WRC Secto Rally Finland 2025

[satnav]

Strange rally in some ways, many guys drove very well and didn’t get what they deserved.
Rovanpera was great, found the gravel speed and showed us his normal self, pleased he finally got his Finland win.
Katsuta, good job, fast and no errors.
Ogier is Ogier. He’s still fast and relentless.
Evans, excellent performance. Looked like he enjoyed it as well.
Pajari, a bit underwhelming although he set a few scratch times. Might be harsh as he looks like he is driving under instruction.
Neuville, great drive, bad luck.
Fourmaux, great drive, bad luck.
Tanak, road position put him under pressure and then he crashed. I’m sure some of his stages were good even if the times don’t show it, but not his best performance.
Sesks, pretty good considering his lack of experience here and super unlucky with the windscreen.
McErlean, pretty solid. I think he’s showed us already he has a higher potential than Munster
Munster, nice guy, but just not quick enough at this level.

Your first sentence is so true of many rallies, as we always say " Thats Rallying"

[satnav]

This command centre was nonsense from beginning...

I had both Toyota and Hyundai radios on my radio all weekend and was listening, i have been for the past 30 odd years and not much has changed, if anything major is happening they go to their phones. The only thing i heard this weekend was Scott on the radio after Vastilla about a corner just after the start with a large stone, other than that just stage start times and finish times ........

[Steve Boyd]

Rally1 cars also can change engine during the rally without penalty...

OK - the 5 minutes has gone, but you're only allowed two engines for the whole season.

Article 16.1 only allows an engine change before TC0.
Art. 16.1.3 says you can't change the engine after the start of the competition.

[Steve Boyd]

I guess the car is far more gentle on the tires, also could it be the setup?
It's just odd that all 3 Hyundais were matching the Toyota's pace and all 3 got multiple punctures on this type of rally, shame it killed a great rally and great fight.
Congrats to Kalle, amazing just amazing!

I wonder if Toyota run a different tyre pressure to the other teams. Lower pressure could leave the tyre more likely to be knocked off the rim bead and could increase the chance of overheating at high speeds.

[EstWRC]

Just looking at some photos i've taken and i mentioned it to a photographer at Myhinpa on Friday, i think although i don't know for sure , i reckon they are runing very low tyre pressures due to the Hankooks being so hard. But then sure it's always the tyres fault " I didn't hit anything" is what they always say .......

yep, this is what the two estonian commentators (both are rally drivers) also have been saying, they go too low with the tyre pressures to get more grip out of it.

but the Tänaks case deifnitely has to be investigated, i mean its dangerous if it deliminates at such a speed and place.

But like i said, Hankook doesnt have experience with such a speeds and loads so far. (average speeds over 130km/h). im sure they got a lot of experience from estonia and finland for next year.