2018 Rally Finland

2018 Rally Finland
*68th Neste Rally Finland*
2018 Rally Finland; 68th Neste Rally Finland
Round 8 of 13 in the 2018 World Rally Championship
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	The Toyota Yaris WRC of winners Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja during the event.
Host country	Finland
Rally base	Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi
Dates run	26 – 29 July 2018
Start location	Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi
Finish location	Ruuhimäki, Toivakka
Stages	23 (317.26 km; 197.14 miles)
Stage surface	Gravel
Transport distance	1,110.23 km (689.86 miles)
Overall distance	1,427.49 km (887.00 miles)
Results
Overall winner	Ott Tänak; Martin Järveoja; Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT; 2:35:18.1
WRC-2 winner	; ; TGS Worldwide; 2:45:18.4
WRC-3 winner	; Kuldar Sikk; OT Racing; 3:03:07.2
Power Stage winner	Ott Tänak; Martin Järveoja; Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Crews registered	72
Crews	67 at start, 51 at finish

The 2018 Rally Finland (formally known as the Neste Rally Finland 2018) was a motor racing event for rally cars that held over four days between 26 and 29 July 2018.^[1] It marked the sixty-eighth running of Rally Finland, and was the eighth round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship and its support categories, the WRC-2 and WRC-3 championships, and the fourth round of the Junior WRC championship.^[2]^[3] The event was based in Jyväskylä in Central Finland and consisted of twenty-three special stages totalling 317.26 km (197.14 mi) in competitive kilometres.^[4]

Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm were the defending rally winners.^[5] Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were the rally winners. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturers' winners.^[6] The TGS Worldwide crew of and won the World Rally Championship-2 category in a Škoda Fabia R5, while Estonian crew and Kuldar Sikk won the World Rally Championship-3.^[7]^[8]

Background[]

Championship standings prior to the event[]

Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul entered the round with a twenty-seven-point lead in the World Championship for Drivers and Co-drivers. In the World Championship for Manufacturers, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held a twenty-eight-point lead over M-Sport Ford WRT.

Entry list[]

The following crews were entered into the rally. The event was opened to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2, and the World Rally Championship-3. The final entry list consisted of twelve World Rally Car entries, eighteen in the World Rally Championship-2, and another eighteen entries in the World Rally Championship-3, fifteen of which were eligible to score points in the Junior World Rally Championship.

