6.7.2022

Huttunen to make Rally1 debut with M-Sport

Finnish youngster and 2020 FIA WRC3 Champion, Jari Huttunen, will make his Rally1 debut with M-Sport on Rally Finland in an M-Sport Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1.

Since joining the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in November 2021, the Finn has claimed one victory and a total of three podiums in his four WRC2 appearances in a Fiesta Rally2.

Huttunen’s step up to the Rally1 category underlines M-Sport’s commitment to provide young drivers with opportunities at the top level of the sport.

Huttunen will be co-driven by his regular co-driver, Mikko Lukka, who helped guide Huttunen to his 2020 WRC3 Championship success. In total, Huttunen has claimed five victories in the World Rally Championship’s WRC2 and WRC3 support categories. His most recent WRC2 victory was on ACI Rally Monza, where he made his debut in a Fiesta Rally2, impressing the team immediately.

Huttunen has made three appearances in the 2022 WRC2 Championship for M-Sport, earning two podiums and ten stage wins along the way. His two podium finishes were also enough for overall points, with ninth overall on Rally Sweden and tenth overall in Sardinia.

Ahead of Rally Finland, Huttunen will get a full test day in Estonia to prepare and get accustomed to the Puma Hybrid Rally1 car, a rally thoroughbred that will allow Huttunen to show his raw speed and talent on one of the fastest rallies of the year.

Before embarking on his Rally1 debut, Huttunen will enter the blazingly fast gravel stages of Rally Estonia in a Fiesta Rally2 as part of his WRC2 campaign, serving as the perfect appetiser for a back-to-back special of fast-paced gravel competition.

Jari Huttunen, said:

“I’m really excited to be doing my home rally in a Puma, it will be a great experience and I’m looking forward to the atmosphere with the fans and everything. It will definitely be challenging on such a fast rally in a car with so much power, but I have a good feeling in the Rally2 already and so I feel we will carry that feeling over to the Puma. I’ve really enjoyed working with M-Sport on these past events and I’m starting to feel very at home. The aim for the weekend will be to learn from the car and try to keep a good rhythm with a steady pace.

It can be a tricky event but I know it quite well, so let’s see what happens. I’m very glad to be given this opportunity by M-Sport so we want to make the most of it.”

 

Richard Millener, Team Principal, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, said:

“I can’t wait to see Jari step up into Rally1 machinery and feel very proud that it will be in an M-Sport Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1. We are promoting a new generation of cars this year as we embark upon WRC’s new hybrid era, it is therefore paramount that we provide opportunities to a new generation of drivers as well. This is something M-Sport prides itself on and has a long history of doing, and we saw recently with Pierre-Louis what fresh talent is capable of. Jari has followed a similar path to Pierre-Louis when you look at their results and I am sure everybody will be keeping a keen eye on Jari’s progress. From the team’s perspective there will be no goals or pressure, we simply want to see what Jari can do when given the tools and machinery. It will be a learning exercise more than anything, for Jari,

Mikko and the team. For Jari he will be starting to learn what it takes to be at the very top of the WRC, for us we will learn what we need to do to support and develop Jari to get him to the top level.”

 

6.6.2021

WRC 2 success in Sardinia: Jari and Mikko take their i20 R5 to glory

On an exciting final day of Rally Italia Sardegna, Jari and Mikko took a thrilling WRC 2 victory, topping the Power Stage with a strong performance in the i20 R5.

The crew was involved in a close battle with the experienced Mads Østberg, which went down to the wire. Ultimately, it was our Finns who took the class win – and an impressive fifth place overall.

“It is an unbelievable feeling to win in Sardinia after a long break,” said Jari. “It’s been a good rally and a tough battle for the victory with Mads. We have focused on keeping the car on the road and not taking any risks. A great result for us and Hyundai Motorsport N.”

It’s Friday then it’s Saturday, Sunday won

Friday’s itinerary, consisting of two loops with two repeated stages, saw Jari/Mikko settle into a positive rhythm as they claimed five second-fastest times as well as a stage win on the final run of the day (SS8 Erula-Tula). The performance of his i20 R5 allowed him to maintain a steady gap to category leader Østberg.

They lost time on Saturday’s opening stage but flew through Lerno-Monti di Alà – which featured the iconic Micky’s Jump – to claim two more stage wins.

Still lying in second after the morning loop, the crew was ready to take any advantage that came their way. They wouldn’t have long to wait, as Østberg was handed a time penalty, which gave them a 16.8-second lead. Despite showing consistent pace in the i20 R5, the advantage dropped to just 2.7-seconds by the end of day.

Mind the gap

The final morning arrived with Jari hoping to defend a slender lead. The first stage of the morning, Arzachena-Braniatogghiu (15.25km), didn’t go to plan with the Finn losing the lead by 5.2-seconds. More drama was to come for Østberg in the Aglientu-Santa Teresa stage, and our Finns were there, ready to take over at the top once again.

A renewed lead of 17.4-seconds was slashed to just 2.1 heading into the Power Stage with all eyes on the tantalising battle. Jari/Mikko dug deep to extract full performance from themselves and the i20 R5 to take the Power Stage win and confirm a hard-fought victory.

“I want to say a big thank you to Jari because he has done an amazing rally, winning again in Sardinia,” said our Team Principal Andrea. “He and Mikko showed a steady approach, intelligently driven from start to finish, showing how smart they are, as well as fast. It is testament to the continuous hard work of our Customer Racing department, who are an important part of Hyundai Motorsport. We share and celebrate this result together as a team.”

Final Overall Classification WRC 2 – Rally Italia Sardegna

1 J. Huttunen / M. Lukka (Hyundai i20 R5) 3:28:58.1
2 M. Østberg / T. Eriksen (Citroën C3 R5) +7.5
3 M. Bulacia / M. Ohannesian (Škoda Fabia Evo) +2:02.9
4 M. Prokop / Z. Jurka (Ford Fiesta R5 MkII) +7:53.4
5 E. Brazzoli / D. Fappani (Škoda Fabia Evo) +28:51.5
6 A. Fourmaux / R. Jamoul (Ford Fiesta R5 MkII) +1:09:34.1

Text: Hyundai Motorsport

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12.2.2021

Champion Finn completes WRC 2 line-up – Jari Huttunen to step up in 2021

Off the back of a remarkable 2020 season, WRC 3 champion Jari Huttunen will make the move up to WRC 2 in 2021 alongside Oliver Solberg and Ole Christian Veiby.

“We have been working hard through the last few months for a way to work with him, and to reward him for his excellent performances, so to confirm Jari in our WRC 2 line-up for 2021 is great,” said our Team Principal Andrea.

May the form continue
Jari and co-driver Mikko Lukka were outstanding throughout the 2020 WRC 3 campaign, picking up wins in Sweden and Italy on their way to a championship victory with their Kowax 2BRally Team prepared car. In partnership with Hyundai Poland, the pair was also the dominant force in a shortened Polish national season, winning two of the three events to end the year with the title.

The duo will be aiming to take their red-hot form of the past year into their upcoming WRC 2 outings.

