| 2019 Rally Rally Finland 69. Neste Rally Finland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Round 9 of 14 in the2019 World Rally Championship
| |||
 Rally Finland has the fastest average speed of any event on the calendar. | |||
| Host country |  Finland | ||
| Rally base | Jyväskylä,Keski-Suomi | ||
| Dates run | 1 – 4 August 2019 | ||
| Start location | Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi | ||
| Finish location | Ruuhimäki,Toivakka | ||
| Stages | 23 (307.58 km; 191.12 miles)[1] | ||
| Stage surface | Gravel | ||
| Transport distance | 1,066.09 km (662.44 miles) | ||
| Overall distance | 1,373.67 km (853.56 miles) | ||
| Statistics | |||
| Crews registered | 65 | ||
| Crews | 61 at start, 49 at finish | ||
| Overall results | |||
| Overall winner |  Ott TänakMartin Järveoja Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2:30:40.3 | ||
| Power Stage winner | Ott TänakMartin JärveojaToyota Gazoo Racing WRT | ||
| Support category results | |||
| WRC-2 winner |  Nikolay GryazinYaroslav FedorovNikolay Gryazin2:41:09.0 | ||
| J-WRC winner |  Tom KristenssonHenrik AppelskogTom Kristensson2:55:17.2 | ||
The2019 Rally Finland (also known asNeste Rally Finland 2019) was amotor racing event forrally cars held over four days between 1 and 4 August 2019.[2] It marked the sixty-ninth running ofRally Finland and was the ninth round of the2019 World Rally Championship,World Rally Championship-2 and the newly createdWRC-2 Pro class. It was also the fourth round of theJunior World Rally Championship. The 2019 event was based inJyväskylä inKeski-Suomi, and was contested over twenty-threespecial stages with a total a competitive distance of 307.58 km (191.12 mi).
Ott Tänak andMartin Järveoja were the defending rally winners. Their team,Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the defending manufacturers' winners.[3] The local crew ofEerik Pietarinen andJuhana Raitanen were the defending winners in the World Rally Championship-2 category, but they did not defend their titles as they were promoted to the newly createdWRC-2 Pro class byŠkoda Motorsport.[4] The Estonian crew ofKen Torn andKuldar Sikk were the reigning winners of theJunior World Rally Championship, but they did not compete the rally.[5]
Tänak and Järveoja successfully defended their titles, adding their winning number to double figures. Their team,Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, won the rally three years in a row.[6] Local youngsterKalle Rovanperä andJonne Halttunen took their fourth consecutive victory in theWRC-2 Pro category, finishing first in the combined WRC-2 category, while the Russian crew ofNikolay Gryazin andYaroslav Fedorov won the wider WRC-2 class as well as snatching their first WRC point.[7]Tom Kristensson andHenrik Appelskog took their second victory of the season in the junior category to regain the championship lead.[8]
Ott Tänak andMartin Järveoja led both the drivers' and co-drivers' championships by three-points ahead of defending world championsSébastien Ogier andJulien Ingrassia.Thierry Neuville andNicolas Gilsoul were third, a further three points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers,Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held a forty-four-point lead overToyota Gazoo Racing WRT.[9]
In the World Rally Championship-2 Pro standings,Kalle Rovanperä andJonne Halttunen held a thirteen-point lead ahead ofMads Østberg andTorstein Eriksen in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively.Gus Greensmith andElliott Edmondson were third, another thirteen points further back. In the manufacturers' championship,Škoda Motorsport andM-Sport Ford WRT tied with same points, withCitroën Total sixty-one points behind in third.[10]
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings,Benito Guerra andJaime Zapata led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by eighteen points respectively.Pierre-Louis Loubet andVincent Landais were second, following byOle Christian Veiby andJonas Andersson in third.[10]
In the Junior-World Rally Championship standings,Jan Solans andMauro Barreiro ledTom Kristensson andHenrik Appelskog by nine points in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, withDennis Rådström andJohan Johansson six points further behind in third in their own standings. In the Nations' standings,Sweden were first, six points cleared ofSpain, withGermany eighteen points further behind in third.[11]
The following crews entered into the rally. The event opened to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2, WRC-2 Pro, Junior World Rally Championship andprivateer entries not registered to score points in any championship. A total of sixty-five entries were received, with eleven crews entered with World Rally Cars and thirteen entered the World Rally Championship-2. Three crews were nominated to score points in the Pro class. A further fourteen entries were received for the Junior World Rally Championship.
