The final race of the 2024 Finnish Rally Championship season was held on Saturday, October 5, in Kitee. There was still a lot at stake in many classes at the end of the season, and the race offered exciting motorsport entertainment right up to the very last meters. Roope Korhonen, representing Laukaan Moottorimiehet, won the SM series championship (SM1) in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car.
The final round of the Finnish Rally Championship series kicked off on Saturday withLauri Joonafrom Sastamala setting the pace in the SM1 class. The Kitee race is only Joonas' second in the Finnish Championship series this season, as he has been focusing more on the WRC2 class of the World Rally Championship.
Joona did not chase medals in the final points table, but focused on beating the regular drivers in the class in the rally results. Joona started the race strongly and took the lead with an 8.9-second gap when the race reached its first service break.
The strong performance continued throughout the rest of the day, and by the second service break, the lead had grown to 12 seconds. There was no need to push hard on the last three special stages, as victory was secured with a lead of over half a minute.
The championship battle was betweenRoope Korhonenfrom Laukaa and reigning Finnish championTeemu Asunmaafrom Alavus. Korhonen started the race with a 20-point lead, so even if Asunmaa won, Korhonen would only need to finish fourth to secure the championship.
Korhonen did what he was told and kept Asunmaa safely behind him until the end. The Rautio Motorsport driver finished second behind Joonas, with Asunmaa coming in third. Korhonen and his co-driverAnssi Viinikkawere thus able to celebrate their first SM1 class Finnish championship title at the end of an impressive season. In the end, they finished 25 points ahead of Asunmaa.
– It feels good. The championship was our goal for this season. The season included some good rallies, but also some less successful ones. However, we led the series from start to finish, so in that sense it was a very successful season, Korhonen said at the finish line.
Asunmaa, on the other hand, was affected by his disqualification in the Finnish Rally Championship in Tuuri in the winter, and even his good performances in the summer season were not enough to take him far enough in the championship battle. However, Asunmaa was satisfied with his position at the finish line.
– A good final result considering the season. We didn't even intend to compete in all the races, so we should be quite satisfied with this, Asunmaa reiterated.
Benjamin Korhola took the bronze medal, but his final race was disappointing. Right from the start, the Hyundai driver suffered technical problems and fell far behind the leaders. The next car was fixed, but the gearbox was too hard and the Hyundai ended up in a remote forest after a violent crash.
Anssi Rytkönenwas offered the keys to a medal at this point, but the veteran's pace was not enough to finish higher than fifth place today. In fourth place, Rytkönen would have been able to celebrate a bronze medal, but now he was just two points short of a medal.
Ville Vatanen wins his fourth Finnish Championship medal this year
Henri Hokkala, who had already secured the SM2 class championship in the fifth race of the season in Seinäjoki, was unexpectedly beaten by local driver Ville Vatanen. Vatanen had secured the SM4 and Junior SM class championships for himself in the same Seinäjoki race and was thus able to switch to the SM2 class for the last two races of the season.
Vatanen's season came to a spectacular end when "Uskalin Raketti," who had already won the Lahti race, took his second consecutive class victory in the SM2 class in Kitee after a truly commanding performance. At the same time, Vatanen moved up to the last medal position in the class behind Hokkala and Jesse Kallio.
"An absolutely fantastic result, we've had a really strong season. We did really well in this race too, although I was a little surprised that we were able to maintain such a good pace," said a delighted Vatanen.
The SM medal was Vatanen's fourth this year, as he will turn 18 next week. In addition to the aforementioned championships, Vatanen is also set to win a medal in the Rallisprint SM series, which is also very likely to be gold. "Not a bad season," one might say.
Kauppinen became the SM3 class champion
The SM3 class championship battle was expected to be the closest of the season. In the end, it didn't turn out that way, as Tuukka Kauppinen, who started the race in second place, was convincingly dominant. Starting six points behind, Kauppinen drove to a confident victory with a 23-second lead over Italy'sValentino Ledda, who finished a magnificent second and took his first podium finish of the season.
– It was a really good feeling to drive, and it was great to be able to race the whole race. At the end, we managed to build up a good lead and were able to relax a little. The season was on an upward trend, and apart from the victory at Tunturi, the winter was difficult, but we managed to get everything together for the summer, Kauppinen commented.
Lassila never really got into his stride and finished fourth in the class. However, this was enough to secure Lassila, who had had a very consistent season, the silver medal in the Finnish Championship. Lassila was also chosen as the winner of the Flying Finn Future Star competition and was rewarded with the chance to drive a Ford Fiesta Rally3 car in the Finnish World Rally Championship.
The bronze medal goes toJoni Korhonen, representing the local team, who also came third in today's race. This is Korhonen's first medal in the Finnish Championships.
Halonen ended his term with a second consecutive victory
In the SM4 class, Kitee was only in contention for the silver and bronze medals. Tomi Tikkinen started the race in second place but had to concede to Lauri Halonen, who started in fourth place.
The series leader picked up where he left off in the Lahti race and secured his second consecutive class victory, which was enough to put the 14-year-old rising star six points ahead of Tikkinen.
"It was a good day and the pace was good. I didn't have to go flat out, but I was able to drive well, especially at the start," Halonen said.
Ville Vatanen had already secured the class championship in the Seinäjoki race in June.
Lähteeniemi wins his first Finnish championship in the general class
Arttu Lähdeniemi started the Kitee race with a comfortable 17-point lead. Lähdeniemi did what was necessary and did not attempt any heroic feats, but drove safely to the finish line.
However, there was a bit of drama in the latter half of the race when Lähdeniemi's Mitsubishi gearbox was about to give up completely. Lähdeniemi had to coast through the rest of the race in third gear, but he made it to the finish line and was able to celebrate his championship victory.
"Our only goal today was to secure the championship, and we managed to do that. We started off too cautiously and then had some technical problems, but luckily we made it to the finish line," Lähdeniemi said with relief.
Pekka Keski-Korsu was Lähdeniemi's only challenger, but his race ended on the eighth special stage due to a technical fault. However, Keski-Korsu takes silver in the series.
Rasmus Tuominen, who was the most impressive driver in the class throughout the day, drove to victory in the class and his first individual win. Tuominen rose from fourth place in the series to the final medal position, overtaking Miikka Vuokila.
The Fixus SM Rally Kitee composite broadcast will be shown on Yle TV2 and Areena on Sunday, October 6, at 6 p.m. The 2025 Rally SM series season will kick off in Kuopio on January 17–18.
Results: Fixus SM Rally Kitee
SM1
1. Lauri Joona 49:08.5
2. Roope Korhonen +31.6
3. Teemu Asunmaa +40.0
4. Jooa Iivari +1:32.5
5. Anssi Rytkönen +2:02.9
SM2
1. Ville Vatanen 51:36.6
2. Henri Hokkala +51.2
3. Jani Lahtinen +3:43.4
SM3
1. Tuukka Kauppinen 53:23.8
2. Valentino Ledda +23.5
3. Joni Korhonen +24.1
4. Leevi Lassila +24.1
5. Niko Kalmi +1:09.0
SM4
1. Lauri Halonen 56:39.7
2. Aatu Hakalehto +1:02.1
3. Miska Tuomisto +1:13.4
4. Tomi Tikkinen +1:20.3
5. Matias Nevalainen +1:54.2
SM5
1. Rasmus Tuominen 51:47.9
2. Arttu Lähdeniemi +5:29.5
3. Tuomas Viren +8:30.6