“Last year we were on the WRC 3 podium in every event we entered while aiming for the win every weekend,” said Jari. “We will have the same objective in WRC 2 this year as we have many of the same rallies ahead of us, a car that I know well, and the Kowax 2BRally Team, who Mikko and I worked really well with in 2020.”

“Jari showed superb all-round pace on snow, gravel and tarmac and there is no reason that the same form shouldn’t continue into this season,” said Andrea.

The Finnish driver already has three WRC 2 podiums to his name, the most recent in 2019 in an i20 R5 at his home event, Rally Finland.

Starting in the snow
The 26-year-old will begin his points-scoring season at the first of two home rounds on the calendar when Arctic Rally Finland (February 26-28) makes its debut as a WRC event. The snowy roads provide Jari and Mikko with a perfect opportunity to prove their credentials in the i20 R5.

“I think that at Arctic Rally Finland he can start the season strongly, and challenge for the win,” said Andrea.

Arctic Rally Finland will also mark the start of Ole Christian’s 2021 championship challenge. They will be joined on the stages by teammate Oliver, who will make his WRC debut.

“We now have three very exciting crews in WRC 2, with three hugely ambitious drivers,” said Andrea. “I think we can look forward to each of them challenging for the title, but also working together and competing against each other in order to continually improve during the season.”

Text: Hyundai Motorsport

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6.12.2020

Jari Huttunen won the WRC3 championship

The last rally of the World Rally Championship season in Monza, Italy, ended with a Finnish celebration in honor of Independence Day, when Jari Huttunen, competing in the Hyundai i20 R5, took the WRC3 championship. Huttunen placed third in the class in Rally Monza and became the class champion. In the overall of Rally Monza, Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka placed eighth.

Rallyin with the equipment of the Polish 2BRally, Huttunen went from good positions to the final rally of the season in pursuit of the WRC3 championship, as he had two wins and one second place out of the three races he ran during the season. In the leaderboard, Bolivia’s Marco Bulacia, who was two points ahead of him, had collected points from four rallies, so Huttunen had a good place for the championship and a place ahead of Bulacia in Monza. The tactic was to drive to the finish line in the top three, avoiding unnecessary risks.

– The championship was the goal and now the feeling is really good. “Slowly rushing” hasn’t been easy for me in the past, but now it worked surprisingly well. There were no mistakes, there were no problems with the car and the feeling was good throughout the rally, Huttunen says.

In the four-day rally, Huttunen opened the game by clocking the fastest time in the WRC3 class for Thursday’s only special stage. On Friday, five special stages were run in the rally and the Finnish duo, who were driving evenly, was fourth in the class at the end of the day.

– Good day for us, everything went according to the plan and no risks were taken, even though the conditions were challenging.

On Saturday, five special stages were run in the rally, as two special stages were canceled due to snowy conditions. Huttunen managed the difficult conditions well, running one fastest time during the day and rose to third in the class.

– We had the right tire choices for Saturday and I was really a little annoyed that the two snowy were canceled, because we would have had the best tires. On the other hand, it would have run the risk of finding itself somewhere off road so better off this way.

During Sunday’s three special stages, Huttunen secured his third place and drove to the world championship. During the season, he has driven a total of 11 rallies, six of which have ended in a class win and all the others on the podium. In addition to the WRC3 class championship, the Polish Rally Championship was confirmed in October.

– This has been an almost perfect season. The driving has gone well, the car and the team have worked great. Hopefully the same vibe will continue next season, I still don’t know what we’ll be driving next year, but something is coming. Next weekend we will be driving yet another local rally in Poland.

Final results Rally Monza 2020, WRC3, top6:
1. Andreas Mikkelsen – Anders Jaeger, NOR, Skoda Fabia Rally2, 2:19:47.2
2. Oliver Solberg – Aaron Johnston, SWE/IRL, Skoda Fabia Rally2, +15.9
3. Jari Huttunen – Mikko Lukka, FIN, Hyundai i20 R5, +1:19.2
4. Emil Lindholm – Mikael Korhonen, FIN, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, +1:57.8
5. Kajetan Kajetanowicz – Maciej Szczepaniak, POL, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, +3:38.3
6.  Marco Bulacia Wilkinson – Marcelo Der Ohannesian BOL/ARG, Citroën C3 R5, +4:51.6

WRC3 standings 2020, top10:
1. Jari Huttunen – Mikko Lukka, FIN, 83 pistettä
2. Marco Bulacia Wilkinson – Marcelo Der Ohannesian BOL/ARG, 78
3. Kajetan Kajetanowicz – Maciej Szczepaniak, POL, 65
4. Oliver Solberg – Aaron Johnston, SWE/IRL, 61
5. Emil Lindholm – Mikael Korhonen, FIN, 30
6. Nicolas Ciamin – Yannick Roche, FRA, 28
7. Andreas Mikkelsen – Anders Jaeger, NOR, 25
8. Eric Camilli – François-Xavier Buresi, FRA, 25
9. Emilio Fernandez – Ruben Garcia, CHI/ARG, 25
10. Alberto Heller – Marc Martí, CHI/ESP, 22

 

For more information:
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2.12.2020

Jari Huttunen is aiming for the WRC3 championship in Rally Monza

Jari Huttunen is chasing to the WRC3 world championship in Rally Monza this week. Before final round of the season, Huttunen, who is driving the Polish 2B Rally on Hyundai i20 R5, is second in the class with only two points behind Citroen driver Marco Bulacia. Huttunen has done three World Championship events this season, and he got two wins and one second place, so the starting point for the final rally is good.

Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka have contracted test work before Rally Monza, as they tested Hyundai’s new R5 car together with world champion Ott Tänak in Italy. They also had a test with their old car.

– We drove one day of the test and the car still feels really good. The goal is to run a solid rally and be ahead of Bulacia in the finish and of course we also want to make it to the podium. The WRC3 championship is interesting, but I can’t say yet how important it is for the continuation of my career, Huttunen says.

The tarmac-driven Rally Monza is a new acquaintance for most of the WRC drivers. The rally, which starts on Thursday, will feature special stages on both the Monza Circuit and the more traditional “forest special stages” in the Bergamo area.

– Based on the recce, the route is good, but the weather seems challenging if the snow stays on the ground. Rainfall could suit us best. It is a little thought in advance how good the special stages on the Monza Circuit are for us, but we will be happy to set off. We try to drive fast but without unnecessary risks, it has been a good tactic in this year’s rallies.

Rally Monza will start on Thursday at 15:08 with a short special stage. The last special stage of the rally will be run on Sunday at 13:18. There are a total of 16 special stages in the rally and a total of 239 EK kilometers. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka will race in number 25.

For more information:
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25.10.2020

Jari Huttunen won Rally Due Valli

Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka continued their rally season with another win on Italian asphalt roads, when the Finnish duo took first place in Rally Due Valli rally, which ended late Saturday night.  Huttunen, who drove Hyundai i20 R5 run by Hyundai Motorsport, won the rally 52.7 seconds gap to the Italian Umberto Scandola, who is also competing with Hyundai. Stefano Albertini of Italy took third with Skoda Fabia. In the rally of nine special stages, Huttunen drove two fastest special stage time.

