), who was forced to perform ‘road-sweeping’ duty on Friday – had to settle for ninth. The Belgian nevertheless continues to top the Drivers’ standings with a 21-point cushion.
In WRC2, Michelin was beaten on dirt for the first time since Sardinia 2015 following late problems for the class’s long-time pace-setters, Skoda Motorsport’s Ole-Christian Veiby (crash) and Kalle Rovanperä (suspension).