Preview: Neste Rally Finland.

The 54th Neste Rally Finland takes place this coming weekend - the ninth round out of sixteen in the 2004 FIA World Rally Championship.

Finland will also play host to the fourth round in the 2004 FIA Junior WRC.

Starting on Friday 6 August from the host town of Jyvaskyla, the three-day event is regarded as one of the all time classics in the Championship.

Including 382.71 competitive kilometres and 22 stages, the event will be contested over three days.

On Leg one, drivers will tackle ten stages, including a sprint around the Killeri Super Special, which at 2.06km is the shortest of the event. Leg two includes a further eight stages, including two passes through the formidable Ouninpohja, while Leg three concludes the rally with a further four stages.

The winning car is expected to cross the finish ramp in Jyvaskyla at 1456hrs on Sunday.

Special notes:

Often referred to as the 'Finnish Grand Prix', Rally Finland is unquestionably the fastest of the season.

Smooth, wide, undulating gravel stages enable drivers to reach breath-taking speeds of more than 200kph, while the numerous 'yumps', the famous Finnish jumps that feature throughout the route, demand the ultimate in confidence and precision driving.

Technically, the event is a difficult one. Jumps can launch a rally car 50 metres through the air and lead directly into blind crests and sixth gear corners. With last year's winner setting an average speed of 120kph, the event demands unwavering commitment and bravery.

Formerly known as the 'Thousand Lakes Rally', the event runs through stunning Finnish scenery and around the picturesque lakes that gave the rally its original name. Finland is regarded as the spiritual home of rallying and each year thousands of spectators flood to the host town and surrounding stages to see the action. In 2003, a staggering eight percent of the country's five million inhabitants turned out to watch.

Since it was first run in 1951, local knowledge has proved a major key to success on Rally Finland. Locals grow up building a detailed knowledge of the specialist conditions and, as a result, only three drivers from outside the Nordic region have ever claimed victory - Spaniard Carlos Sainz in 1990; Frenchman Didier Auriol in 1992; Estonian Markko Martin in 2003.


FIA World Rally Championship news:

Sebastien Loeb leads the World Rally drivers' championship, 17 points ahead of Petter Solberg. Citroen meanwhile head the constructors' - 27 points ahead of Ford, while Subaru are a further seven adrift in third.


News from the Manufacturers' teams:
555 Subaru World Rally Team:

[Petter Solberg, car #1 and Mikko Hirvonen, car #2.]

Reigning world champion Petter Solberg has contested the Rally Finland five times previously. Having finished third in 2002 and second in 2003, the Norwegian is looking to continue the sequence this year.

Driving the second Subaru entry, Mikko Hirvonen will be contesting his home event for only the third time of his career. Following his excellent performance in Argentina, the young Finn will be aiming to score more points for the Subaru team and gain further experience in his Impreza WRC2004.

Following the conclusion of the Rally of Argentina, Solberg travelled directly to Germany to complete a day of testing with the team, before setting off for Denmark to enjoy a well deserved break. Hirvonen also travelled to Germany after Argentina to carry out testing duties before returning to his home in Jyvaskyla. Over the weekend they carried out another test, in preparation for this week's event.

Citroen Total:

[Sebastien Loeb, car #3 and Carlos Sainz, car #4]

Currently leading both championships, and following their one-two finish at the last event in Argentina, Citroen are the team to beat. Boss, Guy Frequelin expects more points this weekend.

"It is a unique event," he said, "and our priority will not be to beat the local specialists at all costs but to finish in the big points. We are in a favourable position in both championships, but our lead is not sufficiently strong for us to be able to indulge in fantasies that could compromise our advantage. Just like a football team that is ahead, we can choose not to expose ourselves and yet be ready to pounce on an opening if one should come up!"

Marlboro Peugeot Total:

[Marcus Gronholm, car #5 and Harri Rovanpera, car #6].

