The Jyväskylä World Cup Rally will be held from August 1st to 4th. You can find the full schedule of the rally at the end of this article. As usual, broadcasts the events of the Finnish World Rally Championship from start to finish on Ralliradio and in the moment-by-moment monitoring of the application. You can find out more about the route to the World Cup rally here.
The Finnish World Rally Championship will experience the long-awaited moment next summer, when the Ouninpohja special stage returns to the route with a length of more than 30 kilometers. The return of the iconic special test in a long version has been expected since 2016.
“Ouni”, known as an extremely fast fast track, has, however, missed the route many times in its long form. Safety has often become an obstacle, and specifically the restrictions set for the average speeds of the sections of the World Rally Championship.
The speeds will be taken into account next summer as well. The rhythm of the fastest section of Ouninpohja is interrupted in a completely new way – with a “virtual chicane”.
– I think it’s the first virtual chicane in the history of the entire World Rally Championship, race leader Kai Tarkiainen tells Urheilu.
Virtuaashikaan is made possible by the warning system in the cars, which is used, for example, when a special test has to be interrupted and you want to convey this information to the car companies on the expressway.
GPS points for the start and end of the slow motion can be programmed into the same system. In the meantime, a maximum speed is defined to which drivers must slow down.
– This happens in a distance of about 200 meters. When the speed drops to the target speed, the light turns green and then you can go again, explains Tarkiainen.
In the Finnish World Rally Championship, all special stages are extremely fast, but the rhythm can often be broken naturally at junctions. In Ouninpohja, this is not possible if you want to run it as a traditional version.
The chicanes are usually built for special tests with, for example, hay bales.
– The virtual chicane facilitates, for example, the notation phase, when there is no need for physical obstacles in the way, says Tarkiainen.
Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala during his career, he got to drive Ouninpohja in both a long and a short version. He flags for the virtual chicane.
– It’s the same for everyone. Let’s hope it works. One section in Ouninpohja is quite straight and when you put it in between, it doesn’t spoil the best driving feeling. The most important thing in the functioning of chicane is equality, Latvala says.
Ultimately, however, the people of Talkoo make Ouninpohja’s return possible. It is not possible to organize a single special test of the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship without local car sports clubs and village associations.
– We have gotten on well with the local village association, when sections of Ouninpohja have been run with special tests in Kakaristo and Rapsula. Discussions were started last year and now they were brought in to make Ouninpohja a long one. Without them, this would not be possible at all, Tarkiainen praises.
Lauri Joona and Janni Hussi are waiting for the first Ouninpohja
Jari-Matti Latvala knows exactly what kind of challenge awaits the drivers at the beginning of August.
– Yes, the tension rises. You know it needs to be driven hard when caution comes into the jacket. On the other hand, driving hard means increasing risks. Crossing the bumps throws the car and the adrenaline rushes when there are corners in front of you that you should drive without lifting, but at the same time you can’t fully know where the limit of grip is, Latvala describes.
Esapekka Lapin karter To Janne Fermi the most memorable memory of Ouninpohja is from 12 years ago. The duo had lost their chances of winning in the second class, but Ouninpohja’s first move made a splash: Lappi and Ferm put more than 10 seconds on the board to Sebastien Ogier in relation to.
– At the start, there was the same feeling as other clips before. Then at some point it dawned on you where we were going – even though we were full. It is the most profound experience. It’s just a great clip in that format, Ferm says.
For many drivers of the new generation, the future “Ouni” is the first in their career and certainly memorable. Touring the WRC2 class World Series this season Lauri Joona looking forward to his own opportunity.
– I’ve been waiting since I was a little boy to be able to pull it. There, we’re almost more in the air than on the ground, even in a rally2 car, Joona thinks.
For Joona’s cart To Janni Huss Next summer’s World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä will be the first of my career. He immediately gets to experience the legendary high-speed drug.
– I’ve been cheering along the road before, but now the perspective is different and everything is new. It will be really cool, says Hussi.