The victory was already the sixth of the season fot Huttunen. Finnish driver also made history, because during the 38-year history of Rally Due Valli, he became first non-Italian driver to win overall.

Jari Huttunen started the race steadily and was in fourth place in the rally after three special stages,  23.5 seconds behind Volkswagen driver Giandomenico Basso, who led the rally

– We were the 21^st car on the route and on the first loop the roads were really slippery with our number compared to other top drivers. There was a lot of mud on the road, so we had to be careful, Huttunen said.

In the second run of the three special stages, Huttunen and Lukka improved their ranking and took the second place in the competition, the gap to Basso, who continued to lead, was 43.5 seconds.

– On the second loop, the road surface was more even for everyone, but sometimes we had to drive in a pretty heavy fog. I don’t know if the fog was as bad for those who started twenty minutes earlier than us.

On the last loop, the same three special stages were run once more in the darkness of Saturday night. Huttunen, who chased the victory, drove the fastest for the seventh special stage and narrowed the difference to 29.5 seconds. In the next special stage, Basso drove out, so Huttunen, who drove the fastest time again, cilmbed to the top with a difference of 56.5 seconds to Umberto Scandola. In the last special stage of the rally, Huttunen secured the victory by driving the second fastest time.

– The last loop was good for us, because the roads had become more familiar and the conditions were equal for everyone. Of course, win always satisfies me, on the other hand, the gap to the top was too big at some point, but I didn’t want to take crazy risks. When you get such driving opportunities, it makes more sense to drive to the finish line than drive out of the road.

Next rally for Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka is Ypres Rally Belgium, where they will fight for the WRC3 world championship. Car of the duo is the Hyundai i20 R5 of the Polish 2BRally.

– I think this rally was a good preparation for Ypres. Muddy, slippery tarmac roads and fog are sure to be expected there too. Hopefully a rally can be arranged if the COVID19 situation allows.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
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23.10.2020

Jari Huttunen’s season continues in Rallye Du Valli

The busy rally season 2020 of Jari Huttunen and co driver Mikko Lukka will continue on Saturday in Rally Due Valli in Italy. The Finnish duo will take part in the Italian championship competition with Hyundai i20 R5 run by Hyundai Motorsport.

Rally Due Valli is already the tenth rally of the season for Jari Huttunen. Huttunen has had a great season so far, he has always been in the top two in his class in the rallies he has run and he has won his class five times.

There will be a total of 27 R5 cars and two WRC cars in this Italian championship event, so there will be enough speedometers this time as well.

– Based on the recce, the route seems challenging. The roads are covered in loose gravel in the rally, because you have to cut inside in the corners. There will certainly be new things to learn for us again, as I have not competed on roads like this before.

Huttunen prepared for the race by driving a one-day pre event test in Italy. The gravel roads in the Verona area are a new for him, so the rally will be started with careful goals.

– We don’t take any pressure in this rally, although the level is definitely hard, because the local drivers know the special stages well and go fast here. We’re going to drive our own run and see after the first few stages how high it’s enough. The rally will run three special stages three times, so our pace will definitely improve during the rally.

Nine special stages will be run in the Du Valli Rally and the special stage kilometers will be 84. The rally will start on Saturday at 9:25 AM and the last special stage will be run at 9:30 PM. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka compete in rally number 21.

For more information:
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11.10.2020

Jari Huttunen won WRC3 in Rally Italy Sardegna

Rally Italy Sardegna ended with a blue-and-white celebration when 26-year-old Finnish driver Jari Huttunen drove a Hyundai i20 R5 car to win the WRC3 class. Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka who are competing in the private Polish 2BRally team, were also the fastest R5-class car in the rally, and they placed eighth in overall.

– Great victory! “Slowly rushing”, saving the car and tires is not an easy tactic, but in these circumstances it was the best.

Huttunen, who vas competing for the first time in Rally Italy Sardegna, started the rally steadily and was fourth in the WRC3 after the first day, 30 seconds behind Swedish Skoda driver Oliver Solberg. In Friday’s special stages, problems were caused by a broken anti-roll bar, which slowed down Huttunen in two special stages.

– We came smoothly through the stages on Friday, due to the breakdown of the anti-roll bar, we certainly lost some time, because the car was difficult to drive. Once, we hit a hay bale, but it didn’t take much time, Huttunen said at the end of Friday.

On Saturday, Huttunen reached the top of the class after the ninth special stage. At the top of the class, the second battle was fierce and in the eleventh special stage, the lead changed when Oliver Solberg took the lead again. In the next special stage, Solberg drove out and Huttunen was back on top. At the end of Saturday, his lead for Polish Kajetan Kajetanowicz was 10.5 seconds.

– During the day the car worked well, once again the anti-roll bar and we also had one puncture, but now we didn’t lose much because of them. We climbed up in the leaderboard with a tactically sensible drive, just as we calculated.

During the Sunday morning, the top fight between Huttunen and Kajetanowicz continued tight until the second to last special stage, where the Pole suffered a puncture and lost to Huttunen by more than a minute. At the finish, Huttunen managed to celebrate the WRC3 class victory by a minute and 21 seconds. The Flying Finn was very pleased with his tactics in finish. His manager Marcus Grönholm’s tips were useful in this rough rally.

– Along the way, we got several messages from Marcus that we had to take it easy and that´s what we did. After the recce, the roads felt really awkward, but in the rally they were easier to drive than I imagined. On Sunday we were supposed to attack with the last two stages and keep Kajetanowicz behind, but the rally now settled due to his puncture.

During his career, Jari Huttunen has celebrated a class victory in the World Rally Championship twice earlier. In February of this year, he won the WRC3 class at Hyundai in Rally Sweden and in 2017 he won WRC2 class in Rally Finland with Skoda. In the Rally Estonia this September, he was second in the WRC3 class, and with two wins and one second-place finish, he continues in second place in the WRC3 World Championship points, two points behind Marco Bulacia, who has drove one rally more than Huttunen.

For more information:
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8.10.2020

Jari Huttunen is ready for Rally Italia

Jari Huttunen’s rally season continues this week in Rally Italia Sardegna. Huttunen, who is competing in a Hyundai i20 car, is second in the WRC3 class after two rallies. In Rally Sweden, he won the WRC3 class and placed second in the Rally Estonia.

In Rally Italia, Huttunen and co-driver  Mikko Lukka will compete with Hyundai i20 maintained by Polish 2BRally team. Competing for the first time on the gravel roads of the island of Sardinia, Huttunen’s goal is to run solid rally. The conditions for the rally are new and the route ahead seems challenging.

– Based on the recce, the special stages are tricky. There are a lot of slow, tight and bumpy sections on the route, so we have to be careful. For example, a puncture easily takes too much time. My manager, Marcus Grönholm, advised me to pay special attention to tight spots and downhill braking points, Huttunen says.

Rally Italy is Huttunen’s third gravel rally of the season, as in addition to the Rally Estonia, he competed in the South-Estonian rally in August, where he won the R5 class. After Estonia, the program included two Polish championship races on asphalt, which resulted in a win, second place, and the Polish Rally Championship, which he secured last weekend at the Swidnicki Rally.

