31.7.2010 - Sixth in Finland After Tuohino Battles Against Problems
Rally Finland proved to be a tough home event for Janne Tuohino after he battled against mechanical problems on both days of the event to finish sixth in the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship. His points scoring finish came after small issues with the car, and time penalties, dropped him back down the order on the tough two-day event.
This was Rally Finland¹s 60th anniversary and the fast-paced action took place over a shortened period of two, rather than the usual three, days. But the event was no less tough. In fact the high-speed gravel stages with their flat-out crests and jumps proved to be a major challenge for most competitors.
Tuohino, however, was well prepared and had tested the week before the rally to perfect his driving style and ensure the best possible performance from his Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car.
The battle in the Super 2000 WRC was always going to be intense. Take the top drivers in the world, throw in some talented local crews and the fight was as hot as the Finnish summer weather. With temperatures topping the mid-thirties as the rally kicked off with a short blast round the rally¹s opening stage at Laajavuori on Thursday night, concentration and endurance was the order of the day. The Laajavuori stage was a popular choice for the rally-mad fans as the stage was lined with thousands of spectators ready to cheer on their heroes.
Tuohino and co-driver Marko Sallinen got off to a steady start when the rally kicked off for real yesterday. However, the morning was full of small problems which cost the pair time and dropped them down the standings.
On the day¹s first stage an electrical problem caused the engine to cut out and the pair lost some valuable time. Then on SS3 Jukojärvi the steering column on his JanPro team car became loose after a heavy landing over a jump. Worse was to come when the rear window of his Fiesta fell out on SS4 and dust from the loose gravel roads came flowing into the car.
But the busy afternoon continued to provide mixed fortunes. When a rear drive-shaft joint became damaged, Tuohino had to effectively Œnurse¹ the car and limit the loss of time due to the problem. He did this well, though, and was able to push on the last couple of stages to finish the day fifth and top Fiesta S2000 in the series.
Problems continued today when the final day¹s action re-started early this morning from Service at Jyväskylä Paviljonki. Tuohino was 12 minutes late out of Service this morning after the JanPro team experienced complications during the repair of the drive-shaft. This resulted in two minutes of time penalties and effectively dropped the Finn back from fourth to sixth in SWRC.
Generally, though, today¹s performance was much better and Tuohino put the problems behind him to set a string of fourth and fifth fastest times on some classic stages such as Himos and Leustu. The pace at the top was intense and had it not been for the series of unfortunate issues then the Finns would have been challenging for a podium spot on their home event.
With the sixth place finish, Tuohino remains in ninth position in the Super 2000 championship and the JanPro team sits in sixth. The team¹s next event is on asphalt at Rally Germany on 20-22 August.
Janne Tuohino said: ³It¹s been a tough rally. We came here on high spirits to try and get a good finish but there has just been too many problems. When things were fine we were able to do some good times but there has just been too many small things that have gone wrong. But I have enjoyed the rally, the stages are just fantastic here and it¹s a great feeling to be driving on them. We tried hard but it just wasn¹t to be.²
Final Results
1. J Hanninen/M Markkula FIN Skoda Fabia S2000, 2h40m34.6s
2. P-G Andersson/A Fredriksson SWE Skoda Fabia S2000, +1m10.7s
3. P Sandell/E Axelsson SWE Skoda Fabia S2000, +1m30.0s
4. M Prokop/J Tomanek CZ Ford Fiesta S2000, +4m07.2s
5. M Kosciuszko/M Szczepaniak PL Ford Fiesta S2000, +5m55.1s
6. J Tuohino/M Sallinen FIN Ford Fiesta S2000, +6m09.7s
Super2000 WRC standings after WRC Finland:
1. Xavi Pons, Ford Fiesta S2000, 86 points
2. Per-Gunnar Andersson, Skoda Fabia S2000, 68 points
3. Martin Prokop, Ford Fiesta S2000, 60 points
4. Jari Ketomaa, Ford Fiesta S2000, 58 points
5. Patrik Sandell, Skoda Fabia S2000, 49 points
6. Eyvind Brynildsen, Skoda Fabia S2000, 42 points
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9. Janne Tuohino, Ford Fiesta S2000, 30 points
Teams Cup standings:
1. Nupel Global Racing, Xavi Pons, Ford Fiesta S2000, 86 points
2. Czech Ford National Team: Martin Prokop, Ford Fiesta S2000, 69 points
3. Red Bull Rally Team: Patrik Sandell, Skoda Fabia S2000, 64 points
4. Shanghai FCACA Team: Jari Ketomaa, Ford Fiesta S2000, 60 points
5. Skoda Rene Georges Rally Sport: Eyvind Brynildsen, Skoda Fabia S2000, 48 points
6. JanPro: Janne Tuohino, Ford Fiesta S2000, 45 points
30.7.2010 - Problems For Tuohino On Finland¹s First Day
Janne Tuohino got his home round of the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship off to a solid start as he occupies fifth position and is the top-placed Fiesta S2000 competitor. But the Finn¹s tough first day of high-speed competition on Rally Finland was not problem-free and a series of small issues has knocked him back down the time sheets.
This year Rally Finland is celebrating its 60th anniversary and the organisers have packed a full event into just two days. The rally, based in Jyväskylä, stills provides competitors with one of the biggest challenges of the year even though it¹s one of the shortest. The first day saw crews tackle 11 timed special stages making up 147km of intense rally action which was played out on roads to both the west and east of Rally HQ.
Tuohino is partnered on this event by co-driver Marko Sallinen and the pair got their challenge off to an exciting start last night on Rally Finland¹s opening 4.19km stage at Laajavuori. With 10 Super 2000 WRC crews, including some strong Finnish drivers taking part, the hot battle kicked off on one of Finland¹s warmest ever days which saw temperatures in the mid thirties.