There were no significant changes to the route for the 2019 event outside some slight length reductions to selected stages.[1]
All dates and times areEEST (UTC+3).
| Date | Time | No. | Stage name | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August | 09:00 | — | Vesala [Shakedown] | 4.26 km |
| Leg 1 — 128.86 km | ||||
| 1 August | 19:00 | SS1 | Harju 1 | 2.31 km |
| 2 August | 8:18 | SS2 | Oittila | 19.34 km |
| 9:21 | SS3 | Moksi 1 | 20.04 km | |
| 10:24 | SS4 | Urria 1 | 12.28 km | |
| 11:16 | SS5 | Ässämäki 1 | 12.33 km | |
| 12:39 | SS6 | Äänekoski 1 | 7.80 km | |
| 15:24 | SS7 | Moksi 2 | 20.04 km | |
| 16:27 | SS8 | Urria 2 | 12.28 km | |
| 17:19 | SS9 | Ässämäki 2 | 12.33 km | |
| 18:42 | SS10 | Äänekoski 2 | 7.80 km | |
| 20:00 | SS11 | Harju 2 | 2.31 km | |
| Leg 2 — 132.98 km | ||||
| 3 August | 8:08 | SS12 | Pihlajakoski 1 | 14.42 km |
| 9:10 | SS13 | Päijälä 1 | 22.87 km | |
| 10:08 | SS14 | Kakaristo 1 | 18.70 km | |
| 11:34 | SS15 | Leustu 1 | 10.50 km | |
| 15:08 | SS16 | Pihlajakoski 2 | 14.42 km | |
| 16:10 | SS17 | Päijälä 2 | 22.87 km | |
| 17:08 | SS18 | Kakaristo 2 | 18.70 km | |
| 18:34 | SS19 | Leustu 2 | 10.50 km | |
| Leg 3 — 45.74 km | ||||
| 4 August | 8:38 | SS20 | Laukaa 1 | 11.75 km |
| 9:38 | SS21 | Ruuhimäki 1 | 11.12 km | |
| 11:01 | SS22 | Laukaa 2 | 11.75 km | |
| 13:18 | SS23 | Ruuhimäki 2 [Power Stage] | 11.12 km | |
| Source:[1] | ||||
Elfyn Evans andScott Martin were entered byM-Sport Ford WRT, but were later withdrawn when Evans was injured contestingRally Estonia as part of their pre-event preparations.Gus Greensmith andElliott Edmondson were withdrawn from the WRC 2-Pro category and re-entered in Evans' and Martin's place.[13]Hayden Paddon andJohn Kennard were entered into the rally byM-Sport Ford WRT, but they were withdrawn after a heavy crash during testing that caused irreparable damage their car.[14]
It was a drama-free Friday for front runners, withJari-Matti Latvala took a narrow lead into the second leg.[15] However, the local Finn punctured his rear-left tyre in a right-hand corner, which dropped him down to third. TeammateKris Meeke also ran into trouble at the same corner, but damage to the rear-leftsuspension forced the Northern Irishman retired from the day.[16] Despite re-entering the rally on the final day, he still had to retire as he stopped again when he hit a rock.Gus Greensmith's rally ended his rally on SS20 after crashing into a tree.[17]
The rally was easily won byOtt Tänak, who won his tenth rally in his WRC career as well as winning his 200th stage victory during the event.[6]