– It’s nice to drive on gravel again, although we didn’t drive gravel tests before this race, so we can see in the shakedown how the car works now. In the World Rally Championship, the level is so hard that there is no room for tactics in the first special stages, but if we can drive the whole race cleanly in such harsh conditions, the results will certainly be good. I haven’t  thought about the WRC3 class standings that much, because we haven’t competed in all the rallies this season and and because that series hasn’t been the main goal of the season.

The Italian World Rally Championship starts on Friday at 08:50. The last special stage of the rally will be run on Sunday at 13.18. During the three days, 16 special stages will be run in the rally and a total of 239 EK-kilometers will be accumulated. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka will compete number 30.

For more information:
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4.10.2020

Jari Huttunen won the Polish Rally Championship

Jari Huttunen finished second in the Swidnicki Rally, which ended the Polish championship series. Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka secured the victory in the Polish Rally Championship, as it was announced during the weekend that the Kosice Rally, the final rally of the series, will be canceled.

Huttunen, who won the first two rallies of the Polish championship series, took the lead of Swidnicki rally right from the opening special stage. During Saturday, he was fastest in all three special stages and led the rally on a night break with an 8.4-second gap to Polish Skoda driver Grzegorz Grzyb, who was second in championship stadings also.

– Saturday went well for us, the goal was to run through the stages neatly and without unnecessary risks, Huttunen says.

On Sunday, there were six special stages ahead of the rally and the weather had turned rainy. In the first special stage of the morning, Huttunen drove the fastest time and stretched his lead to 14.6 seconds with second-placed Hyundai driver Marcin Słobodzia. In the next special stage, however, the hard pace paid off in slippery conditions, when Huttunen drove out and was 43.2 seconds behind the the fastest time of the special stage. At the same time, he dropped to fifth on the leaderboard. In the sixth special stage of the rally, which was run before midday service, Huttunen was third fastest and at the same time climbed up to third place in the rally.

– The crash was my mistake. I remembered the place a little bit wrong and we went wide. In the morning we set off with intermediate tires, even though there should have been rain tires underneath, and it was difficult to drive in the other special stages of the morning loop as well.

During the day service, Huttunen got the right tires and in the next 11.2-kilometer special stage he drove the fastest time of as much as 16 seconds, rising to second place in the rally. The hard pace also continued in the next special stage, where he was again fastest, this time by 16.6 seconds. With the fastest time, he climbed to the top of the rally again and the difference to Gryzb, who was second, was 4.8 seconds before the last special stage of the rally.

The final special stage was dramatic again when the left front tire of Huttunen’s car burst after six kilometers of driving. In the finish of the nearly 13-kilometer-long section, the difference to the fastest time had accumulated 35.6 seconds. The victory changed to second place, but the second place was enough for the championship.

– It was quite a day. In the special stages of the second run, our pace was goog, but the puncture in the last section cost too much time. I don´t think we hit anything, but there was nothing left of the tire when finished the stage. I’m not happy with the second places, but of course the championship is a very good result. And on behalf of the team I’m really happy, this is an important thing for them.

The race season of Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka will continue next weekend in Rally Italia Sardegna.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
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2.10.2020

Jari Huttunen aims for the top on Polish asphalt

The third round of the Polish Rally Championship, which starts on Saturday evening, will once again feature Finnish colors, when Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka set out to defend the victory of the previous two rallies. The duo, who are racing in the Hyundai i20 R5 car of the Polish 2BRally, are looking for a victory in the Świdnicki rally as well as more valuable asphalt experience.

Huttunen will start the third race of the Polish series from a good starting point, as the asphalt rallies driven this season have gone well and the car has proven to be fast. There is not much information about the special stages of the race in advance, but based on the previous two rallies, he is once again expecting a good second fight with the Polish R5 drivers.

– We will be happy to go, even if we didn’t run a pre event test before this rally. We have got the car’s adjustments in place. The asphalt experience has accumulated much more this season and the experience has brought credit to driving on asphalt. Of course, the victory is our goal, and it will be interesting to see how it goes now, Huttunen says.

From the Świdnicki rally, Huttunen will start the three-rally tube in October, as the following weekend he will compete in the World Rally Championship in Sardinia and from there continue to the next round of the Polish Championship. The intense pace of competition is suitable for a Finnish driver, even though there is no time go at home in Kiuruvesi between the rallies. The Polish Rally Series will receive praise from the man.

– The previous two ralies showed that the level of the top here is tough and the competitions are well organized. Especially the previous rally, the Slaska Rally, which was held in my team’s home town, was a really good event. Here you have been able to drive different types of asphalt roads and also in this rally the roads are unique, so this will definitely be useful for the future.

According to Huttunen, the cooperation with the Polish team has been going well since last year and the car has been developed all the time.

– Our car is currently in good stroke and it fits well in my hand. We have had minor problems mainly with the turbo pop-off valve, but I am confident that it will no longer cause any problems.

The rally around the town of Swidnica in southwestern Poland will run nine special stages with 120 special stage kilometers. The rally will start on Saturday night at 18:00 and the last special stage will run on Sunday at 15:30. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka compete in number one.

 

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

12.9.2020

Jari Huttunen won Rally Slaska

Rally Slaska, the second round of the Polish Rally Championship 2020  was a Finnish celebration when Jari Huttunen continued his victorious drive in the Polish series with a Hyundai i20 R5. Huttunen settled for the first place in the rally of seven special stages with a difference of 7.3 seconds to Grzegorz Grzyb from Poland, who was driving a Skoda Fabia R5. Third in the rally was Polish Volkswagen driver Tomasz Kasperczyk.

Jari Huttunen and his co-driver Mikko Luka took the lead after SS 2. In the fourth special stage, the Polish pilot took the top spot for a while, but after the service, Huttunen settled the game and made the fastest time for all three special stages.

– Our goal was to win the rally and I´m happy for the result. In the morning loop we had small technical problems, but they were resolved and afternoon was very good for us. This was such a short rally that we had to push hard all time, and the local drivers are driving very fast, so it was not easy rally at all.

Jari Huttunen has had a hectic rally season so far, after mid-July there have been a total of six rallies behind the wheel of Hyundai across Europe in his calendar. In the Polish championship series, he is in the top position with his two victories and after Rally Estonian, he also leads the WRC3 class of the World Rally Championship. The rally season of the Finnish duo is busy from now on as well.

– The season continues next with rallies in the Czech Republic and Poland. We will also be able to drive in Rally Italy in the end of October, which is really good news for us, Huttunen says.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

11.9.2020

Jari Huttunen chasing the victory in Poland

Jari Huttunen, who finished second in the WRC3 class in the Rally Estonia last weekend, will continue his rally season on Saturday in the Slaska Rally in Poland, which is the second rally of the Polish Championship Series. The Slaska Rally is held in southern Poland on tarmac roads around the city of Katowice. Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka set off on the Hyundai i20 R5 of the Polish 2BRally to defend the victory in the first round of the Polish series from August.

– We drove short pre event tests on Wednesday and after two gravel races the asphalt felt a bit strange at first, but we quickly got used to the car again. We will drive with the same adjustments as in the Rzeszowski Rally in August, Huttunen says.

