Katsuta clocked the fastest time on his third and final proper run on the Ruuhimäki Shakedown, which is just over four kilometres long, stopping the clocks at 2:13.8.
He beat his teammate Sébastien Ogier, who was second fastest, by 0.9 seconds – a significant margin for such a short stage.
Katsuta’s season has been tough, with only occasional glimpses of promise, but he has extensive experience on Finland’s fast gravel roads, which seemed to work in his favour this time.
Another surprise came from M-Sport’s Josh McErlean. The Irishman was third quickest overall, although it’s worth noting that this time came on his final run.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak set the fourth-fastest time. The Estonian was 1.3 seconds slower than Katsuta on the Ruuhimäki stage.
Kalle Rovanperä was fifth quickest. He seemed to have better grip than in previous outings, raising expectations for the weekend.
“This weekend we’ll try to do everything we can. We’re not going to leave anything out there,” Rovanperä said after his first run.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari had topped the times after the early runs but eventually ended up eighth on the final shakedown leaderboard.
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala also turned heads. On his first run, he was the fastest Rally2 car, even beating the recently sensational winner of Rally Estonia, Oliver Solberg. On his final run, Latvala matched Solberg’s time – despite having social media personality Sointu Borg in the passenger seat. As is tradition, the time for the VIP ride was officially marked as exactly 10 minutes.
M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks is set to receive strong support from Latvian fans this weekend, but his pace has not yet reflected that. He was only 11th fastest and the slowest among the Rally1 cars.
Rally Finland officially kicks off on Thursday evening with the traditional Harju spectator stage. The Harju stage begins at 19:05 local time. The rally gets properly underway on Friday morning.
Shakedown results – Rally Finland:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | 2:13.8 |
| 2. | Sébastien Ogier | Toyota | 2:14.7 |
| 3. | Josh McErlean | Ford | 2:15.0 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | 2:15.1 |
| 5. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 2:15.7 |
| 6. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | 2:16.0 |
| 7. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | 2:16.1 |
| 8. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | 2:16.6 |
| 9. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 2:16.9 |
| 10. | Grégoire Munster | Ford | 2:17.0 |
| 11. | Martins Sesks | Ford | 2:17.3 |
Rally Finland itinerary (CET):
Thursday, 31 July
08.01 Shakedown: Ruuhimäki (4.12 km)
18.05 SS1: Harju 1 (2.58 km)
Friday, 1 August
07.03 SS2: Laukaa 1 (17.96 km)
08.03 SS3: Saarikas 1 (15.78 km)
09.23 SS4: Myhinpää 1 (14.47 km)
10.51 SS5: Ruuhimäki 1 (7.76 km)
12.01 Service (40 min)
13.44 SS6: Laukaa 2 (17.96 km)
14.44 SS7: Saarikas 2 (15.78 km)
16.04 SS8: Myhinpää 2 (14.47 km)
17.35 SS9: Ruuhimäki 2 (7.76 km)
18.30 SS10: Harju 2 (2.58 km)
Saturday, 2 August
07.01 SS11: Parkkola 1 (15.51 km)
08.42 SS12: Västilä 1 (18.94 km)
09.36 SS13: Päijälä 1 (20.19 km)
11.05 SS14: Leustu 1 (16.44 km)
12.35 Service (40 min)
14.01 SS15: Parkkola 2 (15.51 km)
15.42 SS16: Västilä 2 (18.94 km)
16.36 SS17: Päijälä 2 (20.19 km)
18.05 SS18: Leustu 2 (16.44 km)
Sunday, 3 August
09.35 SS19: Ouninpohja 1 (23.98 km)
12.15 SS20: Ouninpohja 2 (23.98 km)
