Sebastien Ogier claimed his third World Rally Championship victory of the season after long-time Rally Finland leader Kalle Rovanpera rolled out, denying him a home win in a brutal rally.

Eight-time world champion Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais produced a strong drive throughout a demanding Rally Finland affected by changeable weather to seal a 61st career win by 40.1s from championship leader Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, with M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux third 1m14.1s behind Ogier.

While Ogier briefly held the rally lead after stage two on Friday, the event was dominated by two-time world champion Rovanpera who set his sights on becoming the first Finn to win the rally since Jari-Matti Latvala’s triumph in 2015.

Rovanpera snatched the rally lead from Ogier on stage three before then losing it to team-mate Elfyn Evans on the next test as crews faced challenging wet conditions. However, Rovanpera wrestled back the advantage on stage five to lead by 0.2s.

However, once ahead Rovanpera didn’t look back, moving into an eight-second lead over Evans with Ogier 0.6s further back at the end of Friday. On Saturday, Rovanpera left his rivals behind winning five of the six stages including two passes through the famous Ouninpohja stage that made its return after a seven-year hiatus. Rovanpera’s second pass smashed the stage record previously held by Kris Meeke by 23.9s.

A driveshaft failure and lengthy midday service repair that incurred a 2m40s penalty put Evans out of the victory fight and the Saturday points-paying positions. This elevated Ogier, who opted not to attack, into second, 44.2s behind the dominant Rovanpera, who provisionally claimed 18 points for topping Saturday ahead of Ogier [15 points] and Neuville [10 points].

Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

However, the rally was turned on its head on Sunday. Rovanpera had extended his lead over Ogier out to 45.8s after winning the first two morning stages, but drama struck the Finn on the penultimate stage when he clipped a rock in the road which pitched his GR Yaris into a roll and out of the rally. It was the second year in succession Rovanpera had rolled out of the lead at Rally Finland.

The accident occurred moments after Evans crashed on the first corner of the same stage which left the WRC title contender without any points after missing out on the top 10 at the end of Saturday.

This left Ogier to cruise to victory on the final stage to move the part-time driver to second in the championship, 27 points behind Neuville.

Neuville claimed second after a difficult rally that began with the Belgian grabbing an early lead by winning the opening stage. He then dropped down the order when he overshot a junction in stage three losing 13s, before struggling with the handling of his i20 N throughout Friday and Saturday.

Neuville did however extend his championship lead after inheriting 15 Saturday points following Rovanpera’s exit, while rivals Evans and Ott Tanak failed to score points. Tanak’s rally ended on stage three when he lost control and rolled before colliding with a tree, which briefly red-flagged the stage. Co-driver Martin Jarveoja was taken hospital here he spent Friday night before being released.

M-Sport’s Fourmaux was among those to struggle with his car at times in the challenging conditions, but the Frenchman drove smartly to secure third, his fourth rostrum of the season.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Fourmaux finished ahead of the impressive Sami Pajari, who claimed fourth [+1m54.5s] on his Rally1 debut driving a fifth Toyota GR Yaris.

Pajari suffered an excursion on stage two that damaged his car but was able to recover to end Friday with a first WRC stage win in only nine attempts as he triumphed on the Ruuhimaki test. He then backed that pace up by being narrowly beaten on Ouninpohja by Rovanpera and Ogier.

Oliver Solberg took a valuable WRC2 win after finishing an impressive fifth overall [+ 8m15.5s] ahead of Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala making a one-off WRC2 outing.

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta ran as high as fourth before he clipped a tree on Friday that ripped his right rear wheel off his GR Yaris. Katusta was able to return to action and won the Power Stage on Sunday.

Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi took over fourth, but suffered a similar fate when he bounced out of a rut into trees, but topped the Super Sunday standings.

M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster rejoined the rally on Sunday after rolling out of seventh on Saturday.

Kalle Rovanpera further extended his Rally Finland lead on Sunday morning as the Finn bids to claim a first World Rally Championship victory on home soil.

The reigning world champion increased his advantage to 45.8s by winning the pair of morning stages over eight-time world champion and fellow part-time Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier.

Rovanpera’s pace thrusted him to the top of the Super Sunday standings by 1.2s from an eager team-mate Elfyn Evans hoping to limit the damage of Saturday’s driveshaft failure.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville continued to hold third overall [+ 1m28.8s] ahead of M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux [+1m56.8s] and Toyota’s Rally1 rookie Sami Pajari [+2m37.4s]. Oliver Solberg led the WRC2 class in sixth overall [+8m15.5s] from Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala, enjoying a one-off outing.

