Ouninpohja has been voted the best special stage in the world. This week it returns to the Rally Finland route for the first time in seven years. So it’s a good time to review what this special stage entails.
Put on your helmet and fasten your seatbelt; we are starting the Ouninpohja stage!
Start
This year, the driving direction is from Hämepohja to Kakaristo, as it has been since 1995 except for the 2016 exception. Before 1994, the direction was mainly reversed, but in the 1960s, the stage was also driven in the current direction. The most famous example of this is 1967, when Timo Mäkinen drove with the Mini’s bonnet open.
The start of Ouninpohja (and before that, the finish) used to be south of the Hämepohja junction, but in 2003 the start was moved further along to shorten the liaison from Jyväskylä. However, in 2015, it started once again from the old location.
Ouninpohjantie
The first road of the Ouninpohja special stage is called Ouninpohjantie. It is a well-paved state road, but not particularly wide. The first five kilometres are very technical but fast-paced. This section features countless corners, crests, and their combinations – exactly what Ouninpohja is known for.
The very first corner surprised Petter Solberg in 2006. In the same corner, Elfyn Evans hit a rock in 2015 and fixed the suspension with a spanner.
Just 800 metres from the start, there is a corner combination where Kris Meeke went off in a small-class car in 2005. In the same place, Henning Solberg performed a spectacular slide the following year.
After a long straight and a tight left turn, there are big jumps. The fast corner combination following these jumps, two kilometres in, was Harri Rovanperä’s downfall in 2003.
By Lake Naarajärvi, 2.7 kilometres from the start, there is a long right-hand corner followed by a big crest where Marcus Grönholm made a dramatic jump in 1996 and 1997. Nowadays, the crest has been somewhat levelled out.
In 2001, Toni Gardemeister drove as a substitute in Mitsubishi’s factory car. At that time, Ouninpohja was driven again as the rally’s final stage, but Gardemeister, perhaps trying to compensate for a lacklustre result, crashed heavily after an overlong jump. The car hit a rock, which was later painted with his name. Five years later, Dani Sordo’s name was also written on the rock.
Ouni’s house and the yellow house jump
At 4.8 kilometres, the stage passes through a farmyard. This house is called Ouni, and these field bends have been very popular spectator spots. This place is well remembered for Sebastian Lindholm’s roll in 2004.
After Ouni’s house, the stage becomes very fast as speed builds up for the yellow house jump. Many jumps are memorable, but one of the most dramatic was Richard Burns’ nose-first landing in 2002, which damaged the car’s turbo pipe.
The jump is followed by a very fast section. This is known for Marcus Grönholm keeping the throttle down for 46 seconds straight in 2006. This year, a virtual chicane will temper the section.
After this fast section, from 8.2 kilometres onwards, the stage’s nature changes to become more angular. Straights get longer, corners sharper, and crests turn into larger hills. However, there are still some dramatic jumps, like the crests at 12.4 kilometres, where Timo Mäkinen’s bonnet possibly popped open.
Okskulmantie
At 12.7 kilometres from the start, the stage turns left onto Okskulmantie. This place is called Mutasen risteys.
Okskulmantie is wider and faster than Ouninpohjantie. Especially the southern part of the road is like an “airfield.” In 2017, the section was moderated with two chicanes, the latter of which Teemu Suninen overshot. Chicanes will be in the same places this year.
The stage’s character changes only after five kilometres of full-throttle driving. There are a few tighter corners and one tricky combination known for Igor Sokolov’s dramatic roll in 2006. However, Thomas Rådström had already bungled the spot in 1999. In the other direction, Gigi Galli and Juha Salo have both rolled here.
Soon after this, there is a crest-over-left corner that became legendary in the 1968 Rally of the Thousand Lakes, filmed by a British crew capturing Ilmari Karppinen’s roll in a Volvo Amazon. Many know the place as Amazon Jump.
From here onwards, the stage is more familiar to current drivers, as it has been used in the Rapsula and Kakaristo stages from 2018 to 2023. This section is again quite fast.
Kakaristo
Okskulmantie ends at Kakaristo junction, one of the world’s most famous rally locations. Relative to Finnish roads, the junction is exceptionally tight and rear-slanted. However, the preceding corner is also challenging, as Craig Breen demonstrated in 2012.
From Kakaristo junction, the route turns onto a narrower but still well-paved road in the fields. In 2013, a “Tommi’s jump” was built to shortcut a long right-hand corner.
Ouni’s small road
Ouninpohja has been driven for 24 kilometres, but its potentially toughest section is just beginning. Known as Ouni’s small road, the combination of Pitkäjärventie and Liisanmutka is narrow and rough but still faster than many other small roads in Rally Finland. There are also numerous jumps.
At the beginning of Ouni’s small road, there is a corner combination where Oliver Solberg rolled in 2021.
Soon after, there is a spot where Toyota factory drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke both found the same rock in a ditch in 2019. Meeke’s rally ended there, while Latvala managed with just a flat tyre.
Only a few corners later, there is a squeeze that surprised Craig Breen in 2022.
One of the most famous spots on Ouni’s small road is the “triple jumps” downhill, where TV crews have often been stationed. The distance from the stage start to here is 29.3 kilometres.
Hassintie and the finish
Ouninpohja ends on the wide Hassintie, also known from the Hassi special stage. Right at the start, there is a tight left corner known as Minna’s corner after Minna Lindroos’s crash in 2001. The corner can be seen here, although there were no crashes in 2000.
After Minna’s corner, it’s full throttle to the finish. Behind are 33 kilometres of challenging and fast roads and countless jumps. It’s time to turn off the “bangs” and stop at the time control. Was it a good time?
