72. Secto Rally Finland 2023
3. 8. – 6. 8. 2023, Jyväskylä • AKK Sports Ltd. • gravel 320.56 km • total distance including road sections - 1471.63 km • Other years
Info
SS22
"It's been a prety good weekend. We're sorry for the loss of our team-mate at the start of it but after that it's been such a joy to drive the car this weekend, it's a really nice one."
"It's a big relief to be on the podium again here in Finland after 10 years of I would say a struggle. It shows we are going in the right way. This direction we have to follow and carry on."
"To be honest my first podium in Europe I didn't exepct in Europe, but I'm so happy! It's very special for Akio to be here, he has been supporting me since the beginning and he gave me extra energy. Thank you."
"I would say the result itself is quite good, but we were throwing easy seconds when I was facing new conditions like rain. A bit of disappointment, but we just have to prepare well for the next rallies and come back a stronger driver."
"It's been amazing fun. Thank you Toyota for giving me this opportunity. Juho just said 'you surprised me with that last run' so if we can get one point from the powerstage that would be super."
"Honestly the engine no [is not running OK] but we tried to do our best. We lose power from yesterday we have a small issue and it grows, so not perfect."
"It was a bit of a f*** up to not score points definitely, but OK that's life. A win is a win and still an amazing feeling. Finland has never been great in the past and this was a really good, clean weekend."
"It's a really, really nice feeling. Thank you everyone again. It seems to be every rally I need to say thank you to everyone but I am so pleased and grateful to here. That was a really nice weekend."
"I have to say that the team has been working really well. We have a good result here, no issue on the car, perfect weekend for us. Honestly we are really happy. It wasn't the plan to be here, but finishing second on the podium is a good consolation."
"I like this one but it was a little bit challenging with the ruts. I am not sure we will take the stage win but I was trying."
"It was the seventh rally in a row which has been a disaster for us. We basically didn't have so much to do on this rally, we could not fight for the top places. It was more like driving through."
"It hasn't been the result we were looking for. I decided to try a completely new setup for the rally which was a mistake. But anyway it's valuable points. It's a fourth place hopefully with some bonus points - we gave it maximum."
"I couldn't really get the car very well sorted for this stage. Struggled a lot in both passes but at least we are through safely. It's good to have a rally without drama for a change."
"I have enjoyed it a lot. The stages are really nice and it was a good rally for us."
SS21
"Good stage. I think this is my favourite one. The car has been great today and the feeling is good. Too bad this is going to be our worst event of the season."
"I'm really happy if I can just go through the stage. The gap should be quite OK to behind, so if we can just go through then it's fine."
"Just had a clean run through but I'm surprised by the time. I thought the others would go three, four seconds faster. Let's see what we can do on the powerstage."
"Of course it's not ended and everything is possible, so I need to stay focused."
"I couldn't keep the speed up in the high speed places, I'm just struggling with the rear. I keep trying, I keep pushing it's all I can do now."
"It was good fun. In one junction I drove a little bit bad but other than that it was great fun. I knew I could go a little bit faster but I had to calm down because I had a little bit of a moment."
"We hope we will be able to do the powerstage, we'll see how it's going. Bit strange the feeling. OK I didn't drive but in the powerstage it was not so good. Let's see if it's possible to do it."
SS20
Spin
Spin
"Basically just slid wide a bit, wide road a lot slippier than I expected. Just couldn't stop the car in time and there we go."
Spin
"It's a tricky stage, quite low grip, lower than expected, but just a steady run now and then we'll see later."
"If we go home with a second place and some good points, we are happy with the result."
"It would be nice to have a bit more of an advantage, still two stages to go. For sure he never gives up."
"I just try to go, all I can do now. I fully agree that I have to try and go for it."
"Really good memories here, back in 2010 we won it. It was a tricky stage, I can tell you that the grip level was not what I expected. We had a bit of a moment on a left-hander and Juho was not happy!"
"Unfortunately the engineer saw something yesterday so they asked me to be cautious on the normal stage and try to do the powerstage only."
SS19
"The car is nice to drive, just trying to keep a constant rhythm. It will be difficult to catch for sure."
