Hotshot Korhola secures WRC3 win at home

Korhola, who drives a Ford Ford Fiesta Rally3 for Finnish team Rautio Motorsport, stormed into the lead after the first full-forest stage on Friday morning and never looked back.

The 20-year-old built a sizeable lead over second-placed Jesse Kallio which he maintained for the rally’s entirety despite nursing a brake issue through the final two days. His final winning margin was 35.6sec.

“It’s been absolutely a dream-come-true moment for me,” Korhola smiled. “Everything has worked out really well despite us having some brake issues yesterday, and I have been carrying some brake issues today also.”

Czech driver Filip Kohn finished 5min 12.6sec further back to celebrate a career-best result in third. He battled with Ali Türkkan on Saturday but pulled clear of the Turkish driver, who later crashed out in the rally’s penultimate test.

Türkkan’s retirement elevated local driver Henri Timonen to fourth while fellow Finn Tuomas Vihtari completed the top five.