No.	Entrant	Driver	Co-Driver	Car	Tyre
World Rally Car entries
1	M-Sport Ford WRT	Sébastien Ogier	Julien Ingrassia	Ford Fiesta WRC	M
2	M-Sport Ford WRT	Elfyn Evans	Daniel Barritt	Ford Fiesta WRC	M
3	M-Sport Ford WRT	Teemu Suninen	Mikko Markkula	Ford Fiesta WRC	M
4	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Andreas Mikkelsen	Anders Jæger-Synnevaag	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	M
5	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Thierry Neuville	Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	M
6	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hayden Paddon	Sebastian Marshall	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	M
7	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila	Toyota Yaris WRC	M
8	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	Toyota Yaris WRC	M
9	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Esapekka Lappi	Janne Ferm	Toyota Yaris WRC	M
10	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Mads Østberg	Torstein Eriksen	Citroën C3 WRC	M
11	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Craig Breen	Scott Martin	Citroën C3 WRC	M
12	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Khalid Al-Qassimi	Chris Patterson	Citroën C3 WRC	M
World Rally Championship-2 entries
31	Škoda Motorsport	Ole Christian Veiby		Škoda Fabia R5	M
32	Gus Greensmith	Gus Greensmith		Ford Fiesta R5	M
33	Tommi Mäkinen Racing	Takamoto Katsuta	Marko Salminen	Ford Fiesta R5	M
34	ACI Team Italia WRC		Simone Scattolin	Škoda Fabia R5	P
35	BRC Racing Team	Pierre-Louis Loubet	Vincent Landais	Hyundai i20 R5	M
36	Citroën Total Rallye Team	Stéphane Lefebvre		Citroën C3 R5	M
37	Tommi Mäkinen Racing		Jarmo Lehtinen	Ford Fiesta R5	M
38	Hyundai Motorsport	Jari Huttunen		Hyundai i20 R5	M
39				Hyundai i20 R5	M
40		Benito Guerra	Borja Rozada	Škoda Fabia R5	P
41	Škoda Motorsport	Kalle Rovanperä	Jonne Halttunen	Škoda Fabia R5	M
42				Škoda Fabia R5	P
43				Ford Fiesta R5	P
44	Citroën Total Rallye Team	Simone Tempestini		Citroën C3 R5	M
45	TGS Worldwide			Škoda Fabia R5	M
46		Emil Lindholm		Škoda Fabia R5	M
47	Tommi Mäkinen Racing 2	Jarkko Nikara		Ford Fiesta R5	M
48	M-Sport Ford WRT			Ford Fiesta R5	M
World Rally Championship-3 entries
61		^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
62	Emil Bergkvist	Emil Bergkvist^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
63	Équipe de France FFSA Rally	^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
64		^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
65	ACI Team Italia	^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
66	ADAC Sachsen	^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
67	ACI Team Italia	^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
68		^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
69		^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
70		^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
71	OT Racing	^‡	Kuldar Sikk	Ford Fiesta R2T	P
72		^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
73		^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
74		^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
75		^‡		Ford Fiesta R2T	P
76				Peugeot 208 R2	P
77	Louise Cook	Louise Cook		Citroën DS3 R3T	M
78				Ford Fiesta R2	P
Other major entries
83		Łukasz Pieniążek	Przemysław Mazur	Škoda Fabia R5	M
89	Team MRF Tyres	Gaurav Gill		Ford Fiesta R5	MR
Source:^[9]

Notes

^‡ — Driver and co-driver are eligible to score points in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship.

Report[]

Pre-event[]

Following Citroën's sacking of Kris Meeke,^[10]^[11] the team promoted Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen to replace him and his co-driver Paul Nagle as lead drivers.^[12]

Thursday[]

Ott Tänak, driving a Yaris, took a 0.7-second lead over championship leader Thierry Neuville, while defending world champion Sébastien Ogier was 0.1 second further behind. Andreas Mikkelsen was in fourth place in another Hyundai i20, another slender 0.1 second behind, while defending rally winner Esapekka Lappi was in fifth. Shakedown top two Mads Østberg and Craig Breen tied in sixth, followed by local Finn Jari-Matti Latvala. Hayden Paddon and Elfyn Evans cleared the stage in ninth and tenth respectively.

Friday[]

Friday witnessed a great fight between Ott Tänak, who drove a Yaris, and Mads Østberg, who drove a C3. After rally leader changed several times, the Estonian ended the day with a 5.8-second lead. Local Finn Jari-Matti Latvala completed the day in third, with Hayden Paddon led Hyundai in fourth position after Teemu Suninen fell back in the final stage of the day with brake issues in his Fiesta. Title contender Sébastien Ogier, who was second on the road, climbed up to sixth overall after Ford gave his teammate Elfyn Evans a team order, which ordered him to slow down in SS10 before reaching the finish line. Defending rally winner Esapekka Lappi, who stalled his car at the opening stage of the day, cleared the day in eighth place, while Craig Breen, who suffered an early puncture and a late fuel pressure issue, completed the day in ninth. Championship leader Thierry Neuville, who struggled for grip all the day due to being first on the road, completed the leaderboard. Teammate Andreas Mikkelsen finished down the order after rolling his i20.

Saturday[]

Rally runner-up Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen crew during the event.

