Day 1
Ott Tänak grabbed an early lead at Secto Rally Finland after winning Thursday evening’s Harju super special stage in the centre of host city Jyväskylä.
Kalle Rovanperä made it an even spread of manufacturers inside the top three but the Jyväskylä local was lucky not to drop more than 0.7sec when he clipped a kerb with his Toyota GR Yaris’s rear-right wheel.
Esapekka Lappi, winner here in 2017, brought his Hyundai home a second further back in fourth overall while Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five in another Toyota.
He trailed Lappi by a single tenth and outpaced sixth-placed Pierre-Louis Loubet by 2.2sec.
Day 2
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.
He was reeling off five consecutive benchmark times in a Toyota GR Yaris and increasing his lead over 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.
It was a day to forget for M-Sport as both of their cars suffered mechanical issues. It was later confirmed that Tänak would not restart the rally furthering his championship chances.
Day 3
Elfyn Evans made major strides towards his second Secto Rally Finland triumph with a masterful attack through Saturday’s penultimate leg.
He was fastest on seven out of eight gravel road stages in the lightning-fast Finnish forests to transform what started as a 6.9sec buffer into a commanding 32.1sec stronghold in a Toyota GR Yaris, leaving Hyundai i20 N rival Thierry Neuville trailing in his wake.
Katsuta dropped behind Hyundai’s Teemu Suninen after spinning in Päijälä but reclaimed the final podium spot in SS15. He yielded the position again in the following test but surged back in front by posting a benchmark time through the Vekkula finale. The pair were split by 6.4sec at close of play.
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala was fifth, two minutes further back. The 38-year-old, who is making his first WRC start since February 2020, overshot a junction in SS17 but relished the chance to drive on his home roads.
Day 4
Evans could do nothing wrong on the final day as he cruised to victory. He helped his championship further by also claiming the power stage win as well.
The gap between himself and Rovanpera is now down to 25pts. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville came home in second while Takamoto Katsuta, also driving a Toyota, completed the podium positions after have an almighty fight with Hyundai’s Teemu Suninen.
Toyota team boss Jari-Matti Latvala finished fifth. His best WRC finish since Spain 2019. Oliver Solberg takes WRC2 top honours and sixth overall.
The rest of the top 10 was covered by Sami Pajri, Adrien Fourmaux, Nikolay Gryazin & Andreas Mikkelsen.
