The third special stage started poorly when Hyundai’s Ott Tänak crashed at the beginning of the Saarijärvi stage, forcing it to be halted.
The crash occurred right at the start of the stage, and no split times were recorded for Tänak.
Later, TV footage showed Tänak’s car lying on its side at the edge of a field. A medical helicopter was dispatched to the scene, and later Hyundai reported that Tänak was unharmed, but his co-driver Martin Järveoja was transported to the hospital for further examination.
Before Tänak’s crash, only his teammate Thierry Neuville managed to finish the stage. Neuville also went off the road but was fortunate that there were no rocks or trees at that spot, allowing him to continue. However, Neuville was 13.5 seconds off the fastest time.
The fastest time for the stage was set by Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä. The Finn beat his teammate Elfyn Evans by 0.4 seconds.
“Firsly hopefully Ott and Martin are okay,” Rovanperä said at the stage finish.
“The stage is getting slower with every car. Every corner we cut a bit. It is not so easy.”, Rovanperä continued.
Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi woke up to Friday morning on the second stage of the day and was third fastest. Lappi was only 0.9 seconds behind Rovanperä’s fastest time.
“It’s difficult for everyone, and then there was the accident. We were very worried when we heard what happened. We didn’t know anything for ten minutes. Everything is not okay, but at least they are alive. Not the easiest preparation for this stage, but we will continue from here,” Lappi said at the stage finish.
Sebastien Ogier was fourth fastest, three seconds behind Rovanperä. In the overall standings, Rovanperä rose to the lead. He now leads the competition by 0.8 seconds over Evans. Ogier is third, two seconds behind Rovanperä. Takamoto Katsuta remains in fourth place, and Esapekka Lappi moved up to fifth in the overall standings.
Sami Pajari, driving Toyota’s Rally1 car for the first time, damaged his car’s rear wing on the morning’s first stage and faced difficulties. Pajari is now eighth in the overall standings, 35.9 seconds behind the leader.
“There is nothing wrong with the car except losing the rear wing, it is like having a puncture all the time in the rear,” Pajari summarised.
Rally Finland will have seven more special stages on Friday. The competition ends on Sunday.
Rally Finland standings after SS 3/20
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 19:00.7 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +0.8 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +20 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +42 |
| 5. | Esapekka Lappi | Hyundai | +58 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +14.7 |
| 7. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +25.7 |
| 8. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +35.9 |
| 9. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +38.7 |
| 10. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +1:02.1 |
Rally Finland Itinerary
Thursday 1 August 10:01 Shakedown: Ruuhimäki (4.12 km) 19:05 SS1: Harju 1 (3.48 km) Friday 2 August 08:13 SS2: Laukaa 1 (17.96 km) 09:20 SS3: Saarikas 1 (15.93 km) 10:35 SS4: Myhinpää 1 (15.51 km) 12:05 SS5: Ruuhimäki 1 (7.76 km) 15:10 SS6: Laukaa 2 (17.96 km) 16:17 SS7: Saarikas 2 (15.93 km) 17:32 SS8: Myhinpää 2 (15.51 km) 19:05 SS9: Ruuhimäki 2 (7.76 km) 20:05 SS10: Harju 2 (3.48 km) Saturday 3 August 09:05 SS11: Västilä 1 (18.94 km) 10:05 SS12: Päijälä 1 (20.19 km) 11:05 SS13: Ouninpohja 1 (32.98 km) 15:35 SS14: Västilä 2 (18.94 km) 16:35 SS15: Päijälä 2 (20.19 km) 17:35 SS16: Ouninpohja 2 (32.98 km) Sunday 4 August 08:55 SS17: Sahloinen-Moksi 1 (14.27 km) 10:05 SS18: Laajavuori 1 (4.35 km) 11:17 SS19: Sahloinen-Moksi 2 (14.27 km) 13:15 SS20: Laajavuori 2 (8.77 km)
