Latvala was the top Rally2 driver in Finland; Virves took the points

Jari-Matti Latvala was once again the fastest Finn on a rally stage. At 41 years old and wearing the suit of Toyota Gazoo Racing team principal, the Finn set the fastest times among the Rally2 cars during Secto Rally Finland, although he did not score points for the WRC2 championship. That condition allowed Robert Virves to take the official victory after a 30-second penalty was applied to Teemu Suninen, who failed to stop at the scene of Patrick Enok's accident on stage 11 on Saturday. The Estonian secured his fourth win in as many starts this season and now leads the standings.

Retired from full-time WRC competition since 2019, when Toyota replaced him with Elfyn Evans, Latvala has contested sporadic events with historic cars and, more recently, with the GR Yaris Rally2 that he himself helped develop as team director. In Finland, without the pressure of scoring championship points, he focused on driving at his own pace, and that pace turned out to be the best in the class.

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The stewards notified the penalty to Suninen before the Power Stage, ruling that the Finn and his co-driver Janni Hussi, as the first crew to arrive at the spot where Enok had rolled, should have stopped. Suninen had built a 7.7-second lead on Sunday's first pass through Himos-Jämsä, and everything pointed to him taking the victory at home. The penalty changed the result and left Virves with a subdued celebration. The Estonian, who had already won in Sweden, Croatia, and Estonia this year, admitted the feeling was strange and that he didn't know what to say, though he recalled that the weekend was very long and full of drama for everyone.

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On Saturday, a tire issue on the penultimate stage had cost Virves 25.6 seconds and the lead, leaving him 0.6 behind Suninen. From there, his goal was to hold onto second place. Lauri Joona finished third with his second podium of the campaign, resisting pressure from Jaspar Vaher, who cut the gap to 2.3 seconds before the Power Stage and ended up 1.4 behind the Finn. Romet Jürgenson was fifth in the Ford Fiesta Rally2, his best result of the year, and Mille Johansson finished sixth.

Latvala, not competing for points, finished among the top ten overall and was the fastest of the Rally2 cars on the Finnish stages. His performance recalled why he was one of the fastest of his generation and confirmed that the raw speed is still there, even seven years later. His result also serves as validation for the GR Yaris Rally2, which has proven competitive in the hands of specialists as well as a team principal who got behind the wheel out of pure passion.

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Virves heads to Paraguay, the next WRC2 round from August 27 to 30, with 100 points and a 21-point lead over Roope Korhonen, who rolled in Finland while fighting for the win. Suninen is third with 76 and still has title chances. The Estonian, with four victories in as many rallies, has turned every start into a success and is now the man to beat in the category.

WRC2 Overall - Secto Rally Finland 2026

POS	#	driver/codriver	team	brand	car	time
1	40	Jari-Matti LATVALA Juho HÄNNINEN	Jml-sports Oy	Toyota	Gr Yaris	2:36:23.5
2	25	Robert VIRVES Jakko VIILO	Toksport Wrt	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 21.4
3	26	Teemu SUNINEN Janni HUSSI	Teemu Suninen	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 37.5
4	31	Lauri JOONA Antti LINNAKETO	Lauri Joona	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 1:15.7
5	41	Jaspar VAHER Rait JANSEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt Ng	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 1:17.1
6	39	Romet JÜRGENSON Siim OJA	M-sport Ford World Rally Team	Ford	Fiesta Mk Ii	+ 1:27.1
7	23	Nikolay GRYAZIN Konstantin ALEKSANDROV	Lancia Corse Hf	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 1:38.9
8	35	Mille JOHANSSON Johan GRÖNVALL	M-sport Ford World Rally Team	Ford	Fiesta Mk Ii	+ 2:03.4
9	24	Yohan ROSSEL Arnaud DUNAND	Lancia Corse Hf	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 2:30.0
10	38	Giovanni TRENTIN Pietro Elia OMETTO	Mt Racing Srl	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 2:50.5
11	37	Pablo SARRAZIN Yannick ROCHE	Pablo Sarrazin	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 3:04.7
12	21	Léo ROSSEL Guillaume MERCOIRET	2c Junior Team	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 4:00.0
13	46	Takumi MATSUSHITA Pekka KELANDER	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt Ng	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 4:53.7
14	34	Taylor GILL Daniel BRKIC	Taylor Gill	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 6:31.5
15	36	Mattéo CHATILLON Maxence CORNUAU	Mattéo Chatillon	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 6:41.9
16	50	Conner MARTELL Alessandro GELSOMINO	2c Junior Team	Lancia	Ypsilon Hf	+ 7:40.2
17	47	Shotaro GOTO Jussi LINDBERG	Toyota Gazoo Racing Wrt Ng	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 8:21.3
18	48	Martin PROKOP Michal ERNST	Martin Prokop	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 8:42.6
19	51	Adrien MOSCA Julie AMBLARD	Printsport	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 14:42.6
20	70	Olli LAHTI Laura SUVANTO	Olli Lahti	Skoda	Fabia	+ 21:54.9
21	52	Ugur SOYLU Mehmet YALÇIN	Gp Garage My Team	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 26:51.4
22	53	Johannes KEFERBÖCK Ilka MINOR	Johannes Keferböck	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 27:08.7
23	49	Eliott DELECOUR Alexis MAILLEFERT	Eliott Delecour	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 41:19.2
24	20	Roope KORHONEN Anssi VIINIKKA	Rautio Motorsport	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 59:39.8
25	30	Yuki YAMAMOTO James FULTON	Printsport	Toyota	Gr Yaris	+ 60:50.2
26	43	Patrick ENOK Silver SIMM	Printsport	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 82:04.6
27	27	Fau ZALDIVAR Marcelo DER OHANNESIAN	Fau Zaldivar	Skoda	Fabia Rs	+ 115:12.1