Adrien Fourmaux has taken the lead in the Rally Finland after dominating the first stage of the iconic World Rally Championship event in its 75th anniversary edition. The Hyundai driver exhibited great superiority on the technical layout of the Harju super special, clocking a time 1.1 seconds faster than his teammate Thierry Neuville.
Fourmaux expressed his satisfaction with the result: “I tried to optimize everything. Last year, the differences were very tight in the long stages, and we lost more in the short ones. I tried to improve in that aspect”.
Neuville, who is seeking his first victory in Finland, has reported a good feeling behind the wheel of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1. The current world champion of 2024 hopes this edition will be the fastest: “I am always motivated. It’s not easy to win here. There are many new stages and I believe this is the fastest Rally Finland I have ever seen”.
In third place was Sébastien Ogier from Toyota Gazoo Racing, who finished just 0.1 seconds behind Neuville. Ogier was joined by Julien Ingrassia, who is participating in his first WRC rally since 2021. Ingrassia joined the team following a last-minute call to replace Vincent Landais, who is absent for personal reasons.
Ogier expressed his gratitude: “I’m happy that Julien is with me once again, but throughout the week, we will have Vincent with us. We will do our best”.
The championship leader, Elfyn Evans, matched Ogier’s time, leaving the two Toyota drivers in a tie that did not allow for any discounts in the trial. Takamoto Katsuta, fifth in the standings and second in the championship, was 1.8 seconds off the best time, edging out Sami Pajari by just 0.1 seconds. Pajari, a recent winner of his first WRC rally in Estonia, commented on the challenge of the trial: “It’s a complicated and special layout. I’ve tried to set a good time, but it’s not easy. I’m ready for action tomorrow morning”.
Oliver Solberg finished seventh, acknowledging some understeer issues and minor mistakes, while Esapekka Lappi, eager to deliver a better performance in his home round, stated that he has prepared intensively: “I have worked hard on my notes, it’s the most intense preparation I’ve had for this rally”.
The ten-driver line-up was completed by Jon Armstrong and WRC2 leader Robert Virves.
On Friday, the first full day of competition will kick off with two runs of the stages in Laukaa, Saarikas, Sydänmaa, and Hoho, totaling 127.94 kilometers of competition.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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