In the previous rally, Huttunen won the first tarmac rally of his career, when he defeated Polish Skoda driver Grzegorz Grzyb by 8.6 seconds in a tight second battle. He also expects a steady competition in this rally.

– Our goal is to win, but the Polish drivers will certainly go fast here. The special stages are different than in the previous rally, there are long fast sections and tight slow corners. There also seemed to be a lot of loose gravel along the route, so it will be interesting to see how it goes tomorrow.

Seven special stages with a total length of one hundred kilometers will be run at the Slaska Rally on Saturday. The first special stage of the rally starts at 9:20 and the last special stage at 18:20. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka compete in the rally number one.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

6.9.2020

Jari Huttunen was second in Rally Estonia

Hyundai i20 R5-driver Jari Huttunen placed second in Rally Estonia. Huttunen was 59 seconds behind Volkswagen driver Oliver Solberg who won the class. Estonian Egon Kaur was third in class with Skoda Fabia R5. Huttunen and his co-driver Mikko Lukka were the third fastest car in the R5 class and in overall they finished 11th.

Jari Huttunen started the rally on Friday by driving the fastest time to the only special stage of the day and led the WRC3 class by 0.1 second to Solberg. On Saturday, Huttunen had to give up a few positions right in the morning when he had problems with power steering. In the second special stage of the morning he also had puncture. After Saturday, he was fourth in his class, 43.5 seconds slower than Solberg.

– We had problems with the power steering all day. The car was hard to drive, and the power steering issue sometimes caused big moments after jumps. The turbo-pop-off valve caused harm all day and the front tire burst from us in the third stage, so Saturday was quite a battle for us Huttunen said.

At the end of Saturday, the power steering was changed to Huttunen’s car, and on Sunday the goal was to get to the podium. The change helped and the pace improved and Huttunen took the third place in his class in special stage 16 when Egon Kauri in front of him had a puncture.

– At the beginning of the last stage, the goal was to close the 5.8 second gap to second place. At the start of the special stage, we came absolutely flat out until we saw Kajeta Kajetanowicz´s car in the ditch. The second place was settled for us.

– I can’t say if we could have won here without any problems, but it is clear that we would at least have been closer to Solberg. Driving on Saturday felt really awkward when the steering couldn’t be trusted. On Sunday, the pace started to be in the area again, although the turbo pop-off valve still didn’t work 100 percent.

The rally season of Jari Huttunen and Mikko Luka will continues next weekend in Poland where they will compete in  the Polish championship rally around the city of Chorzów.

Final results, Rally Estonia 2020, WRC3:
1 Oliver Solberg – Aaron Johnston, SWE/IRL, VW Polo GTI R5, 2:07:32.2
2 Jari Huttunen – Mikko Lukka, FIN, Hyundai i20 R5, +59.0
3 Egon Kaur – Silver Simm, EST, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, +1:47.8
4 Marco Bulacia Wilkinson – Marcelo Der Ohannesian BOL/ARG, Citroën C3 R5, +2:36.6
5 Karl Kruuda – Dale Moscatt, EST/AUS, VW Polo GTI R5, +4:04.9
6 Nicolas Ciamin – Yannick Roche, FRA, Citroën C3 R5, +4:12.7
7 Rainer Aus – Simo Koskinen, EST, Skoda Fabia R5, +4:44.5
8 Sean Johnston – Alexander Kihurani, USA, Citroën C3 R5, +4:52.6
9  Yohan Rossel – Benoît Fulcrand, FRA, Citroën C3 R5, +5:04.0
10 Priit Koik – Alari-Uku Heldna, EST, Ford Fiesta R5, +6:24.7

 

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

3.9.2020

Jari Huttunen aims for podium in WRC3

Jari Huttunen’s  rally season continues this weekend in Rally Estonia. In February Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka won WRC3 class in their previous WRC event in Rally Sweden. They were at the same time the fastest pair of competitors in the R5 class. In Rally Estonia Huttunen will defend his virtory in the familiar Hyundai R5 car of the Polish B2Rally and the goal is to drive again in the top of the WRC3 class.

During the COVID-19 break of the World Rally Championship, Jari Huttunen has maintained the feeling of driving in asphalt rallies all over Europe and the results have been good. The Czech Bohemia Rally and the Italian Alba Rally resulted in second place in the R5 class and in the Rzeszowski Rally in Poland he took the first asphalt rally victory of his career.

– Great to get into the World Rally Championship after the break, the feeling before the rally is confident. Although we drive in the WRC3 class, we have to compare the times with the WRC2 class, which means that we practically drive against all R5 class cars.

Huttunen prepared for the Estonian World Rally Championship by driving in the South Estonia Rally where he won R5 class. In addition, there was one test day in the program just before Rally Estonia.

– In the tests we drove with the same set ups as in the South Estonia rally and the car felt very good. In this rally, the special stages are a little different than on the South-West Estonian route, and I´m a little bit worried about the condition of the sections on the second run. In the World Rally Championship, our rivals are so fast that there is no room for tactics, we have to push hard right from the opening special stage.

Rally Estonia starts on Friday night at 19:08 with the Tartu city special stage. The last special stage of the rally will be run on Sunday at 13:18. There are 17 special stages in the rally and a total of 233 special stage kilometers. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka will be competing in car number 27.

 

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

 

23.8.2020

Jari Huttunen wins R5-class in South Estonia rally

Finnish Hyundai driver Jari Huttunen was the winner of  R5 class in South Estonia Rally on Sunday. Huttunen turned the hard second fight into himself in the last special stage and he was 3.3 seconds faster than his Russian teammate Nikolay Gryazin in the finish. Skoda driver Eerik Pietarinen was third in the class. Huttunen and co-driver reader Mikko Lukka were the seventh fastest in overall with their Hyundai i20 R5.

– It was a nice day and a quite battle for victory. We managed improve our performance throughout the rally and now the result was very good. The roads were the same as I remembered a couple of years ago, they are fast and slippery, they were nice to drive, Huttunen says.

Jari Huttunen, who returned to the gravel rallies after a break of just over a year, started the rally by driving the second fastest time in his class. He was 2.6 seconds behind Eerik Pietarinen in the first special stage. The top of the R5 class was very tight during the rally and in the mid service of the rally Huttunen was third only 1.4 seconds behind Gryazin, who was leading. In the fifth special stage, Huttunen was briefly in fourth place in the class, but the attack towards the top started immediately on the next stage, where he rose back to second place. The final book continued with the seventh special stage, where he clocked his first base time in the rally and narrowed the gap to Gryazin to just 1.1 seconds before the final special stage.

– We noticed during the day that our pace was always better when the special stages were run a second time, so the last run had a place to hit. We ran the last two special stages flat out, but still without any risks.

In the final special stage of the rally, Huttunen finished his final race in the most handsome way possible, grabbing the fastest time and rising to the class victory.

– Of course I appreciate this victory, although the main goal of the day was to prepare for the Estonian World Rally Championship. We showed here that our pace is very good also in gravel at the moment although our last gravel rally was over a year ago. We only had one mistake during the day, when I stalled the car at the start of the second stage and it took an estimated 4-5 seconds, Huttunen says.