"It didn't feel so committed but clearly this thing's working pretty well, so the times are coming"
"Just cruising through and watching the battle behind us!"
"It's OK, new section at the end and I think Teemu did a good time on this stage before. For me it's first time so it's OK."
"I really tried to push but I'm still fighting quite a lot with the rear, the rear is going everywhere. I think I need to be finer with the driving."
"This is one of the classic stages, one that I have been waiting for. Great feeling to drive, fantastic. I was a little bit slow in the first part of the stage on the narrow road but it was generally good fun, we enjoyed it."
"Unfortunately we had to drive in road mode. We have an engine issue."
SS18
"It started on the Paijala stage, I lost my brakes and struggling with the brakes only three wheels..."
Brakes issue last 3 stages
Puncture
"For sure it feels really good, what a tricky day. In the morning it was mainly pushing, now some stages were just about surviving. I cannot count with my fingers how many surprises there was but OK we're through."
"It was very, very tricky to be honest and I took the careful side. There were a few places where it felt like a sledge - it was just about getting through safely."
"Tricky stage to end the day but it was just a clean run through from us. It wasn't the day we were hoping for but still it was a good day. It's nice to be in this position here in Finland, we didn't expect that."
"I was scared so much to be honest! Kalle is very good in this kind of condition and he's teaching me quite a lot, so I tried the drifting like pushing like hell."
"It was just a lot of water on the line and seems like I was too careful."
"It was horrible, it was not nice! The ruts were full of water and all over the places, but we lifted the car up so thanks to our engineer. We were a bit professional and it helped us in this stage."
"The worst stage of the weekend, there is no, no grip and I had water in all the ruts so I was not able to drive."
SS17
"In the narrow road it was a bit better, but when you take the wide road there are lines everywhere and we struggled quite a bit. It's quite tricky but really enjoyable in this car."
"For the moment I try not to think too much, because last one was more rutted and more rocky than I thought."
"Obviously not doing anything too crazy but still trying to keep a good rhythm and trying to drive well. That's just the goal for now."
"I'm not pushing really. Had a very clean run through, just trying to stay in the clean lines. We are too far back now, we have not enough power to fight for victory."
"It's close enough! I'm enjoying quite a lot to be honest, so let's keep pushing and see."
"I was trying. Not the perfect stage, but quite good."
"One junction missed, so a little mistake, but I hope people had fun!"
SS16
Stopped
Rolled
"Just trying to keep it clean and tidy, stay in the line, but of course still trying to go quickly. It's going quite OK, obviously the conditions aren't the easiest but seems to be going OK for now."
"It wasn't a big push, it was a nice, clean drive through. I thought we had a puncture but in the end it seemed to work. Anything can happen in there, it's really some rough sections."
"I felt a bit strange feeling from the engine. Should be OK, but I don't know."
"The ruts are super tricky, but I tried to give all I had. I had to change quite a lot my driving style, I tried to go for it."
"Maybe I am getting a little bit too old, but otherwise a good run!"
"Quite tricky, the ruts were quite deep and the conditions quite difficult. It was demanding, uh?"
SS15
"I saw Jari was on the side, actually quite close to the finish. There are some ruts but for me it was just giving some extra grip to keep the car in the line. It wasn't that bad for me."
"To be honest I wasn't sure if it was going well or not! So maybe I was pushing a bit harder at the end. Yeah, fine."
Stopped. engine?
"I didn't expect so many ruts to be honest. Yeah... I just didn't have the ride height for the stage. The grip is coming, going, coming - it is what it is."
"Quite OK. Condition was not as tricky as this morning so it's easier to drive. Next one I try to push more."
Hybrid issue
Hänninen: "From time to time he is doing quite okay. For sure, the rhythm is not always there but he is always quite relaxed, not overdoing anything and not pushing too much. There is plenty of work to try to control him!"
"Not happy with the run. I struggled quite badly."
"I'm very surprised by the feeling. I don't know, the line was so strange and the grip between the line and outside is so different. Very, very easy to do a mistake."
SS14
Accident
"It's still a pretty small gap and a lot of rallying to do, so we have to continue with our rhythm. Feels good to be honest to drive like this, and if the performance is like this we need to carry on."
