In May this year Akio Toyoda, the Chairman of TMC, gave me permission to drive a Toyota Yaris Rally2 car in Secto Rally Finland in Jyväskylä. Sami Pajari drove a Rally1 car there which enabled Team Print Sport to have me as a Rally2 car driver.
The car I drove was new, owned by Toyota, and fantastic to drive. Right away in the first test – I drove 150 km – I had a good feeling about the car. It was easy to drive and the limits were easy to find. With my co-driver Juho Hänninen we had once again fun, we could laugh and take it easy. It was great to drive together.
Nineteen times I had started a race in Jyväskylä and never before in such conditions.
Very slippery stages due to constant rain. It was really difficult to drive. In spite of the rough conditions our race went well, no problems, no incidents. Only one spin in Ouninpohja II which took us about 20 seconds. The result was much better than I expected. I was second in Rally2 and sixth overall. My aim was to finish the rally being among the five best in Rally2. Being third in the finish would have needed an excellent drive. I really exceeded myself by being second in Rally2 which felt great.