In the Estonian World Rally Championship in two weeks, Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka will compete in the Hyundai i20 R5 car of the Polish 2BRally.

– This rally was a good preparation for Rally Estonia and in addition to this we will run another test day before that. We are looking forward to Rally Estonia.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

21.8.2020

Jari Huttunen measures his gravel speed in South Estonia Rally

Jari Huttunen is preparing for the upcoming World Rally Championship round in Estonia by participating in the South Estonia Rally on Sunday. Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka will compete in the rally with the Hyundai i20 R5 car of the Hyundai Motorsport. South Estonia Rally is first gravel rally for the Finnish duo since Rally Finland 2019, where they finished second in WRC2.

There are 13 R5 class cars in the South Estonia Rally rally and the entry list is of a high standard, so there are enough speedometers in the test rally as well. Among others are Ford’s WRC factory driver Teemu Suninen, Huttunen’s teammates Nikolay Gryazin and Ole Christian Veiby and Finnish champions Teemu Asunmaa and Eerik Pietarinen with Skoda.

– The entry list is interesting, but I don´t take too much pressure. The goal is to be on the podium, as always, if you like to move forward in this sport, but the most important thing is to get the most out of the Rally Estonia in two weeks. On Friday, we will run a test day where we will hopefully find good setups for Sunday.

During his career, Jari Huttunen has driven one rally in Estonia. In 2018, he took second place Rally Estonia. This summer, Huttunen has driven three asphalt rallies with good success and will move to gravel with a good feeling.

– I look forward to seeing how the car goes on gravel, because in addition to the snow, it is the most natural chassis for me. In winter in Rally Sweden the performance of our car was good, hopefully the same pace will continue here. The special stages are very fast and the gravel surface is slippery compared to Finland, but they should be a good fit for Finns.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

8.8.2020

Jari Huttunen wins first tarmac rally of his career

The Rzeszowski rally, which belongs to the Polish championship series and ended on Saturday, took place under Finnish command, when Jari Huttunen grabbed the victory of the rally. Competing with the Polish B2Rally’s Hyundai i20 R5 car, Huttunen won the race with his co-driver Mikko Lukka by 8.6 seconds to the  Polish Skoda driver Grzegorz Grzyb. Third in the rally was Marcin Słobodzian, competing with Hyundai, who lost 53.7 seconds to Huttunen.

26-year-old Jari Huttunen has snapped several class victories on the tarmac during his rally career, but the victory in the Rzeszowski rally was the first overall rally victory in the tarmac, so the man was satisfied in the podium.

– The result was good, although the driving was a bit sticky at times. As expected, the pace of local drivers was quite good in the domestic landscape, a bit like in the Finnish Rally Championship. You have to push hard for the victory in there too, if you come there from abroad.

Huttunen started the nine special stage rally by driving the third fastest times in the first two special stages and was second behind Grzyb, who led the rally for 15.9 seconds. Huttunen had problems with turbo pop-off valve in the first special stages and that cost some time.

Huttunen was fastest on third and fourth special stages and took the lead before Friday’s final special stage. The last special stage of the day was a short super special stage of the city, where Huttunen got a five-second time penalty after hitting the cone that had been the route marker. With a time penalty, he dropped behind to Grzegorz Grzyb bt four seconds.

– The problem of the pop off valve was fixed at the first service, but hitting the cone was a bit of a mystical thing. We did not quote it ourselves. There was little tightening left on Saturday, no big risks were taken but an attempt was made to come intact.

On Saturday, four special stages were run in the Rzeszowski Rally and Huttunen was chasing the victory. In the first two special stages, he climbed 2.6 seconds from the top and turned the rally to himself in the third special stage, where he was 9,8 seconds faster than Grzyb. In the finish, he managed to celebrate the victory with 8.6 seconds.

– After three tarmac rallies in this summer our pace is starting to be at a pretty good level. In this rally, I found the route challenging, as the road grip varied all the time and you had to be careful with it. Also the stages were a bit uncharacteristic to run. It’s nice to get to the gravel again after a long break in a couple of weeks in the South Estonia rally.

The rally season of Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka continues on 22 to 23 August in the South Estonia Rally and on 4-6 September in Rally Estonia.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

7.8.2020

Jari Huttunen chases victory in the Polish asphalt rally

Jari Huttunen’s intense rally pace will continue this weekend in the Rzeszowski rally in Poland. The two-day asphalt rally around the city of Rzeszow in south-eastern Poland is part of the Polish Championship. Nine special stages will be run in the rally and there will be a total of 133 special stage kilometers. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka will drive the Polish B2Rally in a Hyundai i20 R5 car. 15 R5 class cars will take part in the rally.

– Of course, the goal is to be at the top of the results list. The car felt good, even though the conditions were rainy. I have been driving in these landscapes, in 2017, the Opel R2, but the special stages are still quite unfamiliar for me .

Jari Huttunen’s summer asphalt rallies have gone well, in July the Czech Bohemia rally he was third and last weekend he was second in the Italian Alba rally. In addition to promising results, valuable experience from asphalt rallies has been gained from the summer rallies.

– After all, I’ve been driving only few asphalt rallies with a four-wheel drive rally car, so these rallies has been very useful. I do not have more detailed information about the competitors of this rally, but for the Polish team it is important to succeed in the homeland and it will definitely bring extra input to the rally.

After the competition in the Polish championship series, Jari Huttunen’s program includes August 22-23. South Estonia Rally and September 4-6. Rally Estonia. In South Estonia Rally, he will drive the Hyundai factory team in an R5 car and in the World Rally Championship again in a B2Rally car.

The Rzeszowski Rally will start on Friday afternoon, and on the first day of the rallye, five special stages. There are 4 special stages in Saturday’s program and the competitors are at the finish at 16:15. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka compete in number one.

 

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

2.8.2020

Second place for Jari Huttunen from Rally di Alba

Jari Huttunen took second place in Rally di Alba on Sunday. The Hyundai i20 R5 driver was 8.7 seconds behind the race-winning Irish Hyundai factory driver Graig Breen. An experienced WRC driver Dani Sordo was third and he lost to Huttunen by 14.8 seconds.

In the Alba Rally, Huttunen was looking for an asphalt experience and at the same time testing R5 car of the Hyundai factory team, so the goal was to drive an solid rally without any risks. At the finish, the Finnish driver was satisfied with his performance.

– I´m satisfied. In shakedown the driving did not go well and I felt bit uncertain before the rally. Today, however, we drove without any mistakes, even though we pushed really hard all day. We didn´t win, but I´m happy for this result.

Jari Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka ran a steady rally and held second place in the rally from the first special stage. Huttunen took one fastest special stage time during the rally.

– I got along well with the new car, even though we haven´t been testing it a lot. We got the car balance quite good in the shakedown, but there was still room for improvement.

The next rally for Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka is next weekend in the Polish Championship in Rajd Rzeszowski.

