Rally Finland once again proved to be a "Nordic" affair, particularly in the WRC2 category where Škoda drivers were prominently featured. Among them, Robert Virves stood out. After winning his home round in Estonia, he finished third in Finland. In total, five crews driving Škoda cars scored points toward the WRC2 World Championship standings.
The fastest Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crews faced their share of misfortune on Finland’s ultra-fast gravel stages, where every second lost carries double the cost. Both Robert Virves with co-driver Jako Viil and Emil Lindholm with Reeta Hämäläinen learned that the hard way.
Lindholm was among the quickest drivers from the very beginning of the event and even led the WRC2 field after Stage 5. However, a puncture on Stage 6 cost him 1 minute and 8 seconds, dropping the Finnish crew to 12th place in the standings. “The rally isn’t over yet,” Lindholm declared, showing true sis—the Finnish word for grit and determination. Their continued pace allowed them to climb back up the leaderboard, but due to the overall high speed of the event, the home crew had to settle for fourth place in the WRC2 standings.
Robert Virves, fresh off his Estonian win, also showed impressive pace. The Toksport WRT driver gradually established himself as the fastest non-Finn in WRC2 on Friday and was running second at the halfway point. However, Saturday brought a dose of bad luck. Although he was only 2.9 seconds off the lead after Stage 12, a slow puncture over the next two stages saw him drop to fourth place and needing to fight back.
By Stage 16, Virves and Viil were back in third position, less than 15 seconds from the leaders, but the final push to challenge the Finnish drivers ahead never quite materialized. “I'm satisfied, but also a bit disappointed because we were so close to the front on Friday. Saturday wasn’t our best day. Still, it’s our second podium in a row, and that’s something to be proud of,” said the 25-year-old Estonian.
Czech driver Martin Prokop also delivered a strong performance in Finland. Together with co-driver Michal Ernst, he brought his Fabia RS Rally2 home in seventh place in WRC2—making them the third-fastest Škoda crew and the second-fastest non-Nordic pairing. Just behind in eighth was the Finnish duo of Lauri Joona and Samu Vaaleri (MS Munaretto team), also driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Completing the top ten was the Italian pair Giovanni Trentin and Alessandro Franco (MT Racing SRL), also in a Škoda. Notably, Trentin is just 18 years old.
Two Škoda crews not competing for WRC2 points still finished in the top 10 of the RC2 classification. Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov (Delta Rally Team) took fourth, while British driver Gus Greensmith and Swedish co-driver Jonas Andersson (RaceSeven) placed eighth. In the WRC Masters Cup, victory went to the Turkish duo Uğur Soylu and Şener Güray (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, GP Garage My Team).
And finally, a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 captured attention during the Harju city stage thanks to none other than Marcus Grönholm—the two-time FIA World Rally Champion and seven-time Rally Finland winner. He entertained fans with a special exhibition run behind the wheel of the Czech-built car.
