Ogier has managed to celebrate victory in Jyväskylä only once, during the 2013 season. However, he has particularly excelled on the legendary Harju city stage, which he has claimed victory on five times.
Markku Alén, one of Ogier’s idols, also achieved five wins on Harju. This year, the Harju stage will be driven twice. If Ogier succeeds in winning both times, he would surpass not only Alén but also Juha Kankkunen in the all-time statistics.
“I have to say it’s not really my main target this weekend. If it happens, I will be happy. Like I used to say in Portugal, I was many years tied with Markku with his five wins. I used to say I’m very happy being tied with him,” Ogier laughed at the statistic dug up by MTV3’s reporter Juho Kokko.
“Hello to to Markku. I hope to see you this weekend.”
One of the highlights of the weekend is the classic Ouninpohja special stage, which will be driven on Saturday. Often voted the best stage in the world, Ouninpohja returns to Rally Finland schedule in its full length after a seven-year break.
“That’s a big pleasure to see that Ouninpohja is back in the full length. I think Myhinpää also is a very beautiful state, very impressive. Päijälä is always nice. I think there’s a lot of nice stages this year, and that sounds good,” Ogier enthuses.
However, one stage receives something other than praise from Ogier. The multi-champion is not pleased with the Laajavuori Power Stage.
“I’m sure many would say that we could have found a better Power Stage. There are many beautiful special stages here, but now they’ve chosen one that otherwise doesn’t represent this rally. On the other hand, it is close to the city,” Ogier stated.
