Lauri Joona second in the season opener in Mikkeli

Lauri Joona and Antti Linnaketo finished second in the opening round of the Finnish Rally Championship in Mikkeli. A confident, flawless and fast rally culminated fastest time of the final special stage.

Photo: Jani Salonen

Lauri Joona who made his return to the Finnish Rally Championship, drove a great second in the opening round of the season in Mikkeli. Joona and Co-driver Antti Linnaketo's performance in the challenging conditions was consistently solid and the duo had a tight race for second place with Benjamin Korhola right up until the very last special stage.

- The weather was challenging and the roads were fast. It would have required a little more confidence in what you were doing to dare to let go properly when sometimes there is loose snow and sometimes good grip, Joona said about Saturday's road conditions.

Lauri Joona was fifth fastest in the first special stage of the race, but after that the pace was second fastest in the class. When the service break came, Joona was 11.1 seconds behind the race leader Esapekka Lappi. The good pace continued after the service break and he remained in second place. On the second run, there was an hour delay in the race, which also brought darkness to the route earlier.

Photo: Toni Ollikainen

- We slept a little on the second lap when there was that long break and after that we couldn't get the ride rolling properly. Then we tried to fix the situation for the last special stage and we succeeded well, says Joona, who clocked the fastest time for the last special stage of Hangastenmaa.

Lappi won the SM Rally Mikkeli, Joona was second and Korhola was third. Joona has a lot of praise for the opening round of the season.

- A great route in all respects, I liked the fast roads. There were people on the side of the road and in the square, just like in a World Rally Championship!

Thanks also to Co-driver Antti Linnaketo, with whom the Mikkeli Rally was only the second competition together.

- The cooperation with Antti is going really well. Especially on the last stage, the driving felt like it should. Let's try to get that same feeling from the upcoming races!

Finnish Rally Championship series continues in two weeks with the Arctic Lapland Rally, also known as the Tunturi Rally, which will be held in Rovaniemi from 29 to 31 January.

Final results / SM1

1. Esapekka Lappi, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, 45:53.92.

2. Lauri Joona – Antti Linnaketo, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +20.5

3. Benjamin Korhola, Hyundai i20 Rally2, +25.1

4. Niclas Grönholm, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +35.8

5. Anssi Rytkönen, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, +1:28.3

Points / SM1 class, 1/7 races

1. Esapekka Lappi 25

2. Lauri Joona 18

3. Benjamin Korhola 15

4. Niclas Grönholm 12

5. Anssi Rytkönen 10