WRC Finland: Tanak holds slender lead as Lappi closes in
Hyundai’s Ott Tanak managed to hang on to his Rally Finland lead despite a Friday afternoon charge from Toyota’s Esapekka Lappi.
Tanak claimed the lead on the day’s first stage, winning three of Friday's eight completed stages to hold an 8.3s lead, which was cut to 3.8s after Lappi closed the day with three consecutive stage wins.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans struggled to match the top two throughout on the fast gravel stages, but reached service in third 19.3s adrift, but ahead of rally favourite and championship leader Kalle Rovanpera. The Finn coped well with opening the roads at his home event to end Friday fourth, albeit 21.0s behind Tanak.
Craig Breen led M-Sport Ford’s charge in fifth ahead of Takamoto Katsuta in sixth.
The sunshine from the morning was replaced by overcast conditions with spots of moisture in the air, but the change in weather failed to dampen the afternoon battle between Tanak and Lappi at the front.
Tanak admitted he was taking risks in Stage 7 but they paid off as the Estonian claimed his third stage win of the event. He took 2.1s out of Lappi, who finished second fastest on the test and was full of praise for his rival.
"It's not a battle. I am losing all the time! Ott is doing a good job,” said Lappi.
Evans continued to struggle to find the sweet spot in his GR Yaris, dropping 2.0s to Rovanpera in the battle for third overall after drama struck Breen, who had started the afternoon loop sitting fourth.
Breen hit a rock during the stage with the right corner of his Puma which cost him 10.1s and dropped the Irishman to fifth overall.
Meanwhile, Rovanpera pushed hard in the stage revealing that he “left nothing in there” but his time was 2.2s shy of pacesetter Tanak.
Kalle Rovanpera, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
Lappi responded to the challenge laid down by Tanak on Stage 8 as the Finn managed to eclipse a stunning benchmark posted by the rally leader.
For the first time in the rally Tanak said he felt comfortable behind the wheel and produced a time that left many of the field stunned. However, it was not enough to deny Lappi, who ended the test 2.1s faster to cut Tanak’s lead down to 6.2s.
Rovanpera remained in the thick of the fight posting the third fastest time, which left him only a second behind Evans in the battle for third overall.
Breen was still feeling the effects of the impact on the previous stage and was forced to manage a wounded Puma. The Irishman wasn’t the only M-Sport fighting an issue as debutant Jari Huttunen suddenly lost power during the stage.
The Finn, who started the stage in eighth, was able to re-fire the car before stopping again and was left to reach the stage end under significantly reduced power with a fuel pressure issue, which continued on the next test.
At the front, Lappi continued to turn the screw on Tanak after winning Stage 9 to reduce the lead down to 5.3s as the latter felt his i20 N began to feel lazy.
The battle for third overall remained intense as fourth-placed Rovanpera managed to take another 0.5s out of Evans, who felt much stronger on the day’s penultimate stage.
Breen was fifth fastest on the stage, and despite powering through the tricky stage, he still had time to wave at some of his supporters.
Craig Breen, Paul Nagle, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1
Photo by: M-Sport
The day’s final stage saw Lappi turn up the heat again by pipping Tanak by 0.9s to close within 3.8s of the rally lead.
Evans managed to open the gap over Rovanpera for third after the latter survived a wild moment. Rovanpera somehow managed to wrestle the car away from what could have been a massive impact with the trees after running wide at a left hander.
Rally Finland continues on Saturday with 150km of competitive stages awaiting the crews.
