Known as the team principal of Toyota, Latvala occasionally competes in smaller rallies with his old Toyota Celica, and this weekend he showcased his skills in his home village. Latvala was battling for top positions in the general classification for a long time, but then disaster struck.
Latvala rolled his car on the penultimate special stage of the rally. The Celica was eventually flipped back onto its wheels, but Latvala and co-driver Enni Mälkönen were unable to continue. The Finnish duo was not injured in the incident.
Roope Korhonen, familiar from the World Rally Championship, was in a class of his own in the Tuuri Ralli that concluded on Saturday. Korhonen sped away from his rivals right from the Saturday morning special stages and controlled the race towards the end.
“It was a good rally for us. We managed to control it well, and everything worked perfectly, so it was enjoyable,” Korhonen expressed his satisfaction.
Korhonen collected valuable points from the winter season of the championship, with two wins and a third place in the SM1 class of the Arctic Rally.
“This sets us up nicely for the summer,” said Korhonen, who will next compete in the Portugal WRC round in May.
Teemu Asunmaa crossed the finish line of the last stage in second place but ultimately retired after the final stage. The Clerk of the Course had proposed disqualification for Asunmaa, as his car was found to be underweight at the service.
Niclas Grönholm finished second in the Tuuri Ralli. Competing with a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, Grönholm was 42 seconds behind Korhonen and beat the third-placed Benjamin Korhola by 3.6 seconds.
“I’m getting more into this car all the time. There’s still some work to be done to get the car just right for me. But in terms of speed, this was probably my best rally this year,” said Grönholm.
Japanese Toyota driver Yuki Yamamoto finished fourth, ahead of Anssi Rytkönen.
The summer season of the Finnish Rally Championship starts at the end of May with the Länsirannikon Ralli.
Provisional results of Tuuri Ralli after SS7/7:
1. Roope Korhonen Toyota 48:24.2 2. Niclas Grönholm Skoda +42.0 3. Benjamin Korhola Hyundai +45.6 4. Yuki Yamamoto Toyota +1:22.4 5. Anssi Rytkönen Skoda +2:08.4 6. Henri Hokkala Ford +2:52.6 7. Kristian Nieminen Skoda +2:56.8 8. Mikko Eskelinen Skoda +2:59.8 9. Tommi Jylhä Skoda +3:07.3 10. Petr Borodin Ford +3:34.9 11. Pekka Keski-Korsu Ford +4:07.4 12. Jesse Kallio Ford +4:09.7