M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster rejoined the rally after his team completed an impressive rebuild of his Puma that suffered heavy damage from a roll in Saturday’s stage 11.

Rovanpera didn’t need to push such was his advantage, but the Finn set the fastest time on Sunday’s opening test stage 17 [Sahloinen-Moksi, 14.27km]. The effort, that included a minor moment, extended his overnight lead on Ogier to 45.6s.

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The rally leader was 0.4s faster than Evans, who was desperate to start Sunday on the front foot after missing out on Saturday points, while the Welsh driver wasn’t expecting any team orders to assist his mission to claim the maximum 12 Super Sunday points.

“We have to see what is possible, it was a very clean run in here. Not sure it was quite brave enough, but we’ll see what [the time] looks like. Normally we’re in this on our own because of points, that’s how it has always been at Toyota. We need to do our job first,” said Evans.

Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi was third fastest ahead of Ogier and Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, while championship leader Neuville could only manage the sixth fastest time 4.4s adrift, as the Belgian continued to struggle with his i20 N’s balance.

“I need to take too much risk if I want to go faster and there is no reason to take risk. We do worry [about Super Sunday], but I don’t need to go faster,” said Neuville.

The stage did feature wild moments for Fourmaux and Sami Pajari, the former briefly lost the rear of his Puma while the latter ran off the road into an open area of grass where he spun before rejoining the road.

Rovanpera notched up his 11th stage win of the event by pipping Ogier by 0.2s through the tight and technical Laajavuori, 4.35km test, that will also host the Power Stage.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“The stage is really cool for the fans but otherwise this micky mouse shit is not the best, I try to enjoy, at least with a rally car it is not too bad,” said Rovanpera.

Neuville was third fastest 0.6s adrift that put him sixth in the Super Sunday standings behind Rovanpera, Ogier, Evans, Lappi and Katsuta.

A second pass of the two stages will conclude Rally Finland.

Kalle Rovanpera has opened up a commanding lead after dominating Saturday’s Rally Finland stages to close in on a maiden World Rally Championship victory on home soil.

Toyota’s two-time world champion delivered a stunning drive in changeable conditions to win five of the day’s six stages, including two victorious passes of the returning Ouninpohja test.

The performance increased his overnight 8.0s lead to a 44.2s advantage and secures the Finn 18 provisional championship points. Team-mate and fellow part-time driver Sebastien Ogier trailed Rovanpera, as the Frenchman picked up 15 points.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville will score 13 points after rounding out the top three [+ 1m23.8s] ahead of M-Sport-Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux [+1m49.7s] who takes 10 points, while Toyota’s Rally1 debutant Sami Pajari [+2m19.2s] will earn 8 points.

The top eight was completed by leading WRC2 runners Oliver Solberg [+7m32.4s] and Jari-Matti Latvala [+8m20.s] in a one-off outing for the Toyota team boss.

The possibility of Toyota using team orders to help its title contender Elfyn Evans was rendered moot by a 16-minute delay leaving service as the Welshman’s mechanics worked to repair his failed driveshaft. 

This had already demoted Evans to from second to eighth, but a 2m40s penalty for the delay leaving service dropped him outside the points to 16th overall after reaching the end of Stage 14 [Vastila, 18.94km].

The rain returned for the afternoon stages, creating incredibly slippery conditions for some of the fastest and most demanding roads of the season.

But despite a rain shower interrupting his run, there was no stopping Rovanpera as the Finn claimed the test by 6.7s from Ogier.

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“I don’t know what the others are doing there, because the rain once again came for us,” said a stunned Rovanpera, who extended his lead to 28.6s. “It was a good stage.”

Ogier admitted his effort was “very safe”, stating that it would be silly to push given the gaps between the drivers on the leaderboard.

Neuville was 0.8s slower than Ogier, but he felt there had been no improvement in his car’s handling after trying different springs to find a solution to his morning struggles.

Fourmaux felt the midday service had improved his Ford Puma, although it wasn’t reflected on the timing screen.

Standing water increased the level of difficulty as the crews faced challenging conditions heading into Stage 15 [Paijala, 20.19km].

Rovanpera’s stage-winning run came to an end, as Esapekka Lappi splashed his way to a fastest time following a committed run on the slippery road. Having restarted the rally following his Friday retirement, the Hyundai driver took the test by 0.5s from Rovanpera, who still extended his rally lead to 39.4s over Ogier.

The 2013 Finland winner once again opted for a cautious approach, stating that he couldn’t drive any “slower” and still had a moment in the test.

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta was among a group of drivers to suffer wild moments but the Japanese, who was first into the stage after his Friday retirement, managed to reach the end unscathed.

Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Evans was able to post the fourth fastest time, as he continued his recovery by climbing to 14th overall.