Final results Rally di Alba 2020, top 5
1 Graig Breen – Paul Nagle, IRL , Hyundai i20 R5, 1:01:32.5
2 Jari Huttunen – Mikko Lukka, FIN, Hyundai i20 R5 + 8,7
3 Dani Sordo – Carlos del Barrio, ESP, Hyundai i20 R5 +23.5
4 Luca Rossetti – Manuel Fenoli, ITA, Hyundai i20 R5 +26,5
5 Anthony Fotia – Didier Sirugue FRA, VW Polo GTI R5 +32.2

 

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
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31.7.2020

Jari Huttunen is driving factory-Hyundai in Rally di Alba

Jari Huttunen’s rally season continues on Sunday in the Rally di Alba in northern Italy. In the one-day asphalt rally of nine special stages, Huttunen is driving Hyundai i20 R5 from the Hyundai Motorsport.

Rally di Alba has attracted altogether 32 R5 cars and the most well-known drivers in the class are Hyundai’s WRC factory drivers Dani Sordo and Graig Breen. The young Finn goes to Alba Rally with his co-driver Mikko Lukka to measure his pace among other R5-class drivers. Three weeks ago, Huttunen finished third in the Bohemia Rally in the Czech Republic after leading the rally after the first day. The goal for Italian asphalt is to find a pace similar to that on the opening day of the Czech rally.

– It is difficult to set a target when there are a lot of R5 drivers and we do not know the pace of everyone. It’s obvious that WRC-backed drivers, for example, are going fast. In Bohemia Rally our speed was very good on Saturday, and the same kind of performance I am satisfied.

Huttunen is driving the i20 R5 car from Hyundai’s test team. The car is more technically advanced than the car he used earlier this season.  After 100 kilometers test Huttunen is looking forward to get behind the wheel in the special stages.

– There is a difference in cars, for example, in terms of engine and dampers, but it is difficult to say how significant the difference is compared to the old one. You’ll actually see it then in the rally itself when we get to the real action.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

 

12.7.2020

Jari Huttunen was third Rally Bohemia

Hyundai i20 R5-driver Jari Huttunen placed third in the Bohemia Rally in the Czech Republic. Huttunen, who was leading the rally after Saturday, finally lost 49.8 seconds to Czech driver Vaclav Pech, who won the rally.

Rally started nicely on Saturday to Jari Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka, when they took the lead after second special stage and held it throughout Saturday´s leg. The night break came after eleven special stages, and Huttunen’s lead to Skoda driver Jan Kopecky was only 0.6 seconds. Third after Saturday was Vaclav Pech, with Ford Focus WRC. The trio’s battle for the victory was steady as Pech was 2.1 seconds behind Huttunen.

– Saturday was a good day. The morning loop felt difficult when it was wet, but it still seemed to suit us because the times were good. In the afternoon the roads were drier and driving easier. I would say that the day was close to perfect and I´m satisfied with that pace, Huttunen said.

For the Sunday´s loop changes had been made for Huttunen´s car to try to get even better performance. This time, however, the adjustment paid off, as the pace was missing in the special stages of the first run of the morning and the top spot quickly changed to third.

– We adjusted the car and it went wrong. Right from the first stretch of the morning, I noticed that the car is harder to drive. The third special stage of the morning was 22 kilometres and we lost 25 seconds, so this time the game was over. I also made a few mistakes in the morning stages, but they didn’t take much time. For the afternoon special stages, we moved the car back to Saturday’s settings, but it was too late.

In Sunday’s special stages, Pech took the victory in the rally, eventually leaving Jan Kopecky 6.4 seconds away.

– I have mixed feelings about this weekend. Saturday was a great day for us, but Sunday, on the other hand, was not. Driving on the tarmac after a long break felt quite good, although it is not as homey as gravel.

The rally season of Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka will continue in less than three weeks in Italy, when they are driving in Rally Alba at 1.-2. August with Hyundai Motorsport team R5 car. In September they wil drive in Rally Estonia with B2rally´s Hyundai i20 R5.

Final Results Rally Bohemia 2020, top 5

1 Vaclav Pech jr. – Petr Uhel, CZE, Ford Focus RS WRC ’06, 1:29:59.5
2 Jan Kopecky – Jan Hlousek, CZE, Skoda Fabia R5 Rally2 evo + 6,4
3 Jari Huttunen – Mikko Lukka, FIN, Hyundai i20 R5 + 49,8
4 Filip Mares – Radovan Bucha, CZE, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo +1:04.7
5 Jan Cerny – Petr Cernohorsky, CZE, VW Polo GTI R5 +1:54.7

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

 

10.7.2020

Jari Huttunen measures his tarmac speed in Rally Bohemia

Rally driver Jari Huttunen’s season continues at the Bohemia Rally in the Czech Republic this weekend. The Finnish driver participates in the race with his co-driver Mikko Lukka with Hyundai i20 R5. Huttunen’s car is maintained by Polish 2Brally Team.

Huttunen has a long break from competition due to the corona pandemic. Initially, he was supposed to take part in the Polish championship series, which was due to start in April, but with the changes to the calendars, the summer season starts now. Huttunen is eager to compete after the long break.

– Great to be able to race again. The crew should be in good shape although we haven’t been able to drive since February. Tacmac pace is a mystery, since my previous long tarmac rally was in Germany in 2018, since then I’ve driven just one short race on tarmac in Poland at the end of last year.

Huttunen will compete in the Bohemia Rally with the same car he took his WRC3 victory in the in Rally Sweden in February. The car has been ground to fit asphalt in two-day tests in Poland. At the end of the 160-kilometer test drive, Huttunen was satisfied with the car.

– In Sweden, the car was great, but the conditions there were, of course, very different. I think we got the asphalt set ups in place and the pace improved in the tests all the time. On Saturday we will see how well the car fits to me in special stages.

According to Huttunen, the goal of the weekend is to have a solid rally and at the same time test our own pace on the tarmac after a long break. The Bohemia Rally is a new challenge for both Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka, as they have no experience of the conditions in these special stages.

– This is Skoda’s home rally and experienced Skoda driver Jan Kopecky is definitely going fast here, so it is interesting to see how we can fight with him. Otherwise, I don’t know much about the rally or other competitors in advance. That much I’ve heard that in these special stages grip varies a lot, so it´s not easy rally ahead. We are looking for a solid performance and see how good our pace is.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

16.2.2020

Jari Huttunen wins WRC3 in Rally Sweden

Jari Huttunen claimed his second career World Rally Championship victory in R5 class in Rally Sweden this weekend. 25-year-old Finnish driver and his co-driver Mikko Lukka won WRC3 class and they were also the fastest among all R5 drivers in overall.

– We were pushing very hard during the whole weekend. Everything worked out very well and we didn´t have to take too much risks. It seemed that our stages times were better when there was more grip on road. We also has few minor technical issues during the rally but it didn´t affect to our performance, Huttunen says.

Huttunen started the rally smoothly and he was second in WRC3 after Friday. He took the lead in Saturday´s third special stage and secured his victory in Sunday´s Power Stage. Altogether, he was fastest in five special stages during the rally. Finnish Skoda driver Emil Lindholm was second in WRC3 and he lost five seconds to Huttunen. Johan Kristoffersson from Sweden was third in class with Volkswagen.