Saturday in Rally Finland was dominated by three Yarises. Ott Tänak, who stormed away with a 39-second over Mads Østberg, Jari-Matti Latvala, who closed the gap the Norwegian to only 5.4 seconds, and Esapekka Lappi, who climbed up four places after his effort, took all eight stage victories of the day to make Toyota a 1-3-4 finish. Hayden Paddon, who led Hyundai in fifth place, manage to stay ahead of local Finn Teemu Suninen despite brake problems and high tyre wear. Defending world champion Sébastien Ogier, who struggled to come to terms with new shock absorbers and an upgraded aerodynamic package, and teammate Elfyn Evans cleared the day in seventh and eighth respectively, while Craig Breen completed the day in ninth overall in another C3. Championship leader Thierry Neuville, who failed to make up yesterday's lost time, completed the leaderboard in tenth place.

Sunday[]

Ott Tänak took his second rally victory of the season with a Power Stage win in Finland to gain a maximum thirty points after a master-class performance.^[13] Mads Østberg edged Jari-Matti Latvala by only 2.8 seconds to finish second overall. Hayden Paddon completed the rally in fourth place after defending rally winner Esapekka Lappi went off in SS20.^[14] Sébastien Ogier climbed up to fifth place after Ford gave another team order to Teemu Suninen, who was ordered to check in late at a time control so that he was given a 20-second time penalty and dropped behind his five-time world champion teammate in sixth. Elfyn Evans finished in seventh in another Fiesta, followed by Craig Breen in eighth. Championship leader Thierry Neuville ended his rally ahead of his teammate Andreas Mikkelsen in ninth place. Despite an unsatisfied outcome, he still leads the championship by twenty-one points over the defending world champion.

Classification[]

Top ten finishers[]

The following crews finished the rally in each class's top ten.^[a]

Position		No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
Event	Class	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Class	Stage
Overall classification
1	1	8	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota Yaris WRC	2:35:18.1	0.0	25	5
2	2	10	Mads Østberg	Torstein Eriksen	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Citroën C3 WRC	2:35:50.8	+32.7	18	4
3	3	7	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota Yaris WRC	2:35:53.6	+35.5	15	3
4	4	6	Hayden Paddon	Sebastian Marshall	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	2:36:53.7	+1:35.6	12	0
5	5	1	Sébastien Ogier	Julien Ingrassia	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta WRC	2:37:33.1	+2:15.0	10	0
6	6	3	Teemu Suninen	Mikko Markkula	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta WRC	2:37:37.3	+2:19.2	8	0
7	7	2	Elfyn Evans	Phil Mills	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta WRC	2:37:47.6	+2:29.5	6	0
8	8	11	Craig Breen	Scott Martin	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Citroën C3 WRC	2:38:26.5	+3:08.4	4	1
9	9	5	Thierry Neuville	Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	2:39:09.9	+3:51.8	2	2
10	10	4	Andreas Mikkelsen	Anders Jæger-Synnevaag	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	2:43:55.5	+8:37.4	1	0
World Rally Championship-2
11	1	45			TGS Worldwide	Škoda Fabia R5	2:45:18.4	0.0	25	—
12	2	38	Jari Huttunen		Hyundai Motorsport	Hyundai i20 R5	2:46:25.2	+1:06.8	18	—
13	3	32	Gus Greensmith		Gus Greensmith	Ford Fiesta R5	2:47:53.3	+2:34.9	15	—
14	4	41	Kalle Rovanperä	Jonne Halttunen	Škoda Motorsport	Škoda Fabia R5	2:47:55.2	+2:36.8	12	—
15	5	35	Pierre-Louis Loubet	Vincent Landais	BRC Racing Team	Hyundai i20 R5	2:49:23.4	+4:05.0	10	—
18	6	40	Benito Guerra	Borja Rozada		Škoda Fabia R5	2:56:40.6	+11:22.2	8	—
23	7	37		Jarmo Lehtinen	Tommi Mäkinen Racing	Ford Fiesta R5	3:06:43.7	+21:25.3	6	—
29	8	34		Simone Scattolin	ACI Team Italia WRC	Škoda Fabia R5	3:18:08.6	+32:50.2	4	—
36	9	44	Simone Tempestini		Citroën Total Rallye Team	Citroën C3 R5	3:31:05.5	+45:47.1	2	—
38	10	43				Ford Fiesta R5	3:42:31.8	+57:13.4	1	—
World Rally Championship-3
19	1	71		Kuldar Sikk	OT Racing	Ford Fiesta R2T	3:03:07.2	0.0	25	—
20	2	62	Emil Bergkvist		Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	3:03:17.1	+9.9	18	—
21	3	63			Équipe de France FFSA Rally	Ford Fiesta R2T	3:04:53.4	+1:46.2	15	—
24	4	66			ACI Team Italia	Ford Fiesta R2T	3:07:15.3	+4:08.1	12	—
25	5	68				Ford Fiesta R2T	3:09:14.1	+6:06.9	10	—
26	6	73				Ford Fiesta R2T	3:13:12.4	+10:05.2	8	—
27	7	76				Peugeot 208 R2	3:14:41.0	+11:33.8	6	—
28	8	70				Ford Fiesta R2T	3:14:49.9	+11:42.7	4	—
32	9	67			ACI Team Italia	Ford Fiesta R2T	3:20:35.9	+17:28.7	2	—
33	10	69				Ford Fiesta R2T	3:25:24.5	+22:17.3	1	—
Junior World Rally Championship
19	1	71		Kuldar Sikk	OT Racing	Ford Fiesta R2T	3:03:07.2	0.0	25	9
20	2	62	Emil Bergkvist		Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	3:03:17.1	+9.9	18	12
21	3	63			Équipe de France FFSA Rally	Ford Fiesta R2T	3:04:53.4	+1:46.2	15	0
24	4	66		ADAC Sachsen		Ford Fiesta R2T	3:07:15.3	+4:08.1	12	0
25	5	68				Ford Fiesta R2T	3:09:14.1	+6:06.9	10	0
26	6	73				Ford Fiesta R2T	3:13:12.4	+10:05.2	8	0
28	7	70				Ford Fiesta R2T	3:14:49.9	+11:42.7	6	0
32	8	67			ACI Team Italia	Ford Fiesta R2T	3:20:35.9	+17:28.7	4	0
33	9	69				Ford Fiesta R2T	3:25:24.5	+22:17.3	2	0
34	10	74				Ford Fiesta R2T	3:29:50.8	+26:43.6	1	0
Source:^[15]^[16]

