Rovanperä had set the fastest time on every Saturday stage before the second run of the Päijälä special stage, but his streak came to an end.
The streak was broken by Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi, who beat his compatriot by half a second.
“The water was making it tricky, there was a lot of standing water here and there, you couldn’t really see them. This was a really challenging one with a lot of surprises.”, Lappi said at the stage finish.
Despite the challenges, Lappi drove the stage magnificently, forcing even Saturday’s king Rovanperä to concede.
“Really rough conditions on the stage and there has been a lot of rain on the stage so it was really rough and tricky. If we can enjoy the last one of the loop with a bit stable conditions, we’ll enjoy it.”, Rovanperä explained.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux posted the third fastest time in Päijälä, 3.3 seconds behind Lappi’s top time.
However, the Finns were in a league of their own in Päijälä. Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier was 11.3 seconds behind Lappi and only the eighth fastest on the stage.
“I couldn’t drive slower than that, I already had a moment even though I drive so slow. In some places it was rough,” Ogier explained.
Ogier’s slow pace further strengthened Rovanperä’s lead. Rovanperä now leads the rally by nearly 40 seconds over Ogier. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville remains in third place, but the Belgian is no longer in the battle for victory by driving alone.
There is one more special stage on Saturday in Rally Finland. The competition concludes on Sunday.
Rally Finland standings after SS15/20:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:49:21.2 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +39.4 |
| 3. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +1:12.9 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +1:39.0 |
| 5. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2:13.7 |
| 6. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +6:39.1 |
| 7. | Jari-Matti Latvala | Toyota | +7:05.7 |
| 8. | Robert Virves | Skoda | +7:36.5 |
| 9. | Lauri Joona | Skoda | +7:48.8 |
| 10. | Mikko Heikkilä | Toyota | +7:54.7 |
Rally Finland Itinerary
Thursday 1.8. 09.01 Shakedown: Ruuhimäki (4.12 km) 18.05 SS1: Harju 1 (3.48 km) Friday 2.8. 07.13 SS2: Laukaa 1 (17.96 km) 08.20 SS3: Saarikas 1 (15.93 km) 09.35 SS4: Myhinpää 1 (15.51 km) 11.05 SS5: Ruuhimäki 1 (7.76 km) 14.10 SS6: Laukaa 2 (17.96 km) 15.17 SS7: Saarikas 2 (15.93 km) 16.32 SS8: Myhinpää 2 (15.51 km) 18.05 SS9: Ruuhimäki 2 (7.76 km) 19.05 SS10: Harju 2 (2.01 km) Saturday 3.8. 08.05 SS11: Västilä 1 (18.94 km) 09.05 SS12: Päijälä 1 (20.19 km) 10.05 SS13: Ouninpohja 1 (32.98 km) 14.35 SS14: Västilä 2 (18.94 km) 15.35 SS15: Päijälä 2 (20.19 km) 16.35 SS16: Ouninpohja 2 (32.98 km) Sunday 4.8. 07.55 SS17: Sahloinen-Moksi 1 (14.27 km) 09.05 SS18: Laajavuori 1 (4.35 km) 10.17 SS19: Sahloinen-Moksi 2 (24.27 km) 12.15 SS20: Laajavuori 2 (8.77 km)* Power Stage