| Position | No. | Driver | Co-driver | Entrant | Car | Time | Difference | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Class | Event | Stage | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 8 | Ott Tänak | Martin Järveoja | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota Yaris WRC | 2:30:40.3 | 0.0 | 25 | 5 |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | Esapekka Lappi | Janne Ferm | Citroën Total WRT | Citroën C3 WRC | 2:31:05.9 | +25.6 | 18 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | 10 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota Yaris WRC | 2:31:13.5 | +33.2 | 15 | 1 |
| 4 | 4 | 89 | Andreas Mikkelsen | Anders Jæger-Amland | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 2:31:33.7 | +53.4 | 12 | 3 |
| 5 | 5 | 1 | Sébastien Ogier | Julien Ingrassia | Citroën Total WRT | Citroën C3 WRC | 2:31:36.4 | +56.1 | 10 | 2 |
| 6 | 6 | 11 | Thierry Neuville | Nicolas Gilsoul | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 2:32:12.7 | +1:32.4 | 8 | 4 |
| 7 | 7 | 42 | Craig Breen | Paul Nagle | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 2:32:18.5 | +1:38.2 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | 8 | 3 | Teemu Suninen | Marko Salminen | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Fiesta WRC | 2:33:14.1 | +2:33.8 | 4 | 0 |
| Retired SS22 | 5 | Kris Meeke | Sebastian Marshall | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota Yaris WRC | Off road | 0 | 0 | ||
| Retired SS21 | 33 | Gus Greensmith | Elliott Edmondson | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Fiesta WRC | Off road | 0 | 0 | ||
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | Manufacturers' championships | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | ||||
| 1 |  | Ott Tänak | 180 | | Martin Järveoja | 180 | | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | 262 | |||
| 2 | | Sébastien Ogier | 158 | | Julien Ingrassia | 158 | | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | 238 | |||
| 3 | | Thierry Neuville | 155 | | Nicolas Gilsoul | 155 | | Citroën Total WRT | 198 | |||
| 4 | | Elfyn Evans | 78 | | Scott Martin | 78 | | M-Sport Ford WRT | 158 | |||
| 5 |  2 | Andreas Mikkelsen | 71 | 1 | Anders Jæger-Amland | 71 | ||||||
Defending WRC-2 winnerEerik Pietarinen crashed out at the very first of the day and was unable to continue.[18]Kalle Rovanperä was comfortable in the lead and collected his fourth straight WRC-2 Pro victory.[19][7]
| Position | No. | Driver | Co-driver | Entrant | Car | Time | Difference | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Class | Class | Event | |||||||
| 9 | 1 | 21 | Kalle Rovanperä | Jonne Halttunen | Škoda Motorsport | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 2:38:34.4 | 0.0 | 25 | 2 |
| 13 | 2 | 24 | Eric Camilli | Benjamin Veillas | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Fiesta R5 | 2:43:21.4 | +4:47.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Retired SS2 | 23 | Eerik Pietarinen | Juhana Raitanen | Škoda Motorsport | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | Accident | 0 | 0 | ||
Results inbold denote first in the RC2 class, the class which both the WRC-2 Pro and WRC-2 championships run to.
