The penultimate round of the 2019 FIA Junior WRC Championship is the highlight of the FIA World Rally Championship calendar.
- In their quest for FIA World Rally Championship glory, every crew wants to impress on Rally Finland’s 23 speed tests as a total of 48 points are up for grabs.
- The championship fight is heating up, just 15 points separate the top-three with 142 still available thanks to double points at the final round of the season on Rally GB.
- Dennis Rådström and Jan Solans both have 19 stages wins this season, more than any other driver in FIA Junior WRC.
- Tom Kristensson is the only driver to finish on every FIA Junior WRC podium this season.
- It is the largest FIA Junior WRC entry of the 2019 season as AKK Sport’s Flying Finn Future Star award winner joins the pack.
The need for ‘sisu’ ‘Sisu’ is the word Finns use to describe implacable courage, which is something of a necessity to overcome Rally Finland’s challenges. The majority of Finland’s stages are smooth gravel roads allowing this year’s FIA Junior WRC drivers to push their Pirelli-shod EcoBoost-powered M-Sport Fiesta R2Ts in excess of 150 kph. Such high speeds mean there is little room for error as the majority of the flat-out sections are lined by rally-ending ditches and trees.
The jumps and speed of Rally Finland make it the most spectacular rally of the season, attracting crowds from around the world. Drivers with experience on Rally Finland are certainly at an advantage here as smaller jumps aren’t so obvious during recce and have been known to catch inexperienced competitors out in previous years. Dennis Rådström, Julius Tannert, Tom Williams and Enrico Oldrati have all competed on Rally Finland in FIA Junior WRC in previous years.
Tyres The EcoBoost power of the M-Sport Fiesta R2T is nothing without the control of its Pirelli tyres, FIA Junior WRC’s exclusive tyre partner. For Rally Finland, the future stars of WRC can use a maximum of 22 tyres including shakedown and can choose from 10 Pirelli Scorpion Reinforced K4 (Hard) and 16 Pirelli Reinforced K6 (Soft).
Finland’s Future Stars This year’s AKK Flying Finn Future Star award winner, Sami Pajari, will join the FIA Junior WRC field and make his debut in the FIA World Rally Championship. Although new to FIA Junior WRC, Pajari is very accustomed to Finnish rallying and will be one to keep an eye on throughout the rally. Joining Pajari is co-patriot Aleksi Royhkio who is also a member of the AKK Flying Finn Academy.
FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, Maciej Woda, said: « It’s time for the home of rallying and, like every Junior WRC rally so far this season, Rally Finland promises to be a thriller. There is a very intense and exciting championship fight developing now and I think we are going to see a tough fight for stage win points between some of our fast crews. This rally sees the fastest drivers rise to the top, those that are able to keep a cool head and stay focussed will do well. Having Sami Pajari and Aleksi Röyhkiöwith us is another exciting element and I am sure it will provide them both with great experience on their WRC debuts. I will be interested to see how Sami gets on as the Flying Finn Future Star award winner, he’s following in some talented footsteps by winning that award. » 71 Jan Solans / Mauro Barreiro: « It’s time to face Rally Finland, one of the most difficult rallies for me, it is a rally that is usually difficult when you participate for the first time. Right now, I’m the leader of the championship and if I want to win, I need to get a good result here. » 72 Tom Kristensson / Henrik Appelskog: « Rally Finland! Formula 1 on gravel! I like the fast roads, character and atmosphere. If I get the feeling that I want and think, then the rally will be great and for sure really fun. » 73 Dennis Rådström / Johan Johansson: « Rally Finland feels like a second-home event for us, it´s a legendary event that we already had a taste of twice before. Fast, flowing and tricky stages: this is something we are really looking forward to. We are aiming to keep climbing on the podium as we have done since our crash at home in Sweden. » 74 Julius Tannert / Jürgen Heigl: « Rally Finland is an iconic and unique rally. Every driver dreams of this event and I feel very privileged to compete in this high-speed rally for the third time. Thus, Sardinia was not as good as we had hoped, we have to fight for a strong result to make a step up in the championship. I can’t wait to start the rally. » 75 Roland Poom / Ken Jarveoja: « Rally Finland is first rally of the season where I have previously driven. We had really good preparation in Rally Estonia and made some setup changes for Finland, so I think we feel quite confident with the car. It will be a really difficult event for sure and we need to be 100% focused there, not to make any mistakes and drive fast on the roads. » 76 Tom Williams / Phil Hall: « Phil and I are really looking forward to driving on the legendary Finnish roads again. This is one of my favourite events as it is a huge challenge to make pace notes and have commitment on such high-speed undulating roads. We need to carry on improving and learning to be better against the fierce competition in the Junior WRC. » 78 Raul Badiu / Gabriel Lazar: « Since it is my first season in WRC, I am growing in both speed and reliability. I am confident I can continue this trend, even though Rally Finland is a different challenge to anything else. This is the most iconic event on the calendar; the rally that I’ve been dreaming all my life to compete at and now, finally, I can achieve this. It will be a huge challenge with tough competition, so I am really looking forward to starting the rally. It should be considered that on Rally Finland, experience plays a bigger role than at other events and I have no experience on these roads. » 79 Enrico Oldrati / Elia de Guio: « We are ready for the fastest event of the year. We have been to San Marino to keep improving the feeling with the pace notes, crests and the fast turns, even if the roads are different to Finland. We will see what happens. » 80 Sean Johnston / Alex Kihurani: « This is the event that I’ve been waiting for! Of all the rounds of FIA Junior WRC, this is the one that’s excited me the most as Rally Finland has always been one of my favourite rallies to follow along and watch. I really enjoy fast, flowing roads and the addition of all the crests and jumps is sure to make the experience even better. Thanks to a short break in our schedule, Alex and I have been preparing even more for this rally and we’re excited to get out there and do our best. » 82 Nico Knacker / Michael Wenzel: « I’m really happy to be coming to another gravel rally. My first kilometres on gravel on Rally Sardegna were really instructive for me, but Rally Finland has a completely different character: really fast roads. I think that’s good for me to improve my gravel skills. I’m working on my gravel pace notes and hopefully I can minimize the time interval to the other Junior WRC drivers. » 83 Sami Pajari/ Antti Haapala: « I’m really excited about this rally as my debut in the WRC, it’s a dream come true for me to compete in this event. The main goal for the rally is to get as much experience as possible. It would be nice to drive carefully to finish and at the same time improve my pace stage by stage. For sure it will be a huge challenge for us but I am still really looking forward to it. » 84 Aleksi Röyhkiö / Ville Mannisenmaki: « This is really going to be a tough challenge. It is my first ever WRC rally and the competition will be tough. I am really looking forward to Neste Rally Finland, because I have an opportunity to show my speed. We will prepare properly and I’m sure that we are ready for this challenge! »
Press release FIA Junior WRC
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