Other notable finishers[]

The following notable crews finished the rally outside top ten.^[a]

Position		No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Class	Time	Points
Event	Class	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Class	Time	Stage
34	11	74				Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3	3:29:50.8	0
37	37	12	Khalid Al-Qassimi	Chris Patterson	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Citroën C3 WRC	WRC	3:41:28.3	0
39	11	65			ACI Team Italia	Ford Fiesta R2T	J-WRC	3:43:17.8	0
39	12	65			ACI Team Italia	Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3	3:43:17.8	—
40	11	46	Emil Lindholm			Škoda Fabia R5	WRC-2	3:45:52.4	—
43	12	42				Škoda Fabia R5	WRC-2	3:52:21.1	—
44	13	36	Stéphane Lefebvre		Citroën Total Rallye Team	Citroën C3 R5	WRC-2	3:52:46.8	—
45	12	64				Ford Fiesta R2T	J-WRC	3:53:24.6	0
45	13	64				Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3	3:53:24.6	—
47	14	78				Ford Fiesta R2	WRC-3	3:55:20.3	—
48	14	47	Jarkko Nikara		Tommi Mäkinen Racing 2	Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	3:55:24.2	—
50	13	72				Ford Fiesta R2T	J-WRC	4:28:54.6	0
50	15	72				Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3	4:28:54.6	—
51	15	48			M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	4:35:58.2	—
Source:^[15]^[16]

Special stages[]