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | Manufacturers' championships | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | ||||
| 1 | | Kalle Rovanperä | 136 | | Jonne Halttunen | 136 | | Škoda Motorsport | 184 | |||
| 2 | | Mads Østberg | 98 | | Torstein Eriksen | 98 | | M-Sport Ford WRT | 177 | |||
| 3 | | Gus Greensmith | 85 | | Elliott Edmondson | 85 | | Citroën Total | 98 | |||
| 4 | | Łukasz Pieniążek | 74 | | Kamil Heller | 62 | ||||||
| 5 | | Jan Kopecký | 36 | | Pavel Dresler | 36 | ||||||
Local driverEmil Lindholm led the category before he crashed out in the second stage.[18]Pierre-Louis Loubet led the class until the last stage of leg two, when he misheard a pace note and smashed into a tree.[19] Eventually,Nikolay Gryazin snatched his first victory of the class after a consistent weekend.[7]
| Position | No. | Driver | Co-driver | Entrant | Car | Time | Difference | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Class | Class | Event | |||||||
| 10 | 1 | 44 | Nikolay Gryazin | Yaroslav Fedorov | Nikay Gryazin | Škoda Fabia R5 | 2:41:09.0 | 0.0 | 25 | 1 |
| 11 | 2 | 48 | Jari Huttunen | Antti Linnaketo | Jari Huttunen | Hyundai i20 R5 | 2:41:23.0 | +14.0 | 18 | 0 |
| 12 | 3 | 49 | Johan Kristoffersson | Stig Rune Skjærmoen | Johan Kristoffersson | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 2:43:12.8 | +1:49.8 | 15 | 0 |
| 14 | 4 | 41 | Pierre-Louis Loubet | Vincent Landais | Pierre-Louis Loubet | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 2:47:53.5 | +4:40.7 | 12 | 0 |
| 15 | 5 | 45 | Henning Solberg | Ilka Minor | Henning Solberg | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 2:51:55.8 | +10:46.8 | 10 | 0 |
| 31 | 6 | 46 | Paulo Nobre | Gabriel Morales | Paulo Nobre | Škoda Fabia R5 | 3:16:20.0 | +35:11.0 | 8 | 0 |
| 43 | 7 | 47 | Emil Lindholm | Mikael Korhonen | Emil Lindholm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 3:53:43.9 | +1:12:34.9 | 6 | 0 |
| 45 | 8 | 51 | Grégoire Munster | Louis Louka | Grégoire Munster | Škoda Fabia R5 | 4:06:54.8 | +1:25:45.8 | 4 | 0 |
| Retired SS12 | 43 | Takamoto Katsuta | Daniel Barritt | Takamoto Katsuta | Ford Fiesta R5 | Lost wheel | 0 | 0 | ||
| Retired SS6 | 50 | Tomi Tukiainen | Mikko Pohjanharju | Tomi Tukiainen | Škoda Fabia R5 | Accident | 0 | 0 | ||
Results inbold denote first in the RC2 class, the class which both the WRC-2 Pro and WRC-2 championships run to.
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | |||
| 1 | | Benito Guerra | 69 | | Jaime Zapata | 69 | ||
| 2 | | Pierre-Louis Loubet | 63 | | Vincent Landais | 63 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Nikolay Gryazin | 63 | 2 | Yaroslav Fedorov | 63 | ||
| 4 |  1 | Ole Christian Veiby | 50 | 1 | Jonas Andersson | 50 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Takamoto Katsuta | 47 | 1 | Daniel Barritt | 47 | ||
Raul Badiu heavily crashed hisFord Fiesta R2, suffering two fractured ribs and a concussion. The Romanian was forced to retire from the rally and received medical treatment.[20]Roland Poom andJürgen Heigl was the two major retirements in the second leg.[21]Dennis Rådström could have taken some good points from the event, but the crash in the penultimate stage means he was thirty-four points off the lead. CompatriotTom Kristensson took the victory with eight stage victories to retake the championship lead.[8]
