The 2024 Rally Finland route’s headline news is undoubtedly the return of Ouninpohja for the first time since 2017. Last time the stage was run in its long format in this direction, one must go back to 2015; the 2017 route was shorter and in 2016 it ran in the opposite direction.
The classics don’t stop there, as the route also includes the likes of Ruuhimäki, Myhinpää, Päijälä, and Västilä. The remarkable abundance of classic stages is underscored by the trio of Myhinpää, Ruuhimäki, and Ouninpohja last appearing together in the same rally in 1995.
The route team also deserves high praise for the Saarikas special stage, which is completely new and has not been driven in the WRC before. New special stages are hard to come by, with only Halinen in 2016 being the only addition in over a decade.
Moving the shakedown to Ruuhimäki is surely the right decision. This stage represents a variety of road types and serves the audience better than Rannankylä, which relied solely on one connecting road.
It’s not new for the shakedown to be the same as one raced in the rally. This was a common practice in the 1980s and 1990s when, for instance, Humalamäki or Laajavuori served both as a shakedown and a timed stage.
However, the 2024 route does not earn only praise. Particularly, choosing Laajavuori as the Power Stage is quite questionable. The stage would be more suitable as a spectator stage, and the road may deteriorate badly, especially since the Power Stage run will feature two laps, and the road has not been used in rally for years.
A two-lap stage indeed offers a lot for spectators to see and makes for a more dynamic television broadcast. The area undoubtedly offers excellent facilities for the award ceremony. Competitively, however, Laajavuori does not represent the character of the rest of the rally, which even the FIA’s rules require of a Power Stage.
From a spectator’s perspective, Saturday’s loop, featuring only three special stages run twice, means an eager fan will find it very hard, if not impossible, to see more than two stages in a day. However, the quality over the day makes up for the quantity.
Overall, the general impression of the route leans towards the positive. Expectations for changes were surpassed, especially since last year’s route already featured much that was new.
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