Day	Stage	Name	Length	Winner	Car	Time	Class leader
Overall classification
26 July	—	Vesala [Shakedown]	4.26 km	Mads Østberg	Citroën C3 WRC	1:54.8	N/A
26 July	SS1	Harju 1	2.31 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	1:49.2	Ott Tänak
27 July	SS2	Moksi 1	20.04 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	9:56.1
	SS3	Urria 1	12.28 km	Jari-Matti Latvala	Toyota Yaris WRC	6:09.8
	SS4	Ässämäki 1	12.33 km	Mads Østberg	Citroën C3 WRC	5:49.1	Mads Østberg
	SS5	Äänekoski 1	7.71 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	3:32.1	Ott Tänak
	SS6	Oittila	19.34 km	Mads Østberg	Citroën C3 WRC	9:45.3	Mads Østberg
	SS7	Moksi 2	20.04 km	Ott Tänak Mads Østberg	Toyota Yaris WRC Citroën C3 WRC	9:49.3
	SS8	Urria 2	12.28 km	Craig Breen	Citroën C3 WRC	6:07.0
	SS9	Ässämäki 2	12.33 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	5:47.0	Ott Tänak
	SS10	Äänekoski 2	7.71 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	3:29.1
	SS11	Harju 2	2.31 km	Sébastien Ogier	Ford Fiesta WRC	1:48.7
28 July	SS12	Päijälä 1	23.92 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	11:36.4
	SS13	Pihlajakoski 1	14.90 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	6:50.8
	SS14	Kakaristo 1	23.66 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	11:40.4
	SS15	Tuohikotanen 1	8.95 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	4:31.5
	SS16	Tuohikotanen 2	8.95 km	Jari-Matti Latvala Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC Toyota Yaris WRC	4:26.0
	SS17	Kakaristo 2	23.66 km	Esapekka Lappi	Toyota Yaris WRC	11:26.3
	SS18	Päijälä 2	23.92 km	Esapekka Lappi	Toyota Yaris WRC	11:31.1
	SS19	Pihlajakoski 2	14.90 km	Esapekka Lappi	Toyota Yaris WRC	6:50.4
29 July	SS20	Laukaa 1	11.74 km	Mads Østberg	Citroën C3 WRC	5:28.4
	SS21	Ruuhimäki 1	11.12 km	Jari-Matti Latvala	Toyota Yaris WRC	5:32.9
	SS22	Laukaa 2	11.74 km	Jari-Matti Latvala	Toyota Yaris WRC	5:21.8
	SS23	Ruuhimäki 2 [Power stage]	11.12 km	Ott Tänak	Toyota Yaris WRC	5:26.2
World Rally Championship-2
26 July	—	Vesala [Shakedown]	4.26 km	Ole Christian Veiby	Škoda Fabia R5	2:02.9	N/A
26 July	SS1	Harju 1	2.31 km		Škoda Fabia R5	1:54.1
27 July	SS2	Moksi 1	20.04 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	10:25.5	Kalle Rovanperä
	SS3	Urria 1	12.28 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	6:29.4
	SS4	Ässämäki 1	12.33 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	6:10.2
	SS5	Äänekoski 1	7.71 km		Škoda Fabia R5	3:43.3
	SS6	Oittila	19.34 km	Emil Lindholm	Škoda Fabia R5	10:22.0
	SS7	Moksi 2	20.04 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	10:18.5
	SS8	Urria 2	12.28 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	6:28.8
	SS9	Ässämäki 2	12.33 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	6:14.3
	SS10	Äänekoski 2	7.71 km		Škoda Fabia R5	3:42.4
	SS11	Harju 2	2.31 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	1:52.9
28 July	SS12	Päijälä 1	23.92 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	12:17.1
	SS13	Pihlajakoski 1	14.90 km		Škoda Fabia R5	7:19.8
	SS14	Kakaristo 1	23.66 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	12:20.0
	SS15	Tuohikotanen 1	8.95 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	4:48.1
	SS16	Tuohikotanen 2	8.95 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	4:43.2
	SS17	Kakaristo 2	23.66 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	12:08.0
	SS18	Päijälä 2	23.92 km		Škoda Fabia R5	12:17.1
	SS19	Pihlajakoski 2	14.90 km		Škoda Fabia R5	7:19.8
29 July	SS20	Laukaa 1	11.74 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	5:43.5
	SS21	Ruuhimäki 1	11.12 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	5:46.1
	SS22	Laukaa 2	11.74 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	5:36.7
	SS23	Ruuhimäki 2	11.12 km	Kalle Rovanperä	Škoda Fabia R5	5:40.4
World Rally Championship-3 / Junior World Rally Championship
26 July	—	Vesala [Shakedown]	4.26 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	2:20.0	N/A
26 July	SS1	Harju 1	2.31 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	2:08.3
27 July	SS2	Moksi 1	20.04 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	11:39.3	Emil Bergkvist
	SS3	Urria 1	12.28 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	7:16.7
	SS4	Ässämäki 1	12.33 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	27:56.2
	SS5	Äänekoski 1	7.71 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	4:05.2
	SS6	Oittila	19.34 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	11:21.0
	SS7	Moksi 2	20.04 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	11:33.1
	SS8	Urria 2	12.28 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	7:14.3
	SS9	Ässämäki 2	12.33 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	6:54.2
	SS10	Äänekoski 2	7.71 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	4:02.5
	SS11	Harju 2	2.31 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	2:06.3
28 July	SS12	Päijälä 1	23.92 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	13:38.6
	SS13	Pihlajakoski 1	14.90 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	8:11.3
	SS14	Kakaristo 1	23.66 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	13:35.5
	SS15	Tuohikotanen 1	8.95 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	5:21.8
	SS16	Tuohikotanen 2	8.95 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	5:19.6
	SS17	Kakaristo 2	23.66 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	13:25.4
	SS18	Päijälä 2	23.92 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	13:41.6
	SS19	Pihlajakoski 2	14.90 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	8:07.2
29 July	SS20	Laukaa 1	11.74 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	6:26.5
	SS21	Ruuhimäki 1	11.12 km	Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2T	6:34.2
	SS22	Laukaa 2	11.74 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	6:15.9
	SS23	Ruuhimäki 2	11.12 km		Ford Fiesta R2T	6:29.3