"I don't have the grip but the car is moving a lot, I have a lot of inertia." Can you still get Evans? "From pure performance, no"
"It's OK. I expected to be slower because I was not really committed enough. But if time was like this OK, I think I can be much, much quicker in the second pass."
"Was quite bad. I was struggling with the grip quite a lot, struggled to keep the rear on the line but we try to work on that."
"Not easy condition. The grip was very strange, with the sun I was thinking the grip would be higher but it's changing a lot."
SS13
Accident
"Tricky stages this morning - hard to know exactly where and when to push when I've not driven the stages before."
"It's really, really close fight. Really a long way to go but on this stage I saw plenty of lines who went off, I don't know who it was but someone went off a few times! It was for sure really tricky."
"It was good, but I made two mistakes. Two times in junction, once I was in a ditch and thinking now it's over. All OK."
"It was quite low grip in places. For me I tried to be really tidy in the slower places and as committed as needed in the high speed. Seems to have been a decent stage."
"I had a good stage, to be honest I'm on the maximum I can do. I'm just spinning the wheels all the time, I have no traction. I had the perfect stage."
"We have no grip, I'm struggling a lot. Let's see next one."
"It wasn't the best, I'm just sliding everywhere. I don't know if I'm pushing too much."
"Juho was not happy because there were a couple of places it was slippy, and according to him I didn't believe him enough. And I said hey it's not easy! Easy for co-driver to say on that side, but anyway it was a good stage!"
"Conditions were quite tricky in this one, a lot of rain in the stages."
SS12
"I think we all know this road. The end of the stage was not going really well because after the jump I hit something and felt like we had a puncture. We probably don't, but I took it easy after that."
Accident
Accident
"Somehow tricky. I don't know why but it was not flowing like I wanted. Some really wide sections, I just should have pushed more."
"To be honest it was quite clean and tidy, just doing what I need to do. For sure I felt in some places I needed to be a bit more brave."
"I tried. I carry on. I have a good feeling in there, obviously we know the road so I was really on the edge there. It was fun."
"Just spun. It was so slippy, I just lost the line a bit and I could not manage it so I had to reverse and things. Lost a lot of time."
"Yeah, maybe," Suninen said, learning that he might take third, "but it's a long way to go and the conditions are really tricky. So we have to keep focused."
"I was getting this feeling, the old feeling from the past when you are driving over the jumps and flying! But Juho was angry with me as I hit a rock on the second right-hand corner, but I was explaining it was just a little bit."
Spin
"It was a very nice stage, quite demanding but yeah we enjoy. The grip it's a bit tricky to understand but it was not a bad stage."
SS11
"That was pretty awesome, yeah! At some places I was like hell I am slowing down too much, but I tried to push"
"It was slippy in some corners, quite difficult to know where you can push, but yeah... all OK."
"Everything's working quite well with the car. To be honest now with the passage of cars certain corners are getting quite slippy, not easy to always be on it. But everything working OK."
"It's not a surprise to be honest," he said, learning Evans was going faster behind. "I was fighting with the grip. As soon as I tried a little bit more, I lost the line. I did what I could."
"This one I had to do quite careful because in the beginning I had to change pacenote, I was missing some information and I was a bit confused - my mistake. I thought driving was proper bad, but OK."
"It's not going to be easy [to make the podium], I have to be honest, but I try to keep pushing and avoid the mistakes"
"It's a very nice stage, it's a nice rhythm but I was a bit afraid of the slippy corners. But it wasn't as bad as I thought, the grip was constant."
"It was very, very tricky to start after what happened yesterday so I was very cautious, but it was quite demanding the grip was very low in some parts."
SS10
"I have been quite happy with the day. It's been super tricky conditions with the rain and the grip changes but I have been happy with the car, that's a good thing. The dream is still alive to get the podium but we need to have a good Saturday."
"Bit disappointed with that run, had a half-spin at the top here. Pretty happy overall but obviously a lot of driving to do tomorrow, so looking forward to that."
"It was a good stage but actually first hairpin I was stuck in second gear so I lost probably half a second, second over there. But other than this it was a clean run."
