The undisputed star of the competition is Toyota’s factory team driver Elfyn Evans, who will start the event around Tampere in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 car.
Evans is competing for the championship this season against Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak. He is second in the WRC standings, 15 points behind Neuville, with seven rallies completed.
See the full WRC standings here.
In the HYAcenter Rally, Evans will have the opportunity to prepare well for the Rally Finland, which takes place a week later. The Welshman also participated in the test event in Tampere last year and ultimately secured victory in the special stages of the Rally Finland.
Last year’s HYAcenter Rally featured three Rally1 cars, with Evans joined by his teammate Kalle Rovanperä and Pierre-Louis Loubet, who was then representing M-Sport Ford. Rovanperä won the event, finishing 11.6 seconds ahead of Evans.
The HYAcenter Rally will see a host of interesting drivers competing in Rally2-class cars. Among the participants are British driver Gus Greensmith (Skoda), Spaniard Jan Solans (Toyota), and Finnish drivers Roope Korhonen (Toyota), Lauri Joona (Skoda), and young sensation Tuukka Kauppinen (Skoda). Former top co-driver Juhana Raitanen will also compete in a Toyota Rally2 car.
The event’s shakedown stage will take place on Friday, 26th July, with the main competition on Saturday, 27th July.
This year, the rally headquarters is located at Ideapark in Lempäälä. The event programme includes seven special stages, covering approximately 100 kilometres.
