WRC-2023: Long live the intrigue!

At the ninth round of the WRC season, Rally Finland, something happened that no one expected: on the second day of the competition, three top contenders dropped out of the race. And this was immediately used by a potential contender for the title, Elfyn Evans. The Welshman managed to become the third driver in history to win the Finnish WRC stage more than once. Only the legendary Frenchman Sebastian Loeb and the Estonian Ott Tänak have achieved this.

The Finns like to say that the winner at their stage is the one who knows how to find the right balance between risk and speed. They say that at Rally Finland, on high-speed gravel tracks, you should not always fly at top speed, as the turns can be very treacherous. And the weather added fuel to the fire. After the rain, the car became even harder to hold on to in some dirt areas, and the favourites got some unpleasant surprises. First of all, it concerns the current champion and leader of the individual standings, Kalle Rovanpera. The Finnish driver turned the car over in front of his home crowd. The damage to the car was so severe that Rovanpera was unable to return to the fight. Another track owner, Esapekka Lappi, also lost his way. And last year's winner, Estonian Ott Tänak, ‘caught’ a large roadside boulder and subsequently dropped out of the race due to engine problems. Tänak's teammate Pierre-Louis Loubet also failed to keep his car on the fast dirt track. The Frenchman flew into a tree.

After a series of accidents, the stage turned into a solo performance by Elfyn Evans. The Welshman dominated the second half of the stage. If before Saturday's program, the 34-year-old pilot was only seven seconds ahead of his closest pursuer, Belgian Thierry Neuville, this was followed by the best results in seven consecutive special events, which left no doubt about Elfyn's eventual success. On the final day, the Briton only brought it to a logical victory. Evans won the second stage this season and the seventh in his career. In addition, extra points for the best time on the bonus dope were also worth watching. Thus, Elfyn succeeded in closing the gap with Rovanepera in the individual standings by more than half, from 55 to 25 points.

Thierry Neuville finished second in Rally Finland, not losing his mathematical chances to compete for the championship. Takamoto Katsuta took the third position at the Finnish stage, in a fierce battle with the Finn Teemu Suninen. This is the Japanese Toyota driver's debut podium of the season. Meanwhile, the Finnish public had a nightmare in 2021, when none of the local pilots made it to the top three.

For the Toyota team, this stage was also interesting because the team boss took part in the Rally of Finland. The winner of 18 WRC races, 38-year-old Jari-Matti Latvala, who has been the team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT since 2021, returned to the pilot's seat for one weekend. The Finnish rider, who ended his active career at the end of 2019, did not spoil his porridge and finished the stage in fifth place.

The main result of Rally Finland is the renewal of the championship intrigue. After the ninth stage, the leader and current champion Kalle Rovanpera has 170 points. While Elfyn Evans scored 145 after the successful Finnish stage. Thierry Neuville is still hoping to fight for the first place. However, the gap with the leader is significant: the Belgian has 134 points. While the 2019 WRC winner, Estonian Ott Tänak, looks set to compete only for the vice-champion's spot this season. He has 104 articles to his credit. However, we cannot talk about intrigue in the Manufacturers' Cup. This is the third stage in a row for Toyota Racing. The Japanese team has already scored 378 points. It only increased the gap with Hyundai Motorsport, which has 311 points.

After the Finnish stage, the rally championship enters its final phase. There are four races left in the season. On September 8-10, the WRC will move to Greece. In early October, the World Cup will be hosted by Chile. Also in autumn, a brand new asphalt stage will take place, hosted by the roads of Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic - the Central European Rally. This race is based in Bavaria and replaces Rally Spain, which will not be on the WRC calendar for the first time since 1990. The final race of the 2023 season will be held in Japan in November.