Le Grande Yump: World Rally Championship Rally Finland

Sebastien Ogier’s first career Rally Finland win rubbed salt in the wounds of his wounded Finnish rivals as a potential challenge takes shape.

A French rally driver beating Finnish counterparts at their home turf at the famous World Rally Championship’s Rally Finland. That’s got a familiar ring to it.

An all too familiar one now as after Sebastien Loeb showed up the ‘Flying Finns’ in 2008, his compatriot and heir apparent to the world rally throne Sebastien Ogier seemed intent on rubbing it in.

And by the time you read this issue Ogier would have most likely followed it up with a win for Volkswagen’s Polo R WRC at the manufacturer’s home event in Germany.

His flamboyant Finnish teammate Jari-Matti Latvala sure doesn’t look likely to get the better of him. His own home event seemed to turn against him as suspension damage Latvala almost to the tail of the running order before he climbed back to finish a distant 17th.

And while Thierry Neuville’s second place for Ford in Finland is another feather in the cap for the talented 25-year-old Belgian, he’s a long way off yet from opening his WRC win account and troubling Ogier.

Perhaps the only real challenge for Ogier and the VW juggernaut won’t come until next year, when the Hyundai i20 makes its debut in its works WRC avatar.

The South Korean manufacturer conducted the first proper gravel test for its 2014 challenger and both the very experienced Chris Atkinson and former Production WRC, Super 2000 WRC, Intercontinental Rally Challenge and defending European Rally Championship winner (phew!) Juho Hanninen seem more than competent to take on Ogier and Latvala (when he can keep it on the road).

In addition to pre-competition testing and a talented driver line-up are two possible advantages. First is that VW has agreed to a development freeze on its Polo WRC in order to make things easier for new entrant Hyundai. Plus the sport’s new promoters are keen for some competition too.

The second is that Hanninen has been rallying for VW’s ‘sister’ (almost twin) manufacturer Skoda in their Fabia since 2009. His last three rallying titles have come behind the wheel of a Super 2000-spec Skoda Fabia.

A proper ‘fight’ certainly seems in the offing.