Juho Hänninen Completed A Hat-Trick In Finland

›  This is already the third victory for the Finland’s champion in his home rally

›  The second Red Bull ŠKODA team, Gassner /Wüstenhagen, came in fourth

›  Red Bull ŠKODA team made excellent impression in Finland

›  SWRC leaders, Hänninen and Markkula, have defended last year’s victory, completed the hat-trick, and increased their lead at the forefront of the championship

In Jyväskylä, 30 July 2011 – The entire Red Bull ŠKODA team showed excellent performance in the Finland’s rally and notched up the second victory in a row. Juho Hänninen fantastically coped with the pressure on his home rally and, after winning Rally Acropolis, won impressively in another event out of the “classic” category, Rally Finland. This way he and Mikka completed the hat-trick in the local rally and increased their lead at the forefront of the championship. The fantastic team performance was crowned with Gassner and Wüstenhagen’s fourth place.

The exciting atmosphere in Rally Finland was guaranteed thanks to up to 450 thousand fans who visited the local tracks during the three-day event. The weather was also good for the whole time of the competition, and the entire rally in Finland’s forests was more or less driven on dry roads. Juho showed his fellow countrymen a great spectacle, although on the first day in the tight duel with Tänak he had to settle for second place. Seven won stages out of eight the next day brought Hänninen with Markkula clearly to the forefront. In the duel for the first position, Tänak landed off the track and lost considerable time before he managed to get back. On the last day Juho easily controlled the leading position but still – in spite of the clear lead – managed to win in other four stages, and in the finish his lead was 2:37 ahead of the second Martin Prokop.

Juho was extremely happy in the finish: “I wanted this victory very much – and we did it! I feel so incredibly excited when I fly at full speed through the local forest roads. This is the purest rally, and I am thankful to the whole team for the perfectly prepared car. The whole time we drove constantly fast and without unnecessary risk, we watched for rocks and kept the right track. The points we got are very important for the evaluation of the championship.”

Gassner and Wüstenhagen managed to avoid mistakes all three days and were also fast enough. In the first start in the rally in the country of thousand lakes and jumps they were close to podium for two days, but at last had to settle for the fourth position.

Hermann was also happy: “I am thankful for the fourth place in a rally where the speeds are often crazy. We were getting used to the local conditions gradually stage after stage, and we got the maximum out of it. We soon got used to the local speeds, too. We wanted to use the mix of speed and reason to gain as much experience and as many points as possible, in which we succeeded.”

Like the two drivers, the team leader Raimund Baumschlager was also happy: “Great compliments to the whole team. When you finish with both cars, without any problems, and moreover on the first and fourth place, then everything is all right for us in the world of rally. Juho has made another important step toward the world champion title.

Another event in Red Bull ŠKODA team’s programme is the German ADAC Deutschland Rally (18-21 August) which takes place Germany’s most famous wine region around the town of Trier. The team will present itself again in full strength with the goal to get additional points on the way toward the world champion title.

SWRC score after five rallies:

1.    Hänninen (ŠKODA) 86 p.

2.    Prokop (Ford) 68p.

3.    Tänak (Ford) 55p.

4.    Sousa (Ford) 51p.

5.    Gassner (ŠKODA) 49p.