7 days ago
Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan win in Junior WRC category of Secto Rally Finland
Donegal's Eamonn Kelly (Ford Fiesta Rally3), co-driven by Monaghan's Conor Mohan, won the Junior WRC category of Secto Rally Finland, finishing 8.3s ahead of series leader Taylor Gill.
The twenty-six year old Frosses driver also secured extra championship points courtesy of three stage wins.
Moving into the lead on Saturday's penultimate stage when rival Taylor Gill had trye issues, Kelly punched in the fastest time (SS17) to lead by 21.2s.
The Irish pair managed their advantage well. On the final leg - a double run over the famous 23.98km Ouninpohja stage - they went on to claim a famous win.
Standing on the top step of the podium, a delighted Kelly, who previously won the JWRC round in Croatia in 2023, said: "This is probably the first win we have really earned. Finland is the place of speed and one of the most iconic rallies in the world, it's a special event to win.
"It's a proper rally from the word go, there's no minding, it's flat out, especially when you're racing against really fast guys.
"From the start we were in the mix and it's been so enjoyable to be battling it out on these roads, the buzz is unbelievable."
Meanwhile, in the main event, another all-Irish crew - Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) took a season equalling seventh place after they benefitted from the final stage retirement of Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux.
Just like Monte Carlo, they were the top M-Sport Ford crew and also netted their highest points (6) haul.
Home hero Kalle Rovanpera, with his maiden Secto Rally Finland, victory led home a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 top five with a masterful display that powered him into WR title contention - three points behind team mate Elfyn Evans, who regained the championship lead.
Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston and Japan's Takamoto Katsuta took second place (39.2s behind) with Sebastien Ogier completing the podium line-up and even though he's on a partial programme, the French ace is only 13 points off the championship lead - the same as pre-event series leader Ott Tanak, who eventually finished tenth after the organisers imposed a five minute penalty.
Rovanpera began Saturday's eight stages with a 4.9s lead over the Hyundai of Thierry Neuville whose team mate Adrien Fourmaux was 2.8s further behind in third, but that was as close as they got.
Apart from a slow puncture on SS13 where Rovanpera found the conditions the most difficult he's ever faced on home soil, the Finn won five stages and ended the day with a 36.1s advantage.
His nearest challengers were his own team mates, a staggering quartet of Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 that provided the Japanese outfit with a lock-out of the top five places.
Neuville and Fourmaux stayed in touch and were within 15s of Rovanpera at the midday service, but all changed on the repeat run.
Neuville, who lost brakes for a few kilometres on SS14, and Fourmaux both suffered front right wheel puncture early in SS16 before ending the day in sixth and seventh respectively with Neuville also struggling with brake issues.
Having begun the day with some understeer, the demise of the Hyundai duo propelled Katsuta into second, Ogier in third had one objective - to stay ahead of fourth placed Evans, who was set to regain the championship lead.
Josh McErlean was eighth - gaining a position when his team mate Sesks struggled for vision through a misted screen on SS15 as he lost some two minutes when he had to stop and clear the screen.
The wet conditions posed plenty of issues on the same stage for McErlean, who declared: "So, so sketchy. You don't know where the water is or the puddles appear. So tricky. At the start we couldn't see, we opened the vents on the high speed road."
Sami Pajari completed Toyota's noteworthy top-five lockout. M-Sport's Gregoire Munster and Martins Sesks completed the top ten. Pre-event series leader Ott Tanak was down in fourteenth position due to the addition of a five-minute penalty imposed for an incident involving a scrutineer on Friday.
On the final leg Rovanpera, whose average speed was 129.95kph, went on to take a maximum thirty-five championship points winning the Power Stage as Toyota became the first manufacturer in 35 years to take the top five positions equalling Lancia's record set in 1990.
Top M=Sport driver McErlean showed improved pace from his previous outing in Estonia.
Secto Rally Finland (Round 9, World Rally Championship) Jyvaskyla
1. K. Rovanpera/J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h. 21m. 51.4a
2. T. Katsuta/A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+39.2s
3. S. Ogier/V Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+45.1s
4. E. Evans/S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+48.1s
5. S. Pajari/M. Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+1m. 18.8s
6. T. Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+2m. 01.5s
7. J. McErlean/E. Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1)+4m. 07.4s
8. M. Sesks/R. Francis (Ford Puma Rally1)+5m. 17.2s
9. G. Munster/L. Louka (Ford Puma Rally1)+5m. 24.9s
10. O. Tanak/M. Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+7m. 38.4s.
Rally Championship for Drivers' Standings (After Round 9)
1. E. Evans 176pts
2. K. Rovanpera 173pts
3. S. Ogier 163pts
4. O. Tanak 163pts
5. T. Neuville 125pts
6. T. Katsuta 87pts
7. A. Fourmaux 71pts
8. O. Solberg 52pts
9. S. Pajari 48pts
10. G. Munster 21pts
11. J. McErlean 20pts.
World Rally Manufacturers' Championship Standings (After Round 9)
1. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 458pts
2, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 371pts
3. M-Sport Ford WRT 129pts
4. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 85pts.
Secto Rally Finland Juniors
1. E. Kelly/C. Mohan (Ford Fiesta Rally3) 2h. 41m. 21.6s
2. T. Gill/D. Brkic (Ford Fiesta Rally3)+8.3s
3. A. Turkkan/O. Albayrak (Ford Fiesta Rally3)+21.7s.
Junior WRC Positions
1. T. Gill 95pts
2. M. Johansson 79pts
3. A. Turkkan 62pts
4. E. Kelly 57pts
5. K. Kakaz 48pts.
