It was not only the young Finn's undisputed victory in his home country, but also Toyota's total domination, with five cars in the top five places. Hyundai was always far behind, and even Ott Tanak was involved in an unimaginable incident when he touched a marshal. Everything went wrong for Hyundai, even with punctures, and the situation is becoming increasingly complicated in terms of the drivers' and constructors' championships.
This dominance extended to the WRC2 category, with two Toyota Yaris cars taking the top two spots, marked by the return of Jari-Matti Latvala to competition. The Toyota GR director wanted to compete in his home country and shone in the category, losing first place to another Toyota, driven by Roope Korhonen, by just 1.1 seconds. Everything was simply brilliant for Toyota at Rally Finland.
And finally, two-time champion Kalle Rovanpera returned with all the class that characterizes the young Finnish driver. In addition to winning the race, he triumphed on “Super Sunday” and even won the “Power Stage.” What more could you ask for? Rovanpera (173 points) is now in 2nd place in the 2025 WRC, just 3 points behind Elfyn Evans (176), who regained the lead, with Ogier and Tanak tied for 3rd place with 163 points. And while Tanak shone in the previous WRC race, the Rally Estonia, things did not go well in Finland, where despite finishing 10th overall, he bumped into a marshal in his service area and received a suspended penalty, which could cost him 75 points.
As for Sébastien Ogier, after finishing third in Finland, just 5.9 seconds behind an extraordinary Takamoto Katsuta, the eight-time world champion has decided to compete in all the WRC 2025 races in an attempt to win his ninth title, thereby equaling his compatriot Sébastien Loeb. The next answers are expected at the Paraguay Rally from August 28 to 31.