"So far everything is good. Of course I was losing a bit of time in the morning but otherwise OK."
"Generally it's been a very good day and we can be very pleased with the performance. It's not an easy stage to finish the day, I took it quite carefully so that we could get through and continue with our nice experience here at Rally Finland."
"For sure it's been far less than we expected today. I think we'll make a fairly big setup change tonight and see where we can go tomorrow."
SS9
"Obviously there was some stone which I didn't see on recce, it happens. Maybe we didn't lose too much, but OK."
Puncture
"Just for me, on the line there was a small impact and immediately I could feel something was wrong but it was actually holding up for one kilometer. Then in one of the last corners the wheel came off."
Broken front right suspension
"The driver nature is like this, you want to go fast! It's been a good day so far, really enjoyable."
"It was clearly a lot better, so I could have pushed a bit more. Grip level is relatively equal in every corner except the Lappi corner."
"Of course I try to push as much as I can, but this one I expected more tricky condition and it wasn't so bad so I lost time taking care. Still tomorrow is a big day so anything can happen."
"I mean now we have no choice. Obviously Kalle is off, one of our main contenders is out, and Elfyn is also in front of us in the championship and we are fighting for a victory. So now we are going to go for it."
"It doesn't change anything, it's very, very early in the rally. Of course a shame for Kalle who was doing a very good job but from our side it's business as usual."
SS8
"Super tricky. The grip level is changing a lot and I got the information that Kalle was off, so I was a bit careful. You can see immediately on the stage times that there is no room for any caution on the stages."
"I think Taka is now in the position where he needs to help Elfyn in the championship."
Spin
"We got slowed down, I don't know, 800 metres before the crash. People were waving and I was accelerating and stopping when actually the road was free. It is what it is, I did what I could to be honest."
"You cannot imagine how sad it is, but these things can happen in these conditions."
Rolled
SS7
"It was a bit more difficult now the second time because quite a lot of impacts, so we didn't have the same rhythm as this morning."
"It's quite crazy, lots of ruts, big holes. It's a bit like wishing for the best."
"It's quite a tricky stage to be honest. We got small rain at the smart so I was just hoping driving that it was not coming more and more."
"I stopped at the yellow sign, I was angry with the wipers and I stopped 100m before the stage [finish]. In the high speed it's not cleaning."
"No not happy with it, but I expected it in some ways to be a bit more because we know how good he is in the conditions."
"For sure this one is a soft stage so it gets quite rutted, overall the feeling was quite good. Clean stage for me again"
SS6
"In one way it was easier but the grip level was changing because of this rain, it has made it muddy in some places. The driving was not so easy and the rhythm wasn't that great at the beginning, but the main thing is we made no major mistakes and we got it through."
"It's extremely tricky, slippy with a lot of water and a lot of grip changes. It's a big challenge but I will push and I will try."
"This condition is making it even more difficult than this morning. Some places you have good grip, other places you have none at all. Let's see how the weather's going to be"
"I have no grip, so I struggle a lot of with the traction. I'm losing the car sometimes, I don't know why. We need to do some changes. They were doing a rally last week in those conditions so they know exactly what to expect, but I didn't."
"Quite tricky conditions to be honest, couple big slides. But other than that fine."
"It was quite tricky to be first car, especially on the ruts. A lot of standing water. S*** stage from me, I'm a bit upset I could have been much faster"
SS5
Accident
"It was not an easy stage, I have to say. Towards the end the corners were slippy so I had to really feel the grip. When the rain came it made it really quite tricky."
"It has been a tricky morning and I could have gone faster. I have been a bit careful in places. There were some surprises. The weather made it quite difficult at least on the last stage and I think we lost quite a lot of time now."
"When you get a line and there are a few cars cutting and cutting, they bring out the mud and there is no grip at all."
Off road moment
"We tried, we had heavy rain at the start and then it was quite okay for a few kilometres, then at the end it was bad again. And the wipers are really horrible.."
"It was pretty slippery, that's for sure. I wasn't expecting it, it looked like pretty good grip but it was really bad and the rain was really quite heavy at the start."
Accident
"Proper bad for me. The grip was really low and I was sliding all the time everywhere, Definitely a tricky stage to be the first car."