Power stage[]

The Power stage was an 11.12 km stage at the end of the rally. Additional World Championship points were awarded to the five fastest crews.

Pos.	Driver	Co-driver	Car	Time	Diff.	Pts.
1	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	Toyota Yaris WRC	5:26.2	0.0	5
2	Mads Østberg	Torstein Eriksen	Citroën C3 WRC	5:26.7	+0.5	4
3	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila	Toyota Yaris WRC	5:27.0	+0.8	3
4	Thierry Neuville	Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	5:27.4	+1.2	2
5	Craig Breen	Scott Martin	Citroën C3 WRC	5:27.9	+1.7	1

J-WRC stage winning crews[]

Junior World Rally Championship crews scored additional points. Each of the fastest stage time was awarded with one bonus point.

Pos.	Driver	Co-driver	Car	Pts.
1	Emil Bergkvist		Ford Fiesta R2T	12
2		Kuldar Sikk	Ford Fiesta R2T	9
3			Ford Fiesta R2T	2

Penalties[]

The following notable crews were given time penalty during the rally.^[a]

Stage	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Class	Reason	Penalty
SS3	44	Simone Tempestini		Citroën Total Rallye Team	Citroën C3 R5	WRC-2	1 minute late	0:10
SS6	4	Andreas Mikkelsen	Anders Jæger-Synnevaag	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	WRC	4 minutes late	0:40
SS9	35	Pierre-Louis Loubet	Vincent Landais	BRC Racing Team	Hyundai i20 R5	WRC-2	5 minutes late	0:50
SS12	78				Hyundai i20 R5	WRC-3	4 minutes late	0:40
SS21	89	Gaurav Gill		Team MRF Tyres	Ford Fiesta R5	N/A	Jump start	0:10
SS22	3	Teemu Suninen	Mikko Markkula	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta WRC	WRC	2 minutes late	0:20

Retirements[]

The following notable crews retired from the event.^[a] Under Rally2 regulations, they were eligible to re-enter the event starting from the next leg. Crews that re-entered were given an additional time penalty.

