broadcasts the events of the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship comprehensively: Listen live from Ralliradio from start to finish and watch the highlight clips fresh from ‘s highly popular rally coverage.
The World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä starts with very delicious settings, when the reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä seeks the first victory of his career in the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship.
The excitement has risen even more when Toyota driver Rovanperä dominated the competition in the previous World Cup Rally in Estonia driven on fast gravel roads. Winner of the 2017 Jyväskylä World Rally Championship Esapekka Lappi has also been involved in profit speculation.
1. Kalle Rovanperä’s situation is better than last year
Kalle Rovanperä was the favorite to win last year as well in his home race, but then he was driving a Hyundai Ott Tänak took the win from the Finn.
Last year, Rovanperä suffered from the role of a plowman, when he had to clear the road in the first driving shift as the top name in the World Series.
After the opening day, Rovanperä was 21 seconds behind Tänak, and he was no longer able to catch the Estonian from a better starting position during the weekend’s breaks. At the end of the race, the difference was 6.4 seconds.
Now, however, Urheilu’s rally expert Henri Haapamäki can see that Rovanperä’s situation is better than last year.
– I don’t think that the role of plowing time will be an obstacle to winning this year. There has been a lot of water in Central Finland. It helps, says Haapamäki.
The same is said by Haapamäki, who works as an expert at Ralliradio Even Ville Pynnönen.
– Today, Wednesday, it has rained. Heavy rain is also promised for Thursday and Friday. All the signs are on Kalle’s side. Rain and briskly, that’s what Kalle definitely wants, Pynnönen emphasizes.
The rain binds the loose gravel and dust, so the first starting point doesn’t become such a big problem.
– In the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship, the first starting point was affected by loose gravel on the driving line. Now the rain binds the bulk. When it rains even more briskly, the grip on the road becomes more even. It doesn’t matter if you’re first or fifth in traffic. If it rains a lot, the advantage of the first car is that the road surface is not muddy. Those who come later can suffer from mudslides, Pynnönen describes.
2. Rovanperä’s toughest challenger in trouble
Haapamäki sees that Rovanperä’s toughest challenger in the battle for victory would still be Tänak. The Estonian moved to the M-Sport team to drive a Ford for this season. Tänak has suffered from technical problems throughout the season. In Estonia, Tänak even had to change the engine after the special test. A five-minute time penalty followed.
Even today, the battle for victory against Rovanperä was over before it had even started. Now, in the tests before the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä, the engine of Tänak’s car broke down again and it had to be replaced. Owner of M-Sport Malcolm Wilson admitted to the Estonian magazine Postmees that he was worried about the situation, but did not reveal the reason for the breakup.
According to Haapamäki, Tänak is Rovanperä’s biggest challenger, if the engine lasts.
– These engine failures sound really special. Even today, the situation is a bit shaky anyway. There is nothing to do through joy. In the past, there has also been talk of Tänak’s “hitman” look when he drives hard. Unfortunately, that has not been seen, says Haapamäki.
3. Esapekka Lappi Rovanperä’s biggest challenger?
The World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä is now also experiencing the longest era without a Finnish winner. The last time a Finn has risen to the highest podium after a race was when Esapekka Lappi sensationally celebrated victory with Toyota in 2017 in only his fourth WRC race.
Lappi now drives a Hyundai and has shown convincing performances. Haapamäki believes that Lapland will win this year on the gravel roads of central Finland.
– It will not be a surprise if Lapland leads the competition after Friday. If we really enjoy it, it would be amazing to see Lapland and Rovanperä dueling for the win. Rovanperä is the favorite to win, but Lappi is breathing down his neck so that the voice can be heard, Haapamäki snaps.
The last time a Finnish double victory was seen in the World Rally Championship was in 2009 in Sardinia, when Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen took the top spots. In the winning year of Lapland in 2017, the Finns were in the lead of four for the longest time in the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä.
– If the water is poured properly, it can be a nuisance for Lapland. If the conditions remain the same for everyone, Lapland has a good chance of fighting for the podium and the victory, Pynnönen says.
4. A hero’s welcome for the barking Jari-Matti Latvala?
This year, a total of four Finns will drive in the main class in the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship. In addition to Rovanperä and Lapland, Hyundai competes with Rally1 cars Teemu Suninen and returning to the World Cup for one race Jari-Matti Latvala.
The most experienced driver in the World Series jumps from the position of Toyota team manager to drive the race.
Latvala’s decision has spoken a lot, because the team manager is not in his own position in the home race of the Finnish team.
Haapamäki believes that in the Jyväskylä World Cup rally, the rally crowd will line up behind Latvala, unlike perhaps in active years. Haapamäki sees that the people’s coat has turned before returning to the World Cup rally tracks.
– It seems that Jari-Matti has received some kind of approval from the people. When Latvala drove, he was always scolded on social media. After the career, however, a lot of comparisons have been made about, for example, podium places and stage wins. We have seen Jari-Mat’s achievements. Anyone who scolded in the direction of Latvala should keep their mouth a little smaller, says Haapamäki.
Latvala has collected the sixth most podium places in the World Series and the tenth most special stage wins of all time.
– I personally see that driving Jari-Mat is just great. The mood of the test day showed that Jari-Matti is now like a kid in a candy store. It is more than necessary for the sport that now there is a great personality in the race enjoying driving, Pynnönen says.
Pynnönen also reminds critics of Toyota’s management model. In practice, Toyota’s rally team is led by a team of four people. Latvala, director of sports Kaj LindströmTechnical Director Tom Fowler and project manager Yuichiro Haruna.
– Jari-Matti has been more in monitoring the overall picture and taking care of media obligations, Pynnönen describes.
broadcasts the events of the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship comprehensively: Listen live from Ralliradio from start to finish and watch the highlight clips fresh from ‘s highly popular rally coverage.