[WRC] Rally Finland 2023

[Yugo_para_siempre]

Nice rally from Elfyn.

I think he would have challenged for the win,
even if Rovanpera was competing the whole rally.
They were very close and Kalle was pushing very much.

I still believe that 2021 was even better performance.
Tanak was pushing closely all the rally.
Rovanpera was clearly behind before his crash.
Ogier was miles away...

It seems, he was very happy with this car for the first time.

Previous Yaris made a good pair with Elfyn from the beginning.
This one not and in many rallies not at all.

[rp]

It seems, he was very happy with this car for the first time.

Yes, that´s true. Not sure that Kalle would have been able to beat Evans, because Elfyn had so good speed during the Saturday and Finland is one of the Kalle´s worst events in the WRC.

[janneppi]

I don't understand this whole "Finland is not a good rally for Kalle."
He's driven there three times in a top tier car. Last year was second and this year crashed in p1 while not really doing anything crazy.

1000 Lakes is not an easy rally and requires experience, but he's not exactly struggling there.

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[Berke]

Interesting stat: There's only three Finnish winners in Rally Finland for the last 12 years. (Lappi once and Latvala twice)

[Yugo_para_siempre]

I don't understand this whole "Finland is not a good rally for Kalle."
He's driven there three times in a top tier car. Last year was second and this year crashed in p1 while not really doing anything crazy.

1000 Lakes is not an easy rally and requires experience, but he's not exactly struggling there.

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I rate Kalle as a great champion and possibly a future multiple world champion (bad for the sport especially after the two Sebs). He is fantastic most of the times.

But let's be honest.
Until these days, he is not as good in Finland as in other rallies.
In 2021 he crashed when already around 19" behind Elfyn with the same car.
In 2022 Tanak won with a car that was not supposed to win and Kalle was 2nd. Generally a decent rally compared to his teammates, but as said Elfyn likely was struggling with this car very often last year.
In 2023 he crashed again. OK from 1st, but he was very close to Elfyn who was building his speed maybe the first time that felt so comfortable with this car.

In Estonia he just seems to have the speed, so easily, so effortlessly, so naturally.
If he had the same ability in Finland it would have been very easy to identify it. But he does not.

[janneppi]

In 2021 Evans placed higher in the standings than Kalle in order of 7/5
In 2022 Kalle placed higher than Evans 11/2.

In 2021 Kalle was basically a student driver.
In 2022 he was aiming for the WDC and couldn't risk it as much as Tänäk.

I think what i'm saying is that it's too soon to tell if he's struggling in Finland.

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[meh]

Make Rally GB out of fast gravel/snow rally and Evans is good at it.

* Rally Sweden 2020 - it was a bit wet rally for winter rally
* Rally Finland 2021 - was in September, already proper autumn in Finland
* Rally Finland 2023 - mud fest, Evans is good again

If we add here Ralyl GB win from 2017, then 4 of 7 wins are from fast slippy stuff.

All we know, he was clearly faster than Neuville. Sadly we can not compare speed wise with Tänak-Lappi-Rovanperä, as all dropped out quite early.

[Yugo_para_siempre]

In 2021 Evans placed higher in the standings than Kalle in order of 7/5
In 2022 Kalle placed higher than Evans 11/2.

In 2021 Kalle was basically a student driver.
In 2022 he was aiming for the WDC and couldn't risk it as much as Tänäk.

I think what i'm saying is that it's too soon to tell if he's struggling in Finland.

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With 2 crashes in 3 years (from a driver that is not crashing too often) and a speed that was never as dominant as in other rallies.
It is fair to say that until now he is struggling in Finland.
This can change in the future, but we are not speaking about the future.
In any case, we have different opinion about this.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Dirtfish verdict on Suninen 8/10

Another quality drive from Suninen.

He seems more than a little disappointed not to have passed Katsuta to claim that last podium spot, but he really shouldn’t be disappointed with his performances over the last two events.

With very limited testing, Teemu has delivered more than the team could have expected. OK, we know he has pace on fast gravel, but to deliver in such controlled style, under such testing circumstances surely must put the Finn in pole position for more regular outings in the i20 N Rally1.

[mknight]

Dirtfish verdict on Suninen 8/10

Another quality drive from Suninen.

He seems more than a little disappointed not to have passed Katsuta to claim that last podium spot, but he really shouldn’t be disappointed with his performances over the last two events.

With very limited testing, Teemu has delivered more than the team could have expected. OK, we know he has pace on fast gravel, but to deliver in such controlled style, under such testing circumstances surely must put the Finn in pole position for more regular outings in the i20 N Rally1.

Hilarous

D. Evans before event ( https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/david...teemu-suninen/ ):
"Can you win? Quite possibly. Let’s see what the weather does and how the competition plays out, but I’d certainly be backing you for a top-three."

C. Clark after Estonia: (https://dirtfish.com/rally/colin-cla...ver-ratings/):
"Consolidation and validation is the key to success though – let’s hope he can do exactly that in Finland."

Ref1: No podium even with 3 top drivers retired
Ref2: In Estonia he clearly beat Loubet and Katsuta. In Finland he was equal with Loubet when he retired and lost to Katsuta. Consolidation and validation it isnt.

For once I agree they are clowns.