The opening round of the 2025 Finnish Rally Championship, the Ralli Kuopio, was closely fought, with a winning margin of just 6.8 seconds. Teemu Asunmaa/Janne Ferme (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) topped the final results ahead of SM1 newcomer 18-year-old Tuuka Kauppinen/Sebastien Virtanen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2).
Škoda Motorsport Finland’s Teemu Asunmaa set scratch times for each of Saturday morning’s opening four stages to lead the rally by 19.4 seconds at the midday break. Asunmaa dropped 6.0 seconds in SS5 due to a spin. Rautio Motorsport’s Kauppinen attacked in the afternoon, setting three fastest stage times, reeled in Asunmaa for a close second place in his debut SM1 class outing.
“It’s always great to start a new season with a win,” smiled Asunmaa at the finish. “The morning went well for us. We had good grip and the driving was smooth. After the break, we had a spin in the public practice; the car went off the track and it took a while before we got back on the road. The afternoon run was then challenging. The track behind the historic cars was quite special and the whole race on the second run was a completely different event. It was a bit tight, but it’s good that we held on to the win. The Kuopio Rally was a good test for us for the Tunturi Rally. We started working with Janne and it went very well. Our new car performed brilliantly and its settings worked great. Janne won every Finnish Championship rally with Esapekka Lappi in the 2012 season, so it was good that we won, because Janne is not used to losing at Finnish Championship level.”
Kauppinen shared: “It felt really good, the roads were really fast and we had an uphill rally, which is what we were looking for. We were able to pick up the pace a lot at the end, and it’s nice to look forward to Rovaniemi. We plan to drive for victory there.”
Third spot was claimed by Benjamin Korhola/Kristian Temonen (Hyundai i20 N Rally2), with Asunmaa’s teammates Niclas Gronhol/Samu Vaaleri (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) fourth overall.
SM2 Class:
In the exciting SM2 class, another intense rally-long battle ensued. Ville Vatanen/Jarno Ottman (Renault Clio R3) dominated proceedings, with a performance that saw them competing for a top five overall position until fate intervened. On the final stage of the Kuopio Ralli, they were forced to retire with a technical failure.
This misfortune handed Japanese driver Takumi Matsushita/Pekka Kelander (Renault Clio R3) the SM2 class lead and victory, placing them seventh overall. This is the first class victory for a Toyota junior programme driver in the Finnish Rally Championship. Second place in SM2 was taken by Henri Altomaa/Jussi Karpijoki (Renault Clio R3) and third by Pekka Keski-Korso/Hannu Lamminen (Renault Clio R3).
SM3 Class:
In SM3, Aatu Hakalehto/Joonas Ojala (Ford Fiesta Rally4) surprised all with an excellent debut performance in this ultra-competitive class. The rising Finnish talent swept to SM3 victory with eight stage victories to his name on the way to the podium. Joni Korhonen/Miro Iljina (Peugeot 208 Rally4) finished second and Raoul Dahlqvist/Elmeri Pentinmaki (Ford Fiesta Rally4) third.
The second round of the Finnish Rally Championship takes in the iconic Arctic Lapland Rally on 30 January-1 February in Rovaniemi.
Overall Kuopio Ralli Results:
01: T. Asunmaa/J. Ferm (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) – 47m 15.1s
02: T. Kauppinen/S. Virtanen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) + 6.8s
03: B. Korhola/K. Temonen (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) + 1m 01.6s
04: N. Gronholm/S. Vaaleri (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) + 1m 24.6s
05: A. Rytkonen/J-V. Koskela (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) + 1m 37.8s
06: T. Jylha/K. Nevanpaa (Škoda Fabia R5) + 2m 26.8s
07: T. Matsushita/P. Kelander (Renault Clio Rally3) + 3m 12.9s
08: H. Altomaa/J. Karpijoki (Renault Clio Rally3) + 3m 20.4s
09: P. Keski-Korsu/H. Lamminen (Renault Clio Rally3) + 3m 25.7s
10: J. Jorvala/P. Torma (Škoda Fabia R5) + 3m 40.7s
[…] Round two of the Finnish Rally Championship, Savonlinna, takes place on March 7-8. One of the most competitive national series in the world, Savonlinna, will produce intense action, just as was from round one, the Kuopio Rally. […]