Stage	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Class	Cause	Re-entry
SS2	36	Stéphane Lefebvre		Citroën Total Rallye Team	Citroën C3 R5	WRC-2	Technical	Yes
SS2	47	Jarkko Nikara		Tommi Mäkinen Racing 2	Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	Off road	Yes
SS4	72				Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3, JWRC	Off road	No
SS6	61				Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3, JWRC	Technical	No
SS7	75				Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3, JWRC	Off road	No
SS8	33	Takamoto Katsuta	Marko Salminen	Tommi Mäkinen Racing	Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	Off road	No
SS8	34		Simone Scattolin	ACI Team Italia WRC	Škoda Fabia R5	WRC-2	Technical	Yes
SS8	37		Jarmo Lehtinen	Tommi Mäkinen Racing	Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	Technical	Yes
SS8	43				Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	Off road	Yes
SS8	48			M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	Technical	Yes
SS12	12	Khalid Al-Qassimi	Chris Patterson	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Citroën C3 WRC	WRC	Suspension	Yes
SS12	46	Emil Lindholm			Škoda Fabia R5	WRC-2	Off road	No
SS13	83	Łukasz Pieniążek	Przemysław Mazur		Škoda Fabia R5	N/A	Off road	No
SS13	64				Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3, JWRC	Off road	Yes
SS14	42				Škoda Fabia R5	WRC-2	Technical	Yes
SS14	44	Simone Tempestini		Citroën Total Rallye Team	Citroën C3 R5	WRC-2	Off road	No
SS14	48			M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	Technical	Yes
SS15	65			ACI Team Italia	Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3, JWRC	Off road	Yes
SS17	39				Hyundai i20 R5	WRC-2	Off road	No
SS17	43				Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	Mechanical	No
SS17	69				Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3, JWRC	Technical	Yes
SS18	31	Ole Christian Veiby		Škoda Motorsport	Škoda Fabia R5	WRC-2	Off road	No
SS18	74				Ford Fiesta R2T	WRC-3, JWRC	Technical	Yes
SS20	9	Esapekka Lappi	Janne Ferm	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota Yaris WRC	WRC	Crash	No
SS22	83	Łukasz Pieniążek	Przemysław Mazur		Škoda Fabia R5	N/A	Off road	No

Championship standings after the rally[]

Drivers' championships[]

	Pos.	Driver	Points
World Rally Championship
	1	Thierry Neuville	153
	2	Sébastien Ogier	132
	3	Ott Tänak	107
	4	Esapekka Lappi	70
	5	Dani Sordo	60
World Rally Championship-2
	Pos.	Driver	Points
	1	Pontus Tidemand	93
	2	Jan Kopecký	75
1	3	Gus Greensmith	55
1	4	Ole Christian Veiby	45
	5	Łukasz Pieniążek	40
World Rally Championship-3
	Pos.	Driver	Points
	1		79
	2		62
	3	Emil Bergkvist	61
1	4		43
1	5		37
Junior World Rally Championship
	Pos.	Driver	Points
1	1	Emil Bergkvist	88
1	2		74
	3		62
7	4		49
1	5		31

Co-Drivers' championships[]

	Pos.	Co-Driver	Points
World Rally Championship
	1	Nicolas Gilsoul	153
	2	Julien Ingrassia	132
	3	Martin Järveoja	107
	4	Janne Ferm	70
	5	Carlos del Barrio	60
World Rally Championship-2
	Pos.	Co-Driver	Points
	1	Jonas Andersson	93
	2		75
1	3		55
1	4		45
	5	Przemysław Mazur	40
World Rally Championship-3
	Pos.	Co-Driver	Points
	1		79
	2		62
1	3		43
1	4		37
	5	Ola Fløene	33
Junior World Rally Championship
	Pos.	Co-Driver	Points
	1		74
	2		62
2	3		50
9	4	Kuldar Sikk	41
2	5	Ola Fløene	38

Manufacturers' and teams' championships[]