WRC Rally Finland - Classification after Stage 10 (top 10)
| Cla | Driver/Codriver | Car | Class | Gap | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ott Tanak Martin Jarveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | |||
| 2 |  Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | RC1 | 3.8 | 3.8 | |
| 3 |  Elfyn Evans Scott Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | RC1 | 19.3 | 15.5 | |
| 4 | Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | RC1 | 21.0 | 1.7 | |
| 5 |  Craig Breen Paul Nagle | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | 32.5 | 11.5 | |
| 6 |  Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | RC1 | 35.5 | 3.0 | |
| 7 |  Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | RC1 | 50.2 | 14.7 | |
| 8 |  Pierre-Louis Loubet Vincent Landais | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | 1'00.9 | 10.7 | |
| 9 | Gus Greensmith  Jonas Andersson | Ford Puma Rally1 | RC1 | 1'02.6 | 1.7 | |
| 10 | Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | RC2 | 2'59.9 | 1'57.3 | |
| View full results | ||||||
WRC Finland: Tanak extends lead over Lappi, Rovanpera fifth
Lappi: Tanak has been “fooling us” over Hyundai struggles
Lappi explains Finland emergency lake visit to secure strangest WRC podium
Esapekka Lappi described his WRC Rally Finland podium as one of the strangest ever after a roll required an emergency trip to a lake to repair his damaged Toyota.
Tanak hails Finland win as his most satisfying in WRC
Ott Tanak labelled victory at Rally Finland as the most satisfying of his World Rally Championship career.
WRC Finland: Tanak sees off Rovanpera to claim remarkable win
Hyundai’s Ott Tanak held off runaway World Rally Championship leader Kalle Rovanpera to claim a stunning victory at Rally Finland.
WRC Finland: Tanak edges away from Rovanpera
Ott Tanak laid down a marker to World Rally Championship leader Kalle Rovanpera as the Hyundai driver edged closer to a remarkable victory at Rally Finland on Sunday morning.
Inside Hyundai’s F1-spec mobile WRC home
Hyundai is one of the World Rally Championship's big three, and has a brand-new travelling facility befitting of that status. The team invited Autosport for a behind-the-scenes look at its state-of-the-art HQ, which comes complete with all the bells and whistles you'd expect of a top Formula 1 outfit
How Rovanpera's latest Estonia masterclass left his WRC rivals stumped
After trailing Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans for much of Rally Estonia's opening day, WRC points leader Kalle Rovanpera took advantage of a change in the weather and never looked back afterwards. Winning for a fifth time this year at the scene of his 2021 breakthrough, and with a breathtaking powerstage bonus for good measure, his advantage is already looking difficult to topple
How the WRC captures its stunning visuals
Whether it’s the mountains of Monte Carlo, the snow of Sweden or the Kenya Savannah, the World Rally Championship is able to beam some of motorsport’s most spectacular footage to television screens while operating in the harshest of environments. Autosport went behind the scenes to unearth the secrets that make this logistical challenge possible
Why WRC's Safari tour is more than just a rally
OPINION: A source of national pride in Kenya, the Safari Rally is also a sporting, cultural and economic phenomenon. And as last weekend's World Rally Championship round reminded us, it's a key driver in establishing Africa’s place in world motorsport
How Rovanpera tamed a wild Safari Rally
The Safari Rally acted as a brutal test of driver and car resolve as multiple retirements opened the path for a historic Toyota 1-2-3-4 triumph, headed by star Kalle Rovanpera. But keeping things clean was only half of the challenge, as a well-timed charge when conditions worsened allowed the Finn to take control
How Tanak turned the tables to deliver Hyundai a timely WRC triumph
The 2019 champion has been a bit-part player recently, but Ott Tanak ended a 15-month drought in fine style with a dominant win in Sardinia. On a weekend when championship leader Kalle Rovanpera struggled with cleaning the road, his Hyundai rival has made his belated arrival into the title race and given cause for those predicting a walkover from the Toyota star to pause
How Rovanpera overcame rallying royalty in Portugal to extend his WRC lead
Although the Rally Portugal entry list featured World Rally Championship royalty in Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier, victory was secured by rallying's rising star in Kalle Rovanpera. Here's the story of his 2022 hat-trick, as his key rivals faltered among the gravel and asphalt ahead of them
The former WRC star playing the unsung hero role for Rovanpera
Kalle Rovanpera’s 2022 World Rally Championship displays have been spectacular, with the Toyota driver benefitting from a secret weapon in his crew to win two of the opening three rallies. But while the former challenger to Sebastien Loeb won’t take credit for his fellow Finn's performances, a key bond has been formed which could prove key to Rovanpera’s title charge