Rally Finland 2026
This article is my personal experience and all opinions/words are my own.
This years Rally Finland was a tough one, for many reasons.
It started with the usual short flight from Oslo followed by the loooong roadtrip from Helsinki to Jyäskylä but luckily I had good company in colleague Eyvind Brynildsen and Mia-Caroline (one of the @nomadictwinz). Mia was traveling alone and had WRC media accreditation for the first time so she naturally had a lot of questions making the car journey feel a lot quicker! 😄
Arriving in Jyäskylä it was straight to WRC TV HQ to say hi to everyone and collect my equipment for the weekend - radio, roadbooks and stickers. The Finnish broadcaster is sharing the same space as WRC TV as well as a lot more people in general on site this weekend, so it's busy!
After getting sorted it was back to the hotel to see the drivers parade followed by dinner at Revolution (no Sunday night after rally part for me this time so went on Wednesday for a burger instead).
Thursday shakedown as usual at Ruuhimäki starting at 0900 local time. I love this stop line. I have a clear view of the cars coming over the MASSIVE man-made jump at the end. They didn't disappoint on shakedown and many jumped both high and far, some even too much resulting in minor damages. There was a clear intent from many on how their approach was going to be.
Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool
This year is the 75th anniversary of Rally Finland also known historically as the 1000 lakes rally and many like to call it the Gravel Grand Prix. It's an amazing rally, steeped in history and if you haven't seen rally cars jumping through the forest in Finland you need to add it to the list. It's incredible.
Red Bull Content Pool
The rally as long as I can remember has started with Harju in the city centre. A tricky super special mainly on tarmac (with gravel tyres) which can easily catch you out especially if it's wet. A lot of fans come out to see this one and you can see everyone living with a view of the stage either out on the balcony or sitting in the window watching.
Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool
For Friday I had Mia coming along for the day and we headed North of Jyäskylä to cover 4 stages - every other stage starting with SS3. My colleague PK covering the others. Poor Mia had to quickly learn that when I stage is on I need to listen closely to the commentators and interviews. On SS3 we had Jon Armstrong going off and getting stuck, then Espekka Lappi rolled on SS4 (PK was on this one and then Julian and Eyvind went to find them in the forest). On our next stage, ss5 Neuville got in to trouble and arrived at the stop line with big suspension damage on the front left. It can get quite frantic when a car comes in with a lot of damage but the key is to stay calm, film what we can and be understanding that the crew wants to leave quickly and start repairs.
Mia and I found a place for lunch that was like stepping in to a cafe from 4 decades ago. The interior was faded and flowery and on the tv was just rally results on text tv. The staff didn't really speak any English but the food was great! Kiitos 😄
Then we got to our first stage after lunch, ss7 and while we held on to hope for a long time the heavens opened while the first car (EVANS) was still on the road. It was crazy. Some drivers compared it to the rain in Africa, others just seemed a bit stunned trying to go through the stage with very little visibility. Hats off to all of the crews for managing such a difficult situation! The leaderboard was shaken up a bit after this weather which also continued on the next stage. Fair to say we got very wet and dirty this Friday!
Saturday is to the South of Jyäskylä and this is where the real rollercoaster stages are. At the hotel breakfast I met Ari Vatanen (rallying legend) and I told him I was heading to Päijälä and asked him what he remembers of that stage. Ari says, "Päijälä is where we went to if we survived Ouninpohja, they were always in that order. Ouinpohja was driven in dusk, and then Päijälä would be in full darkness." Then he said, "I remember Hannu Mikkola´s family had a summer house by the Päijälä stage and I was there a few times. They were nice people but of few words"
I love this side of the sport. The legends from the past are wondering around and are happy to have a quick chat.
No doubt that the drivers enjoy these Saturday stages but some of the jumps are so big that it can also be a painful affair. The crews arrive at the stage ends and some are streching/moving their necks around while others are making faces that they have some pain. Not for the timid!
On Saturday there were some pretty big accidents at high speed. Thankfully the crews are ok, which really shows just how strong and safe the modern rally cars are. Hard to not be affected by it but it is also part of the job.
Super Sunday, Powerstage and rally conclusion. I drove to Himos together with colleagues Becs and Antonio and we hit heavy traffic. All the people spread out on the stages were all collecting at the same place on Sunday. Great to see so many fans from all over the world.
Huge congratulations to Sami Pajari and Markko Salminen for winning at their home rally and their second win in a row!! The Championship is getting interesting with just 4 rounds to go 😅
