Round nine of the FIA World Rally Championship, Secto Rally Finland once again cemented itself as one of the best rallies in the world with epic action across all four days of competition and a storyline for the ages.
2022 and 2023 World Rally champions Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen had led their team-mates Ogier/Landais by over 45 seconds halfway through Sunday's final leg, and looked set to end Finland's seven-year wait for a homegrown winner.
But heartbreakingly, the Toyota crew crashed out of SS19 Sahloinen-Moksi after clipping an unavoidable rock left in the middle of the road. That left Ogier clear to claim his second ever victory in Jyväskylä.
"It’s hard to really smile right now," Ogier said. "Of course a win in Finland is always nice but that’s not the way we want to have it. Really sorry for Kalle and Jonne, they had amazing pace all weekend and it seems they were unlucky with that rock, but that's rallying. For us we lost the win in Sardinia with bad luck, today we got one a bit lucky. That’s motorsport."
Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe scored second place for the second year in succession for Hyundai Motorsport, extending their World Rally Championship points lead to 27 points as rivals Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja and Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin both failed to finish.
Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria completed the podium for M-Sport, ensuring three different manufacturers were represented at the top, ahead of Sami Pajari/Enni Mälkönen who made the top-four on their very first start in a Rally1 car.
The loss of so many Rally1 cars meant WRC2 victors Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson claimed a top-five finish overall as well as the category win in their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, 39 seconds ahead of two Finnish crews Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hänninen (Toyota) and Lauri Joona/Janni Hussi (Škoda).
Finland was well represented across the rest of the class as four further crews made the top-10: Mikko Heikkilä/Kristian Temonen (Toyota), Roope Korhonen/Anssi Viinikka (Toyota), Teemu Asunmaa/Ville Mannisenmäki (Škoda) and Benjamin Korhola/Sebastian Virtanen (Hyundai).
"It means a lot to get the congratulations from Jari, it’s been a great fight and it’s cool to drive against him like he did my father," Solberg said. "It’s been a long weekend, but fantastic to have another win."
Junior WRC honours went to Taylor Gill/Daniel Brkic (Ford Fiesta Rally3) on what is effectively Gill's home rally as he lives in Finland. Finns Jesse Kallio/Ville Pynnönen (Fiesta Rally3) won the WRC3 class. Flying Finn Future Star Award winner Leevi Lassala overcame an accident on Friday to record several top-four stage times and display his talent on the biggest stage.
Clerk of the course, Kai Tarkiainen, said: "It is always a mixed feeling when Secto Rally Finland comes to an end. There is of course the satisfaction of delivering such a strong event, but then there's the sadness that it's over for another year.
"Nobody could have predicted how eventful the rally would prove to be. We feel incredibly sorry for Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen who were doing everything in their power to bring home what would have been an extremely popular victory. But congratulations to Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais who were brilliant and proved that class is permanent.
"The weather conditions made the rally a challenge not just for the competing crews but for our army of officials and marshals, who braved all conditions to ensure the smooth operation of Secto Rally Finland. My sincere thanks to all of them for their huge effort.
"It was fantastic to see the cars flying through the full-length Ouninpohja again, which it seems like the drivers really enjoyed. Let's see what we can do next year, but thanks to everyone who made 2024 Secto Rally Finland such a success."
Secto Rally Finland returns in 2025, running from July 31 - August 3.