Rovanperä and Halttunen were in a commanding lead, on their way to their first victory in their home rally.
But everything came to an end on the penultimate special stage, with less than ten stage kilometres left to race.
Rovanperä drove into a corner at speed, where a loose stone had rolled onto the racing line. The Toyota hit the stone, causing the car to veer off the road.
At that point, Rovanperä and Halttunen were mere passengers. The Toyota ended up in the forest, and their race was over.
The situation was unfortunate and undoubtedly frustrating for the Finnish stars. Everything was under control, but one stone ruined it all.
An annoyed Halttunen eventually walked from the forest to the fateful corner and expressed his strong feelings.
“None of the Finns even bothered to remove that stone from the road,” Halttunen exclaimed loudly.
Ihan hyvä ja oikeutettu kysymys Jonnelta!
— Ja_Taala (@Ja_Taala) August 4, 2024
Normaalisti kun toimitaan, niin noi vaaralliset ansat potkitaan ihan automaattisesti pois ajolinjoilta ojaan tms. #Rallikansa#SectorRallyFinland #RallyFinland#MMralli #Ralliradio pic.twitter.com/yCtDUOU4KI
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Halttunen later commented on the incident on his social media channels.
“I might have been a bit frustrated today after we hit this loose rock and said out loud that why didn’t anybody remove it. I just want to clarify that nobody is allowed onto the special stages during rally. I was just frustrated in the moment,” Halttunen explained.
“We will try again next year!”
Rovanperä and Halttunen’s season has been distinctly two-sided. The reigning champions, competing in selected rallies, have taken three wins but also have three retirements from leading positions.
The victory in the Rally Finland ultimately went to Toyota’s French veteran Sebastien Ogier, ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who remains the leader of the championship standings. Ogier has risen to second place in the championship, despite missing three rounds this season.
