The team’s situation took a dramatic turn during Saturday afternoon’s Västilä stage. Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux both suffered punctures and dropped from second and third to more than two minutes behind Toyota’s rally leader Kalle Rovanperä.
As a result, Toyota drivers now hold the top five positions in the overall classification. Behind Rovanperä are Takamoto Katsuta, Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Sami Pajari.
“It’s quite unbelievable. All five cars up there, and no real problems. Just incredible,” Juha Kankkunen, currently serving as Toyota’s team principal, was revelling in the situation as he spoke to RallyJournal.com.
Hyundai’s troubles drastically changed the complexion of the rally. Kankkunen admitted he was left stunned by what he witnessed during the key moments.
“As a driver who’s done quite a few rallies myself, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Of course, something could still go wrong for us, but this time it really hit one team hard.”
“First (Ott) Tänak gets a five-minute penalty, and then the boys (Neuville and Fourmaux) hit the same rock and break the same front tyre. If I were a team boss in that situation right now, I wouldn’t be smiling much. The boys always do their best, but you wouldn’t wish that on anyone,” Kankkunen said.
Heading into the final day, Katsuta, Ogier and Evans are separated by just over eight seconds, with the iconic Ouninpohja stage to be run twice on Sunday. Kankkunen gave the Toyota drivers a clear directive for the finale.
“They’re free to drive as they normally would. No need for any team games here. They know what they’re doing. There’s no reason for us to interfere,” Kankkunen confirmed.
Of the trio, Evans and Ogier are the ones most in need of points for their personal championship battles – Evans currently sits second in the standings, Ogier third. Katsuta, on the other hand, is not in the title fight.
However, according to Kankkunen, a podium spot won’t be taken away from Katsuta by way of team orders.
“What would be the reason for that? There’s still plenty of time to collect points. There are quite a few rallies left. I think ‘Taka’ has driven such a strong rally that nobody should be punished for doing a good job,” Kankkunen emphasised.
Rovanperä, once again, was the fastest driver overall on Saturday. He now leads the rally by just over half a minute, meaning his first-ever home victory is firmly within reach.
“Now we’re starting to see the old Kalle again. He drove a fantastic day and rightfully leads the rally. Kalle has set clearly the most stage wins, so there’s really no argument about it,” Kankkunen praised.
