Rally Finland 2014

[makinen_fan]

Latvala in last stage onboard in now on youtube, really nice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCkP...gNF0s5y938Ji4O

[tommeke_B]

Finally found some time to write something on the forum. NORF 2014 was probably the best rally I've ever seen. Great stages, great entry list (considering the shape of the current WRC) and the itinerary this year was the best in ages. Seen 13 stages without a hurry. The action on thursday's Lankamaa was insane! Heavy rainfall started just before the first stage, and we weren't really prepared for it... The commitment of the drivers in a series of extremely fast (almost flatout) corners was amazing. On friday we did 4 stages, both Pihlajakoski and Kakaristo twice. On Kakaristo, towards the end of the 2nd loop (for the DS3's and Fiesta R2's) some massive holes appeared in the road, which led to some big moments for them. On saturday the itinerary allowed us to see 6 stages (2x Mokkipera, Surkee and Leustu). One place which we did before (see photo), all other places were new for us, but very nice! On sunday we ended on Ruuhimaki, only the first run, so we could catch our flight without any stress and hurrying. I was behind the jumps, on this long left corner over a crest (small jump), the end of the corner is already in the braking for a junction right. Very nice to see, and something different than the jumps. Big thumbs up for Latvala and Ogier, it was great and perhaps a bit unusual to see both of them pushing until the end of the rally. Also Meeke's performance was very remarkable and (for once) flawless, very clean and tidy, which reminded me of seeing Loeb in Finland a few years ago. Very impressive to see were Hänninen and Paddon, very spectacular (perhaps a bit too sideways to be efficient). Let's hope Paddon gets some future in WRC, he has real potential. Something that can't be said about Elfyn Evans, he was "quick out of the box", but there's no progression at all, feels a bit like a second "Matthew Wilson" to me... Disappointments of the event were Neuville and Hirvonen. Neuville didn't seem confident at all, his lines were never really "on it" before he retired. Hirvonen on the other hand looks like he's almost retiring from WRC... From "trophies" the Fiesta R2's were really nice to see, very agressive style from some drivers, while the competition level in the DS3 Trophy wasn't what I expected from it. Plenty of talkings about the GT3, but it's clear that a Porsche GT3 isn't a real rallycar (proven in Monte and in Finland now), at least in the specifications it has to drive in FIA-championships...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRSO4PJ2qVI - video of a friend. My photos will be online later.

[wrc45]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1eO2K8oQ3o
Amazing video from Finland. Really Nice!

[nafpaktos]

tommeke_b
Nice report.small and comprehensive!

Edit
Some words about wrc2 drivers-cars please (and especially for kruuda).

[tommeke_B]

About WRC2, no surprises in this championship that has too many events with too little number of competitors. To make the championship somewhat interesting to follow we need a comeback of the old "rules" where there are 6-7 events and not all to choose half of them from (and possibly avoid competition)... Kruuda was driving well indeed, quite clean (more clean than I'm used to see from him), he made some progress. In a way it's normal if you look at the chances he's been getting... Anyway Tanak was clearly the better driver, followed by Ketomaa. Also I'm not really sure if the S2000 is really slower than the R5 on gravel. The R5 was hardly impressive and I think Finland (together with Sweden/Norway) is the best rally for S2000 cars. Full of fast corners where you can keep the revs up. A bit disappointing for me was Chardonnet, it looked like he was never 100% confident with the car, often had some strange lines as well... Brynildsen wasn't bad but not great either, I don't know how much he drove before this year but I can imagine he wasn't really having any rhythm like a driver who's doing many events. What was a surprise for me personally is how clean he was driving. I remember him (from let's say 3-4 years ago) as being the driver who was all over the place...

[amilk]

A little bit late but it's what I saw with a camera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEd42Q8wdMM

[tommeke_B]

My photos from Neste Oil Rally Finland are (finally) online. If anyone still cares to watch them, I hope you like them!

http://rally-image.be/foto/0430/index.php

[gorganl2000]

My photos from Neste Oil Rally Finland are (finally) online. If anyone still cares to watch them, I hope you like them!

http://rally-image.be/foto/0430/index.php

some very good pics there and a wide variety.... no.49, 61, 65,73, 76, 84, 89 the one with the VW full air bourne really got my attention
thanks for posting

[dimviii]

excellent photos Tom,as always!

[EstWRC]

Hey Guys! im planning to go to Rally Finland 2015 this year. It will be my first WRC rally. The question i have is that im looking for a accomodation at the moment but a lot of the cheaper places have been already booked. Can some finnish or some other members who have been to this rally recommend some accomodation places? I read the beginning of this topic but couldn't get clear answer, some of you were recommending some student camping places and so on but where can i find this places on the net?
At the moment i have been looking places through booking.com and airbnb.com and the cheapest i found was at this site http://www.camping-ruuhimaki.com/ with 48€ per night for four people. The price is very good but is this place good for staying or are there better ones?

Thank you!