	Pos.	Manufacturer	Points
World Rally Championship
	1	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	228
	2	M-Sport Ford WRT	202
	3	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	201
	4	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	153
World Rally Championship-2
	Pos.	Team	Points
	1	Škoda Motorsport	108
	2	Škoda Motorsport II	75
	3		58
	4	Tommi Mäkinen Racing	53
1	5	Hyundai Motorsport	52
World Rally Championship-3
	Pos.	Team	Points
	1	ACI Team Italia	68
1	2	OT Racing	62
1	3	ADAC Sachsen	62
	4	Équipe de France FFSA Rally	55
	5		42

Notes[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Only crews contesting the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3 are listed.

References[]

^ "Neste Rally Finland". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
^ "Rally Aus retains WRC finale in 2018". speedcafe.com. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
^ "Junior WRC Calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
^ "Rally Calendar Overview". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
^ "Ice-cool Lappi nets first win". wrc.com. WRC. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
^ "Breaking News: Ott on top in Finland". wrc.com. WRC. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
^ "WRC 2 in Finland: Pietarinen claims home victory". wrc.com. WRC. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
^ "Junior WRC in Finland: Maiden victory for Torn". wrc.com. WRC. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
^ "Neste Rally Finland 2018 Entry List" (PDF). nesterallyfinland.fi. Neste Rally Finland. 29 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
^ Beer, Matt (24 May 2018). "Citroen axes Kris Meeke due to 'excessively high number of crashes'". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
^ Evans, David (25 May 2018). "Citroen WRC team explains decision to axe 'not under control' Meeke". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
^ Evans, David (20 June 2018). "Ostberg takes Meeke's Citroen WRC seat for remainder of 2018 season". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^ "Sunday In Finland: Tänak Triumphs in Style". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
^ "SS20/21: Lappi Rolls Out". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Rally Finland Results". wrc.com. World Rally Championship. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b "68. Neste Rally Finland 2018". ewrc-results.com. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.

External links[]

Official website (in Finnish and English)
2018 Rally Finland in e-wrc website
The official website of the World Rally Championship

Previous rally: 2018 Rally Italia Sardegna	2018 FIA World Rally Championship	Next rally: 2018 Rallye Deutschland
Previous rally: 2017 Rally Finland	2018 Rally Finland	Next rally: 2019 Rally Finland

[notable-15] Only crews contesting the World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3 are listed.

[1] "Neste Rally Finland". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 12 June 2018.

[sept_21_calendar-2] "Rally Aus retains WRC finale in 2018". speedcafe.com. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.

[calendar-3] "Junior WRC Calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 16 February 2018.

[4] "Rally Calendar Overview". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.

[5] "Ice-cool Lappi nets first win". wrc.com. WRC. 30 July 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.

[winner-6] "Breaking News: Ott on top in Finland". wrc.com. WRC. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.

[7] "WRC 2 in Finland: Pietarinen claims home victory". wrc.com. WRC. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2019.

[8] "Junior WRC in Finland: Maiden victory for Torn". wrc.com. WRC. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2019.

[Rally_Finland_Entry_List-9] "Neste Rally Finland 2018 Entry List" (PDF). nesterallyfinland.fi. Neste Rally Finland. 29 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.

[meeke_out_1-10] Beer, Matt (24 May 2018). "Citroen axes Kris Meeke due to 'excessively high number of crashes'". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 25 May 2018.

[meeke_out_2-11] Evans, David (25 May 2018). "Citroen WRC team explains decision to axe 'not under control' Meeke". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 26 May 2018.

[mads_replacement-12] Evans, David (20 June 2018). "Ostberg takes Meeke's Citroen WRC seat for remainder of 2018 season". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 20 June 2018.

[13] "Sunday In Finland: Tänak Triumphs in Style". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.

[14] "SS20/21: Lappi Rolls Out". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.

[Finland_Results_1-16] "Rally Finland Results". wrc.com. World Rally Championship. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.

[Finland_Results_2-17] "68. Neste Rally Finland 2018". ewrc-results.com. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.

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