Rally Finland entries revealed
A field of 81 cars will tackle Finland's fast gravel stages
Don't miss: Helsinki Battle on wrc.com
The WRC stars of today will go head-to-head with the rallying legends of yesteryear when they tackle the Neste Oil Rally Helsinki Battle this Saturday (26 July).
The rally sprint event will take place on the streets of Helsinki and the action will be streamed live on WRC.com between 1500hrs and 1730hrs local time (CET+1hr).
Drivers will compete against each other on a specially constructed stage (right). They will be required to complete two laps, totalling 1.65km, and will drive modern WR Car machinery.
The event is part of the build up to Neste Rally Finland (31 July-3 August) and has been organised to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Neste’s sponsorship of the fast gravel event.
The list of modern day stars taking part includes homegrown heroes Jari-Matti Latvala, Mikko Hirvonen and Juho Hanninen, as well as world champion Sebastien Ogier, Citroen’s Mads Ostberg and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.
They will go head-to-head with world championship-winning Finnish legends Markku Alen, Marcus Gronholm, Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Makinen. Kankkunen will also drive a Gp B Audi Quattro S1 dating back to 1985 before the competitive action gets underway.
Alen, who recorded much of his WRC success when he drove for the factory Lancia team in the 1980s, is predicting a fierce battle. He said: “Every time you drive against the clock, the pace picks up. You always give it your all.”
Each driver will tackle the course twice and their quickest time will be carried forward to decide who is the fastest in the ‘stars’ and ‘legends’ driver categories.
The fastest driver from each will go into the head-to-head final for the chance to be crowned the Neste Oil Rally Helsinki Battle Champion.
Citroen team principal, Yves Matton, said: “Finland is a rally country and we feel we have to be present to celebrate the event in Helsinki. We have done similar shows in the past and with great success. I am convinced this year will be even better with various drivers from different countries.”
To watch our live stream of the action from the Neste Oil Rally Helsinki Battle, visit the WRC.com homepage at 15.00 on 26 July and follow the links.
For further information about the event , visit the Neste Oil Rally Helsinki Battle homepage by clicking here.
The cars they will be driving
| Car | Driver 1 | Driver 2 | Driver 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai i20 WRC | Thierry Neuville | Juho Hanninen | Marcus Gronholm |
| Ford Fiesta RS WRC | Mikko Hirvonen | Tommi Makinen | – |
| Citroen DS3 WRC | Mads Ostberg | Juha Kankkunen | – |
| VW Polo R WRC | Sebastien Ogier | Jari-Matti Latvala | Markku Alen |
