Four victories out of four starts. That is the impressive record held by Estonian crew Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo in the FIA World Rally Championship’s WRC2 category following Rally Finland. Their victory in the fast and closely contested gravel event propelled them to the top of the championship standings.
After four nominated events, Robert Virves leads the FIA World Rally Championship WRC2 standings with 100 points – currently the maximum possible tally available to him. Virves and co-driver Viilo confirmed their excellent form in Finland, where there was certainly no shortage of dramatic moments.
The fact that Virves earned a well-deserved victory is underlined by the fact that, before the Toksport WRT crew took the lead in the rally’s standings on Friday, the lead had changed hands no fewer than five times.
Four different drivers appeared at the top of the leaderboard during the event, while several other contenders remained within striking distance. Among those who started Rally Finland at a strong pace were Virves’ team-mates Emil Lindholm and co-driver Gabriel Morales. They briefly moved into the lead on Friday morning but were forced to retire after rolling their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 over.
Several other Škoda crews were also among the frontrunners. However, both the Estonian pairing of Patrick Enok/Silver Simm (Printsport) and the Finnish crew of Mikko Heikkilä/Kristian Temonen (TGS Worldwide) crashed during the rally and were forced to retire.
Not only did Virves avoid mistakes, but he also handled the heavy afternoon rain brilliantly, which really shook up the standings. He completed Friday’s stages with an advantage of 13.5 seconds and 40.8 seconds over the crews occupying second and third positions respectively. The retirement of Roope Korhonen on Saturday briefly provided some breathing space at the front, although that did not last long. A puncture at the beginning of the afternoon stage resulted in the loss of the spare wheel, forcing Virves and Viilo to adapt their approach for the remainder of Saturday. Extending their lead was no longer an option. The priority became survival and tyre preservation. The gap gradually shrank and Virves ended Saturday in second place, three seconds behind the leader.
In the first of Sunday’s two remaining stages, the Suninen/Hussi crew extended their lead to seven seconds and the outcome appeared settled. Shortly before midday, however, an FIA decision imposed a 30-second penalty for an incident on SS11. As a result, Virves and Viilo moved back into the lead and successfully defended their advantage through the rally’s final special stage. At the finish, the Estonian crew held a lead of 16.1 seconds over their rivals. “It was a very long weekend full of dramatic twists and turns for everyone. We struggled a lot and others had problems as well, but I am very happy to be here,” said the 26-year-old driver. He won the rally with an average speed of 121 km/h.
The Toksport WRT crew was joined on the podium by another Fabia RS Rally2 pairing. Lauri Joona and Antti Linnaketo of TGS Worldwide avoided major trouble throughout the event and successfully resisted late pressure from their rivals, securing third place by just 1.4 seconds. Seventh position in the final WRC2 standings was claimed by the third crew driving a car from the Mladá Boleslav manufacturer. Italians Giovanni Trentin and Pietro Elia Ometto were the highest-placed crew from outside the Nordic countries.
Victory in the WRC Masters Cup category, reserved for drivers aged 50 and over, went to another Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew. The Turkish crew of Uğur Soylu and Mehmet Akif Yalçin claimed their first category win of the season.
With his fourth victory of the year, Virves has launched a decisive charge for the WRC2 world title. He now leads the drivers’ standings by 21 points over Roope Korhonen, whose Rally Finland challenge ended after a rollover. Korhonen, however, has only one nominated event remaining and now faces a difficult mathematical situation.
A greater threat to the Estonian may be Teemu Suninen, his principal rival in Finland. Like Virves, Suninen has completed only four nominated rallies so far. He currently sits third in the standings, 24 points behind the championship leader. Under WRC2 regulations, competitors may score points on a maximum of seven rallies, with only their best six results counting towards the final championship standings.
