WRC – Rovanperä tops TGR sweep as lightning strikes twice for Hyundai in Finland

Kalle Rovanperä stands on the verge of a historic home victory after leading Toyota Gazoo Racing to a 1-2-3-4-5 sweep at Rally Finland on Saturday.

The Finn completed the rally’s penultimate leg with a commanding 34.6sec advantage following a dramatic afternoon that saw Hyundai’s championship contenders suffer identical heartbreak. Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux both tumbled from podium positions after front-right tyre deflations struck on the same stage, handing Toyota complete control of the leaderboard.

Rovanperä had earlier overcome his own deflation drama on the morning’s Päijälä stage to reach midday service with a 14.7sec lead over Neuville, with Fourmaux just three-tenths further back. But lightning struck twice for Hyundai when both drivers suffered identical failures on the afternoon’s repeated run through Västilä, plummeting to sixth and seventh respectively.

Victory on Sunday would deliver Rovanperä’s maiden home triumph, though the 24-year-old knows the job isn’t finished. He and co-driver Jonne Halttunen rolled from the lead on the penultimate stage here last season and must safely navigate two passes of the daunting Ouninpohja test before claiming the silverware.

“It’s quite a big day for the team,” Rovanperä said. “I just tried to keep a good pace. Obviously there was no need to take any crazy risks but I still wanted to go fast so that I have the feeling for tomorrow morning, because I have the feeling we need to go quite fast tomorrow. It’s going to be a big day.”

Takamoto Katsuta inherited second place from the Hyundai misfortune and stands to celebrate his best result since February’s Rally Sweden. However, the Japanese driver faces pressure from eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier, who sits just 6.8sec behind in third. Ogier himself holds only a 1.5sec cushion over team-mate Elfyn Evans, with Sami Pajari completing Toyota’s remarkable top-five lockout.

Evans is poised to reclaim the championship lead with current points leader Ott Tänak languishing outside the top ten. A five-minute penalty after an incident involving a scrutineer on Friday has left the Hyundai-driving Estonian targeting only Super Sunday and Wolf Power Stage points.

Neuville and Fourmaux now find themselves in damage limitation mode, sitting more than a minute behind Pajari with 24.0sec separating the frustrated Hyundai pair.

“Tomorrow we are going to try and take some points, but obviously any good result and any hope for the championship is basically gone,” Neuville reflected. “We needed a good result here, and we won’t get any.”

M-Sport Ford’s Mārtinš Sesks endured his own drama when rain-induced windscreen fogging forced a two-minute roadside stop on SS15. The delay dropped the Latvian to 10th behind Puma Rally1 team-mates Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster.

Sunday’s finale centres around the legendary Ouninpohja stage, which opens and closes the action. The famous Kakaristo area will host the final day’s activities, including the rally arena, regroup and podium celebrations.