SS4
"It's a very special stage. For me it's the first time and I expected it to be a challenging stage."
Damper issue
"Myhinpaa is a nice, nice stage. I tried to still keep it under control. I'm not using the whole width of the road, not leaning on the car in all the corners but it will come. Step by step."
"It was a tricky stage, but I could have gone faster. I was a bit careful in places."
"I'm doing everything what I can, very disappointed in myself I cannot drive any faster."
"I don't know if we miss a little bit of rear grip."
"I wasn't happy with my run to be honest, just didn't carry the speed where I wanted. Obviously it's a great stage to drive but I wanted to do better."
"It's quite an exciting stage. Not easy, it could have been a lot more wet for us - there is a lot of loose gravel."
SS3
"In a very fast place, it seems like we touched bedrock or something on the road in a compression. Obviously it has broken the sump guard and from underneath I can see that the starter motor is cracked. Other than that, it is not clear, but I can see that the engine oil is out and the engine is clearly broken. It’s quite probable there is a hole in the engine somewhere so I think this rally should be finished."
"I saw some marks at the beginning and I was a bit too careful. I need to improve the driving."
"We had good fun. I knew that in the beginning there is a quite nasty right-hander and Loubet went off there so we took it easy. I know I could go faster but I need to take risks and I am not quite at that level."
"I expected quite bad conditions but it wasn't so bad. I was very careful."
"I am happy with the driving. I feel comfortable and if I go faster than this, I don't feel comfortable! That's it."
"I had a good stage. I did what I could so I must be happy with it. I struggled a bit to keep the car in the line and keep the speed in some corners."
"I felt I was a bit careful in a few places but the penalty is massive with it being such high-speed all the time. You can always overdrive in here, I clearly didn't overdrive enough."
Lost wheel
Engine issue
"It was a nice stage, first time I did it like this. Fast stage for sure, but nice one. Definitely some cleaning but I felt we did a good stage with our road position."
SS2
Technical issues
"The target is to improve the driving. It was my first time in a proper car here so I think I can take some seconds off. The speed is quite crazy!"
"It was okay. Quite difficult with the grip but it's okay."
"I tried to push. I saw Ari Vatanen in the service park and he said to me "Antaa soittaa", so that's what I'm going to do.
"That went well, I have a bit of a flu going on but all good. The clock didn't seem to mind the flu though."
Accident
"The time is much better than I thought because I was left foot braking in some places. Very nice to drive, it's fantastic to be in Rally Finland!"
"Car is good, I can enjoy with the car. I didn't do maximum push, just normal push and it felt good. Team did a very good job to prepare this car so I try and prove that with result."
"The grip is very high in places so I was just too safe everywhere in the beginning, I just didn't trust there was that much grip. Then when the surface changed there was no grip! So the second part of the stage was really tricky."
"Surprised. Pretty struggle to be honest, came through smoothly as I could but I'm not able to load the car at the moment. Seems difficult at the moment."
"Quite slippy conditions, the grip is not so good, so definitely not so easy."
"I'm a bit surprised to be honest, it was a bit steady from me in places."
"My pacenotes were a bit slow in the beginning, but after 2-3km I got in the rhythm and it went better,"
SS1
"It's going to be obviously pretty fast-paced from the beginning. We know how this rally is and we're looking forward to it. Let's see what's possible."
"It was a good one, I tried to do a clean run."
"An amazing feeling - I can almost hear the people from inside of the car, I know how loud it is."
About Latvala. "I hope he enjoys his weekend! It's a great opportunity, we all know how much he loves to drive."
"We need to risk and a lot more, we will try. We will put all-in, let's see where it gets us."
What do you need to win here? "A very loose lower belt..."
"It's very nice to be here and tomorrow is going to be very challenging."
"Really nice to start in my home rally. It has been long time since we last drove here. I think it was a pretty good stage from us."
"The cars are just incredible, a lot of power and the aero is crazy."
"Back in 2003, 20 years ago my very first WRC in Rally Finland I was so nervous I was losing my eye-sight before the stage! But Juho was keeping me calm, I had good fun. Really enjoyed it!"
"I still hate this stage."