The Fixus Kitee Finnish Rally Championship will take place on August 15 on the stunning gravel roads of Central Karelia. After eight special stages and 96 kilometers of special stages, the rally’s winners will be announced early Saturday evening.
As with the 2024 competition, the scoring celebrations will be held at Rantakenttä in Kitee, where the side events featuring Kiteen Pallo’s junior pesäpallo players will begin at 4:00 p.m. The first competitors are expected to take the field around 6:00 p.m.
– There was a nice turnout at the last joint event, even though it took place in the fall. Let’s hope for nice summer weather this time, so we can carry out all the planned activities. “We’ll have a couple of bounce houses for the kids, game stations, face painting, food stands, and fan merchandise for sale,” says Katariina Eskelinen, a member of the Kiteen Pallo board of directors.
“For safety reasons, the inflatable castles are subject to weather conditions, but otherwise we have a covered area and a viewing stand where you can watch both our activities and the rally if a summer rain shower happens to catch you by surprise,” Eskelinen explains.
“There won’t be any fireworks at the event this year, since it’s still fairly light out in the early evenings in mid-August. Other special effects are in the works, and there will definitely be plenty to do for the whole family, so it’s worth heading over there,” encourages competition director Arto Pirinen.
Advance ticket sales for the rally have begun
Although the rally’s partners make many free events possible, it’s also worth going to watch the rally at the fast-paced forest special stages. Each of these stages has at least one concession stand, where you can enjoy some tasty treats while watching the rally. Advance tickets are on sale at www.coregoshop.fi/sm-ralli-kitee-2026.
Sports events will continue in Kitee on Sunday, August 16, when Kiteen Pallo faces Imatran Pallo-Veikot in a top Superpesis match starting at 5:00 p.m. Thanks to this collaboration, combination tickets are available that grant access to both the rally and the pesäpallo game. Children under 12 get free admission to both events.
“It’s definitely worth coming to our game on Sunday, even if you’ve never been to a pesäpallo game before. There’s always a great atmosphere at Rantakenttä, so I highly recommend it,” Eskelinen concludes.
Weekend Ticket Types
Special Stage Ticket 15 € (valid for any one special stage)
Rally Pass 25 € (access to all special stages)
Special Stage Ticket + Baseball Ticket 25 €
Rally Pass + Baseball Ticket 35 €
FOLLOW THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE FIXUS SM KITEE RALLY
Series pages: www.rallism.fi
Race website: www.smrallikitee.fi
Race Facebook page: www.facebook.com/smrallikitee
Race Instagram: @smrallikitee
Text: Timo Uimi / Fixus SM Rally Kitee press release
Photo: The 2024 awards ceremony at Rantakenttä was a spectacular event to watch. Photo: Taneli Niinimäki/AKK
