Classic stage returns to Neste Oils Rally Finland

World famous stage will be back in its original form for 2012 event

By Franck Drui

15 February 2012 - 14:03
Classic stage returns to Neste (...)

The stage Colin McRae famously named his racehorse after Ouninpohja will return to the route for this year’s Neste Oils Rally Finland.

The organisers of the event have confirmed the 33-kilometre test will be included as the Power Stage in the itinerary, offering bonus points to the drivers while it is shown live on television.

The August 2-4 round of the 2012 World Rally Championship powered by Nokia remains in Jyvaskyla, the city described as the spiritual home of the rally, and will do for the next three years following a new deal agreed by the event organisers and the city itself. This year’s rally will, however, follow the 2011 route by heading down to Lahti on the opening day. Days two and three will be based out of the Paviljonki service park, with the final day (Saturday August 4) encompassing two runs at Ouninpohja. The last time Ouninpohja ran to its full length was in 2004.

Neste Oil Rally Finland’s clerk of the course Kai Tarkiainen said: “We wanted to run the long version of Ouninpohja, because that stage lost a lot of its character, when split in two. Ouninpohja always gets big crowds of spectators and there’s a lot going on. Through the years it has almost become the epitome of Finland’s WRC round. To many people Ouninpohja equals to Neste Oil Rally Finland.

“I believe the result will only be settled in Ouninpohja. The biggest change, in addition to the return of Ouninpohja, is that the special stages of Surkee and Leustu on the Saturday will be run to the opposite direction to what we have been used to in the last few years.”

CEO of AKK Sports Oy Neste Oils Rally Finland organiser, Jarmo Mahonen is delighted with the three-year agreement for the event to remain based in Jyvaskyla.

“We are very happy with this situation,” said Mahonen. “The spiritual home of Neste Oil Rally Finland is in Jyvaskyla, where its roots and tradition lie. At the same time, we’re also happy to continue with the City of Lahti a co-operation, which has got off to a very good start. We see it as a positive that the rally spreads geographically over a wider area, as we want it to belong to all Finnish rally fans. Through the co-operation with the two cities and our other partners, we wish to strengthen our position as the best rally in the world, a status supported by the best volunteer workers and the best spectators anywhere.”

WRC

Search

Motorsport news

Pics

Videos