Every rally fan all over the world would wish to be part of the fastest and famous round of the World Rally Championship; that is Rally Finland.
The Secto-Rally Finland makes the ninth round of the World Rally Championship. It is scheduled for 3-6 August in Jyväskylä.
The fast gravel event is dubbed the ‘Grand Prix’ of rally given its exhilarating and thrilling action that it adds to the World Rally Championship.
From the smooth and twisty gravel stages to the number of jumps in every stage.
2010 Uganda rally champion Nasser Mutebi who has attended Rally Finland twice says there is no rally event like Rally Finland.
“Rally Finland is one event I could attend every year if I was privileged to. I am sure the same way fans hype about it, it is the same way participating crew wait for the event every year,”
“The action is out of this world. Some fans in Uganda thought the speeds on TV might be a bit manipulated, but I can attest that the roads, the jumps and the drivers give exactly what they watch on it. It is really an incredible event,” he says.
This year, Kawowo Sports gets a chance to be on the ground to cover the most remarkable rally event. And this will be a milestone for me as a motorsport reporter.
The event makes its 72nd edition since 1951. A record of 68 crews made entries; the highest in six years.
While the nine crews in the hybrid-powered Rally1 cars will be the centre of the action, three-dozen crews will battle in the Rally2 cars while fourteen crews for the rally3 class honours and eight crews in rally4.
Home hero Kalle Rovanpera will start the event as the favourite yet again given his current form. The Fin comes off a victory in another fast and gravel round in Estonia last month.
The 22-year-old is 55 points clear on top of the WRC leaderboard. And victory at his home event will further consolidate his bid for the second world rally title.
The rest of the crews will be on the search for victory as winning Rally Finland which is considered as the home of rallying becomes a special victory.
One of the notable entries this year is Toyota Gazoo racing Team Principal Jari Matti Latvala who will drop his administrative role for the cockpit once again. He last competed in Rally Sweden in 2020.
It will be Latvala’s first experience with the new edition of Rally1 cars.