Before the start of the first special Rally of Finland on Thursday, the Shakedown started with the success of Takamoto Katsuta in front of his teammate at Toyota, Sébastien Ogier.
The preparation of the Finland rally began this Thursday with the Shakedown. A 4.12 km course around Ruuhimäki was waiting for the pilots and it was the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta who made the best time (2’13 ″ 8) in front of his teammate at Toyota, Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman finished at 0 ″ 9 from Katsuta. It was on his third and last passage that he made his best time (2’14 ″ 7).
Winner last year, Ogier got into a leg before the start of the first special this Thursday from 6:05 p.m. Third place was taken by the surprise of the day Josh Mcerlean (M-Sport Ford). For the championship leader, Ott Tänak, it is a fourth place behind the wheel of his Hyundai. Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) finished fifth ahead of the Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai). Finally, Elfyn Evans (Toyota) took 7th place.
Ogier finds sensations
Before the start of the first special, Sébastien Ogier had carried out a test session on Monday. A necessary day as he had explained in the columns of The team After the Rally of Estonia. “Finland is so atypical ground that it always takes a few kilometers to find the sensations. Being in the right pace from the first specials will also be my biggest challenge. With the aero that we have on these cars, the speed of passage in the fast curves is really impressive. One sometimes wonders how it is possible to pass certain curves thoroughly, it requires big heart. But the sensations were good in testing. »»