Peugeot have announced that they will switch to Pirelli tyres in 2005, having signed a three-year agreement.

They have yet to win with the new 307 WRC, with two Finns though this weekend - and considering the events history of rewarding 'local' drivers - they have surely never been better placed...

"It would be great to score the 307 WRC's first win [this weekend], for the whole team, and also for me," said Gronholm. "I really feel we have been unlucky in the past few rallies."

Ford Motor Company:

[Markko Martin, car #7 and Janne Tuohino, car #8.]

Ford completed a four-day test in preparation for Rally Finland last week. Janne Tuohino and Francois Duval spent one day each in the car while Markko Martin did two days testing the Ford Focus RS WRC. In total they notched up in excess of 800kms on the gravel roads around Jyv?skyl? to prepare their car set-up, to adjust suspension settings and conduct tyre work with Michelin.

Mitsubishi Motor Sports:

[Gilles Panizzi, car #9 and Kristian Sohlberg, car #10.]

Kristian Sohlberg will again partner Gilles Panizzi this weekend in the second Mitsubishi. This is the team's penultimate appearance of the year, before they 'modify' their 2004 programme to concentrate solely on testing for next season. They will miss the final six events.

Technical director Mario Fornaris notes: "We undertook a one week test in Finland two months ago which highlighted the areas where we needed to focus.

"We have worked hard to find solutions and feel as confident as we can ahead of this very technical event. But, we know it will be very tough because it is such a difficult and fast rally, and also because there are a lot of world-rally car entries and a host of local drivers who always go well on their home event.

"For Kristian I expect there will also be a little bit of extra pressure, and for Gilles is it a question of gaining more experience in Finland."


Junior WRC:

The Junior WRC resumes this weekend, following round three in Turkey back in June, when Per-Gunnar Andersson took the honours.

In the championship standings Nicolas Bernardi currently leads on 18 points, while Suzuki trio, Guy Wilks, Urmo Aava and Andersson, have 16, 12 and 11 respectively. Larry Cols is fifth overall, having scored 9 points.

Other significant entries:

Skoda will take part this weekend with the Fabia WRC - they have enter three cars to be driven by Toni Gardmeister, Armin Schwarz and 'guest' driver Jani Paasonen.

Other notable entries include Francois Duval (who will not be nominated by Ford for manufacturer points), Anthony Warmbold, Alister Ginley, Juuso Pykalysto and Sebastian Lindholm.

Schedule:

Organisers have made few alterations to the successful format based around a single park in the host town of Jyv?skyl?. However, there will be no opening super special stage at the Killeri trotting track on Thursday evening. Instead the short test will be held at the end of both Friday and Saturday's legs.

The opening day takes competitors north and west of the town.

The second leg can be regarded as the classic day of the season. Run over wide, flowing roads to the south-west, it comprises 167.80km and includes some of rallying's greatest stages. It includes two passes over the awesome 33.24km Ouninpohja, a roller-coaster stretch of road full of blind crests and huge jumps and viewed by many as rallying's ultimate test of driving skill. It is also one of the longest days of the season with more than 16 hours behind the wheel.

Sunday's final leg comprises just two loops of two identical stages to the north.

Drivers face 22 stages comprising 382.71km of competition in a route of 1577.16km.

Did you know?

The Rally Finland was originally known as the 'Jyv?skyl?n Suurajot' (the Great Jyv?skyl? Race), then as the '1000 Lakes Rally' from 1954, and today as the 'Neste Rally Finland' since 1997. The event has always been based in Jyv?skyl?.

Hot tip:

The Finns traditionally do well here - the perfect opportunity then for Marcus Gronholm to notch up his first win with the 307 WRC? You bet!

Last year:

Last year's event was won by Markko Martin, with Petter Solberg second and Richard Burns third. There were seven significant retirements, including Colin McRae, Mikko Hirvonen, Francois Duval, Marcus Gronholm and Harri Rovanpera.