But Lappi was unable to continue his stage-winning form on the Ouninpohja test, where lightning struck twice as the Finn suffered a second front-right puncture just a matter of hours after the first. This time, his front-right appeared to suffer a sudden delamination.

The second pass of Ouninpohja was run in much drier conditions, which produced much quicker times compared to the morning run.

Top of the timesheets was Rovanpera, who ended the day in style with a push to win the stage by 4.8s from Ogier at an average speed of 136km/h.

Sunday’s final leg of the rally will comprise four stages, covering 41.66 kilometres.

Kalle Rovanpera extended his Rally Finland lead after dominating Saturday morning’s stages, while World Rally Championship title contender Elfyn Evans witnessed his victory bid evaporate.

Two-time world rally champion Rovanpera completed a clean sweep of the loop including the return of the famous Ouninpohja test to open up 21.9s lead.

His fellow Toyota part-time driver Sebastien Ogier holds second after Evans suffered a transmission issue that dropped the Toyota full-time driver to eighth [+6m19.2].

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville moved into third [+58.3s] following the issue for this title rival, with M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux in fourth [+1m26.4s] and Toyota Rally1 debutant Sami Pajari fifth [+1m57.7s].

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta and Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi restarted the rally following their Friday retirements.

Dry and overcast conditions greeted crews on Saturday morning, but roads were still damp in places and grip levels remained low, as Gregoire Munster discovered to his cost.

The M-Sport Ford driver slipped off the road 4.6km into Stage 11 [Vastila, 18.94km], running wide at a left-hander which pitched his Ford Puma into a violent roll.

Munster and co-driver Louis Louka, who were sitting in seventh, emerged from the crash unscathed but their rally was over.

Grégoire Munster, Louis Louka, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The accident briefly red-flagged the stage, which disrupted Pajari’s run and meant he was later given a notional time.

Rovanpera lit up the timing screens once the action resumed to claim his fifth stage win of the rally to date, despite suffering a strange moment at the startline. The Finn was 2.2s faster than Evans, who flirted with a ditch in what he called a scrappy run.

“It was surprisingly slippery, a bit more slippier than I expected but it was the same for everybody,” said Rovanpera, who extended his lead over Evans to 10.2s.

“We had a problem on the startline, the car would start and then shut itself off after three seconds so that was a bit weird.” 

Ogier struggled to find grip as he dropped 5.1s, but the 2013 Finland winner was faster than championship leader Neuville, who was fighting a i20 N that he “couldn’t get working”.

The battle for the lead took a dramatic shift when the crews tackled the demanding undulating Paijala [20.19km] test, featuring a much wetter road surface than the previous stage.

Evans’ GR Yaris suffered a suspected transmission problem which appeared to pitch him into a half spin.

The Welshman continued but at a reduced pace, which effectively ended his victory hopes as the cruel misfortune resulted in a 1m28.1s time loss, dropping Evans from second to fifth.

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Despite rain intervening for his pass, Rovanpera delivered another impressive time on a road that was seemingly getting slower with very pass. Rovanpera’s stunning effort was outlined by an 8.1s margin over Ogier, who had now inherited second position, 21.8s behind the defending world champion.

Neuville was short on confidence to attack, but clocked the fourth fastest time as he moved into third overall following Evans’ drama. Fourmaux was also fighting his car, but managed to complete the test now in fourth overall.

The highly anticipated return of the full length 32.98km Ouninpohja, after a seventh-year hiatus, tested crews to their limits and provided plenty of entertainment for the thousands of watching fans.

It proved to be a head-to-head battle between Rovanpera and Ogier, with the former edging the battle by a mere 0.1s on his first ever run on this route.

“It is an amazing stage,” remarked Rovanpera. “I did it the first time in a rally car, it is quite hard to enjoy because it can be quite tricky at times, but when you get to the end you can enjoy it.”

Katsuta was third fastest, ahead of Pajari and Neuville, the latter admitting that he was “afraid all run long” and was happy to be at the finish having struggled with handling. Evans, limping through the stage, dropped almost five minutes to fall to eighth.

The stage known for punishing errors did strike again as Lappi suffered a front right puncture following an awkward offline landing from one of the many jumps at the 11.2km mark.

Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

The Hyundai driver, who completed a 45-metre jump at the famous yellow house crest, dropped more than two minutes following the wheel change.

After surviving two wild moments in Ouninpohja, Oliver Solberg headed to service leading WRC2 in sixth overall with Toyota boss Jari-Matti Latvala trailing the Swede by 18.0s.

A repeat of the morning loop of stages will complete Saturday’s action this afternoon.