Finnish rally promise Jari Huttunen celebrated the WRC3 class championship in the World Series two years ago, but now his career is at a watershed.
The 2020 class champion Huttunen’s competition program for this season is open. Huttunen is currently competing in the opening of the WC series season in the iconic Mountain Rally in Rovaniemi.
Working in Huttunen’s background forces Marcus Grönholm according to the weather, the Tunturi rally was added to the program at the last minute.
Huttunen drives Tuomas Skantzin with an old Printsport Skoda Fabia R5 car. Huttunen has had a convincing start to the hill rally. On Friday, he announced the base times for the first three special tests.
According to Grönholm, it is possible that Huttunen could drive the same car in the Swedish World Rally Championship at the beginning of February. Driving depends on whether you have the necessary money for it.
– The car is not as sharp as others, but maybe the winter weather will forgive a little. Jari also likes to drive that car. Jari has sometimes driven a car like that in the World Rally Championship for a special time trial, says Grönholm and refers to the events of the 2019 World Rally Championship in Sweden.
At that time, Huttunen made history when he recorded the record time in a Skoda Fabia R5 car for the 8.9 kilometer long special test in Tornsby. It was the first time in the era of WRC cars that an R5 class car took first place in an actual special test.
Grönholm says that the Tunturiralli is not a big screen place for Huttuse in terms of foreign countries. Grönholm still hopes that supporters would be excited about his protégé’s performances in his home country.
According to Grönholm, Huttunen’s situation is not easy at the moment.
How worrying is the situation in terms of Huttunen’s career?
– It really is a bit difficult. Stable places are known, there are none. The rest must be purchased with money. WRC2 is a good class. Of course, that is also behind the hard work to be able to drive it, Grönholm states.
Toyota’s new car is one option
Huttunen was able to make his long-awaited debut in the main class of the World Championship last summer at the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä. However, it was ruined by technical problems in M-Sport’s Ford. After some difficulties, Huttunen finished in ninth place.
During the competition, there was a lot of talk about possible compensation and even a new competition. Grönholm says that there have not been any discussions between the owner of M-Sport and Grönholm’s ex-boss by Malcolm Wilson with.
– Ninth place doesn’t warm anyone up. Expectations were higher. Nothing else has been discussed with Wilson. You can talk to him if you have money, Grönholm blurts out.
Grönholm says that Huttuse doesn’t really have any options for the future at the moment.
– Now let’s shave something. Then there will be a WRC2 car from Toyota. They don’t drive anyone, but it could be interesting as a car. However, that’s only next year’s stuff. Now it’s going a little rough. Let’s look at one competition at a time, says Grönholm.
Jari-Matti Latvala led Toyota team also rents a WRC car for those races where Sébastien Ogier not driving This happens, for example, in the World Rally Championship in Sweden, where the heir to the Prada fashion house Lorenzo Bertelli has rented a WRC-Toyota. However, that also costs. Grönholm already excludes this option.
– There are no possibilities. At least I don’t. Even if you want to, you just can’t, Grönholm states.
Grönholm is aware that he sounds negative when talking about Huttusen’s situation.
– This is just the truth and a realistic situation. It’s not easy, Grönholm says.
The third places didn’t matter
Huttunen won the WRC3 class handsomely in 2020 and also took race victories in the WRC2 class. During the year, he raced 12 times in Hyundai’s R5 car. Every time the lark reached the podium. At the end of the season, in December 2020, the rally site Dirtfish in the ranking (you switch to another service) Huttunen was the number one driver of the World Championship with an R5 car. He left behind familiar names from the main class Mads Östberg and Andreas Mikkelsen as well as those who have reached there since Adrien Fourmaux and Oliver Solberg.
In the 2021 season, Huttunen moved to M-Sport at the wheel of Ford. Last year, the rest of the third places were from Sweden and Sardinia.
This season, M-Sport’s WRC2 team is driven by Fourmaux, who competed in the main class last season, and the Luxembourger Gregoire Munster.
What does it say about the sport that a talent like Huttunen doesn’t get a driver’s seat?
– I can’t say what it’s always about. Last year, Ford’s results in the WRC2 class were not great. Of course, everyone also knows that Ford was not a winning car. There were third places, but they didn’t weigh much, Grönholm states.
The World Rally Championship season kicks off next week with the legendary Monte Carlo race. Kalle Rovanperä is going to defend his world championship. Two-time world champion Grönholm believes that Rovanperä will be in the championship fight again right from the start of the season.
– Kalle is so cold-tempered. I myself had the feeling that “oh, now that championship has been won”. The next season started immediately. The top spot was not immediately from Monte. It has to be found, says Grönholm, world champion in 2000 and 2002.
shows a summary of every rally SM series race on the Sunday of the race weekend. The summary of the hill rally can be seen on TV2 and Areena on Sunday from 19:00.