The stage was lined by thousands of adoring rally fans who flocked to see their rally heroes kick into action over the specially constructed route - but when crews re-started again this morning they were faced with the traditional, ultra-fast gravel roads which Rally Finland is notoriously known for. With its wide, high speed roads and blind crests that launch cars high into the air, Finland is a favourite amongst drivers and spectators alike.
Tuohino was keen to put the poor results of the past three rallies behind him and focus on producing the fine form that saw him grab a second place finish on the championship¹s opening round in Sweden. He had tested last week and was optimistic that the improvements to his Fiesta S2000 would see him able to challenge for a top place this weekend.
However, a morning littered with minor, but time-consuming problems, has dropped Tuohino down the standings. On just stage two, the opening test this morning, an electrical problem caused the engine to cut out and the pair lost some valuable time. Then on SS3 Jukojärvi the steering column on his JanPro team car became loose after a heavy landing over a jump. To make matters worse, the rear window of his Fiesta fell out on SS4 and dust from the loose gravel roads came flowing into the car.
The team were able to effect running repairs at the midday Service back at Jyväskylä Paviljonki but once Tuohino started the afternoon stages, a joint on the rear drive-shaft became damaged and more time loss was inevitable. The remainder of the day was a compromise between making it around the rest of the stages and back to service, and trying to limit the amount of time they were dropping to the leaders.
Even though the pair lost more valuable seconds over stages six to nine, they were locked in a battle with another Fiesta driver Martin Prokop. On SS10 Myhinpää, Tuohino pushed hard to set fourth fastest time and take 11 seconds back off Prokop launching him into fifth position in SWRC and maintaining a strong position for a podium position challenge tomorrow when, hopefully, there will be less problems to contend with.
Tomorrow sees another long day as the crew re-starts early in the morning to compete on the eight stages that make up the second, and last, day of Rally Finland. There is still 162km of action including one pass over the longest stage of the rally, SS13 Väärinmaja at 29.29km to contend with. The rally finishes back in Jyväskylä at 8pm.
Janne Tuohino said: ³We wanted to start off fast from the very start of this rally but with all the problems today we just couldn¹t do it. The stages have been in very good condition and we just need some better luck tomorrow and to have a clean run and I¹m sure we can set some good times. The other guys are driving very fast and there¹s still a chance to push for a good position tomorrow anything can happen, it¹s a very long day.²
Day 1 Results
1. J Hanninen/M Markkula FIN Skoda Fabia S2000, 1h14m15.0s
2. M Rantanen/M Lukka FIN Skoda Fabia S2000, +41.1s
3. P-G Andersson/A Fredriksson SWE Skoda Fabia S2000, +54.1s
4. P Sandell/E Axelsson SWE Skoda Fabia S2000, +1m29.4s
5. J Tuohino/M Sallinen FIN Ford Fiesta S2000, +2m13.2s
6. M Prokop/J Tomanek CZ Ford Fiesta S2000, +2m13.3s
27.7.2010 - Tuohino Hopes Local Knowledge Will Help Him Fight in Finland
This weekend¹s Rally Finland will see Janne Tuohino start his home round of the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship and the Finnish ace is hoping for some better results on roads that he knows well.
The rally is Tuohino¹s fifth championship round and, after poor results at the last three events on rougher gravel roads, he is looking forward to competing on the smooth, but frighteningly-fast roads around Jyväskylä. He will be partnered again by fellow countryman Risto Pietiläinen and the pair have been testing recently to ensure they are fully prepared, and up to speed, for the task that lies ahead.
This is the 60th year of Rally Finland and the event is once again based around Rally HQ at the Paviljoni exhibition centre in Jyväskylä. Its high speeds mean it¹s a favourite with both fans and drivers, but this year sees a shorter event taking place over just two full days Friday and Saturday.
That, however, doesn¹t mean the event will be any easier. With just one totally new stage this year, drivers will be back on roads they know well and the battle is sure to be intense right from the very first stage. The short rally means long days behind the wheel for drivers and we will see concentration, fitness and endurance levels tested to the max.
Tuohino will again use his Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car when the event starts with a short blast around the opening stage in Jyväskylä on Thursday night.
When the rally moves to the real forests on Friday, drivers will be faced with ultra-fast, compact roads with roller-coaster like jumps. But, with the event also featuring more slower, technical roads with loose gravel that ruts easily, it just shows how experience of this rally is so important.
It¹s so specialised that, in 59 years, only seven non-Finnish drivers have won the event overall and Tuohino will be hoping that the history of success for the Finns will continue with him this weekend. There are 10 SWRC drivers competing on Rally Finland and four in the highly-acclaimed Fiesta S2000 car.
Tuohino, however, is quietly confident. He¹s just completed a successful test where he¹s being trying to adapt his driving style to get the most from his JanPro Team Fiesta and, with a shorter event this year, knows the importance of pushing right from the off.
On Friday, drivers will race on stages to the west and north of Jyväskylä and cover some classic tests such as Lankamaa, Urria and Jukojärvi. Then on Saturday they head south-west to Jämsä to tackle famous names like Himos and Leustu and have one run over the longest test of the event Väärinmaja, at 29.29km. The event finishes back at Jyväskylä Paviljonki on Saturday evening after crews have tackled the 310km and 19 super-fast special stages.
Janne Tuohino said: ³It¹s great to be back rallying in Finland, the roads here are fantastic and hopefully my home rally will start some more good luck for me. This year has not been going so well but we¹ve been working hard for this rally. I know most of the roads and I want to be fast straight away from the start. But everyone is thinking the same and we have three other very fast Finnish drivers also pushing to win this rally. It will definitely be a big challenge and, I think, one of the biggest battles for a while.²