| Date | No. | Stage name | Distance | Winners | Car | Time | Class leaders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August | — | Vesala [Shakedown] | 4.26 km | Kristensson /Appelskog | Ford Fiesta R2 | 2:16.7 | — |
| SS1 | Harju 1 | 2.31 km | Tannert /Heigl | Ford Fiesta R2 | 2:08.9 | Tannert /Heigl | |
| 2 August | SS2 | Oittila | 19.34 km | Kristensson /Appelskog | Ford Fiesta R2 | 11:03.9 | Kristensson /Appelskog |
| SS3 | Moksi 1 | 20.04 km | Pajari /Haapala | Ford Fiesta R2 | 11:30.1 | ||
| SS4 | Urria 1 | 12.28 km | Solans /Barreiro | Ford Fiesta R2 | 7:08.8 | ||
| SS5 | Ässämäki 1 | 12.33 km | Kristensson /Appelskog | Ford Fiesta R2 | 6:47.4 | ||
| SS6 | Äänekoski 1 | 7.80 km | Kristensson /Appelskog | Ford Fiesta R2 | 4:09.7 | ||
| SS7 | Moksi 2 | 20.04 km | Rådström /Johansson | Ford Fiesta R2 | 11:20.6 | ||
| SS8 | Urria 2 | 12.28 km | Solans /Barreiro | Ford Fiesta R2 | 7:05.8 | ||
| SS9 | Ässämäki 2 | 12.33 km | Kristensson /Appelskog | Ford Fiesta R2 | 6:37.5 | ||
| SS10 | Äänekoski 2 | 7.80 km | Solans /Barreiro | Ford Fiesta R2 | 4:07.2 | ||
| SS11 | Harju 2 | 2.31 km | Sesks /Caune | Ford Fiesta R2 | 2:05.4 | ||
| 3 August | SS12 | Pihlajakoski 1 | 14.42 km | Rådström /Johansson | Ford Fiesta R2 | 8:39.5 | |
| SS13 | Päijälä 1 | 22.87 km | Pajari /Haapala | Ford Fiesta R2 | 12:10.8 | ||
| SS14 | Kakaristo 1 | 18.70 km | Kristensson /Appelskog | Ford Fiesta R2 | 10:23.2 | ||
| SS15 | Leustu 1 | 10.50 km | Solans /Barreiro | Ford Fiesta R2 | 6:20.0 | ||
| SS16 | Pihlajakoski 2 | 14.42 km | Rådström /Johansson | Ford Fiesta R2 | 8:32.8 | ||
| SS17 | Päijälä 2 | 22.87 km | Rådström /Johansson | Ford Fiesta R2 | 12:06.6 | ||
| SS18 | Kakaristo 2 | 18.70 km | Rådström /Johansson | Ford Fiesta R2 | 10:13.4 | ||
| SS19 | Leustu 2 | 10.50 km | Kristensson /Appelskog | Ford Fiesta R2 | 6:19.7 | ||
| 4 August | SS20 | Laukaa 1 | 11.75 km | Kristensson /Appelskog | Ford Fiesta R2 | 6:25.2 | |
| SS21 | Ruuhimäki 1 | 11.12 km | Solans /Barreiro | Ford Fiesta R2 | 6:29.0 | ||
| SS22 | Laukaa 2 | 11.75 km | Kristensson /Appelskog | Ford Fiesta R2 | 6:14.1 | ||
| SS23 | Ruuhimäki 2 | 11.12 km | Sesks /Caune | Ford Fiesta R2 | 6:26.0 |
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | Nations' championships | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Country | Points | ||||
| 1 | 1 | Tom Kristensson | 95 | 1 | Henrik Appelskog | 95 | | Sweden | 86 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Jan Solans | 94 | 1 | Mauro Barreiro | 94 | | Spain | 73 | |||
| 3 | | Dennis Rådström | 61 | | Johan Johansson | 61 | 1 | Germany | 43 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Roland Poom | 41 | 1 | Ken Järveoja | 41 | 1 | Estonia | 43 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Julius Tannert | 36 | 1 | Jürgen Heigl | 36 | 3 | Italy | 26 | |||
| Previous rally: 2019 Rally Italia Sardegna | 2019 FIA World Rally Championship | Next rally: 2019 Rallye Deutschland |
| Previous rally: 2018 Rally Finland | 2019 Rally Finland | Next rally: 2021 Rally Finland 2020 edition cancelled |