In 2017 Huttunen won WRC2-class in Rally Finland with Skoda Fabia. Last year he took second place in Finland with Hyundai i20 R5 as well as in 2018. Victory in Rally Sweden was first to Hyundai i20 R5 in WRC Events.

Huttunen prepared to Rally Sweden in two days pre event tests in Central Finland near Jyväskylä last weekend. He drove about 200 kilometres in winter conditions.

– For me this is the greatest win during my career, it feels even better than victory in Rally Finland 2017. Special thanks to 2Brally team, everything worked very well. Also big thanks to Printsport Racing for very important test weekend in Finland.

– This was an awesome rally from Jari. He really showed his talent and did not make any mistakes in difficult road conditions. This was the first win to Hyundai in this level and I really hope we can get more rallies to Jari after this great performance, says two-time world rally champion Marcus Grönholm, who is Huttunen´s manager.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

12.2.2020

Season begins in Rally Sweden

Jari Huttunen opens his rally season on Thursday in Rally Sweden in WRC3 class with the Hyundai i20 R5. In 2020 his program includes two WRC Events and seven rallies Polish Rally Championship series in the Hyundai R5. Huttunen’s car is maintained by Polish 2Brally Team, with whom he drove three rallies last year. Mikko Lukka continues Huttunen´s co-driver.

– The most important rallies for us are the WRC events Sweden and Finland, where I think we should be able to drive in the top three in class. The Polish series is good for maintaining the driving experience and enhancing the experience, as it is driven on both gravel and asphalt, Huttunen says.

In 2018, Huttunen finished sixth in the WRC2 class In Rally Sweden. Last year, Huttunen did a historic trick with the Skoda Fabia R5, when he managed to drive the fastest stage in overall for one special stage. Eventually, the rally ended . This year the target to be in top 3  in WRC3 class.

– I’m happy to go, Sweden has been a good rally every year. The car has evolved since last year, at least as far as the engine is concerned. We have a big starting number, so this year, of course, your condition is a little hesitant. You need to be careful during the recce so that you can mark all the stones and intersections correctly to pace notes. As the rally is short we need push right from the start, Huttunen says.

Huttunen manager Marcus Grönholm has no doubts about the pace of his protections. According to Grönholm, Huttunen will continue to gather experience and show his talent especially in WRC events.

– Last year Jari showed his speed here with Skoda and everyone can see that he is fast. Jari seems pleased with the car and I hope he´ll have a clean rally. A place on the podium would be a great thing. In these weather conditions, the recce is vital in order to succeed, says Grönholm, who won Rally Sweden five times in his career.

– Now it is important for Jari to gain more and more experience and try to get solid performances. We’re trying to get more rallies into the Jari program this year if possible, he says.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

 

4.8.2019

Huttunen took second place in WRC2

Hyundai driver Jari Huttunen continued his good performances in Rally Finland as he took the second place in WRC2 class in this years rally. Huttunen, who won WRC2 in 2017 and was second last year finished this years rally in second place, only 14 seconds behind Russian Skoda driver Nikolay Gryazin. Swedish Johan Kristoffersson was third with Volkswagen Polo.

Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka drove three fastest stage times during the rally. In SS7 they had a puncture which cost them 53 second. Huttunen was pleased with his performance after the rally.

– Result is good and I´m quite happy. Our driving was OK and I think we were faster than last year. Then we managed to have a clean rally without puncture. This year it costed too much time but we couldn´t do anything, we hit a rock which was on the road and had a left rear wheel puncture, Huttunen says.

Huttunen and Lukka started the rally in fifth place in Harju Super Special Stage. On Friday they quickly moved to second place before the puncture dropped them to fourth place. On Saturday they managed to take the second place again and they kept their position on Sunday.

– Rally went according to our plan. The puncture was only problem we had during the whole event. I´m especially pleased for our performance in Saturday´s morning loop. For example SS Päijälä, which is my favorite stage, went very well. I don´t know yet where I´m going to drive my next rally.

 

Final results Neste Rally Finland 2019 WRC2 top 5:
1. Nikolay Gryazin – Yaroslav Fedorov, RUS, Skoda Fabia R5, 2:45:18.4
2. Jari Huttunen – Mikko Lukka, FIN, Hyundai i20 R5, +0:14.0
3. Johan Kristoffersson – Stig Rune Skjærmoen, SWE/NOR, Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, +2:03.8
4. Pierre-Louis Loubet – Vincent Landais, FRA, Skoda Fabia R5 evo, +6:44.5
5. Henning Solberg – Ilka Minor-Petrasko NOR/AUS, Skoda Fabia R5 evo +10:46.8

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

31.7.2019

Jari Huttunen is chasing good result in Rally Finland

Rally Finland starts on Thursday and young Finnish driver Jari Huttunen is chasing a good result in WRC2 class with Hyundai i20 R5. In 2017 he won WRC2 class in Rally Finland and last year he was second. This year Huttunen has a new co-driver and competes with Hyundai i20 R5 ran by Polish 2Brally team.

– This is my fourth time in Jyväskylä and I like this rally. I always try to drive as fast as I can and it is our tactic also in this rally, Huttunen says.

Rally Finland is seventh rally for Huttunen in this season. He started the season in Rally Sweden where he drove one sensational stage time with Skoda Fabia R5 as he was fastest in overall among the WRC drivers. After Sweden he went back to Hyundai in Pirelli Rally.

The highlight of the season has so far been two FRC rounds with Hyundai i20 WRC. First WRC start was on May in Riihimäki Rally where Huttunen was second. In June he won Rally Pohjanmaa in his second WRC rally. In ERC Poland he took the second place with Hyundai R5.

– Of course R5 feels different after WRC and I´d say it is not easier to drive. Jyväskylä is very fast rally and you have push from the beginning if you want to get to the podium. Special stage Päijälä on Saturday is my favourite and it can be one of the crucial stages also this year.

Mikko Lukka is experieced co-driver with over 250 rally starts in his belt. He has been in Rally Finland nine times before and the best result so far is fifth place in 2009 with Matti Rantanen. First rally with Jari Huttunen was ERC Poland in June.

– Our co-operation works already very well. We went to Poland without any testing together and we met each other in the airport. Jari is very talented driver who handles the car very well. He knows what he is doing and he the courage to drive.

Rally Finland starts on Thursday evening  with legendary Harju Super Special Stage. The final special stage will be run on Sunday afternoon. There are 19 special stages in the rally with 307 SS kilometers in total. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka will compete in number 49.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

17.2.2019

Jari Huttunen made history in Rally Sweden

Finnish driver Jari Huttunen’s struggle for WRC2 class victory in Rally Sweden ended on Sunday’s second final special stage. Huttunen was second in the class, 15.9 seconds behind the leader. During the rally, the Finnish driver got seven fasterst special stage times in WRC2 and once even reached the fastest special stage of the whole rally.

– At its best, the pace was very good, that was most memorable thing for us this weekend. Of course the mistake is annoying, but on the other hand, I would have been bit annoyed to get to the second highest podium also. I tried my everything to win, Huttunen says.

Huttunen had a puncture on special stage four on Friday.  He drove eight kilometers with a flat front tyre and the time loss was over thirty seconds dropping him from the second to sixth in WRC2 class.

In the afternoon, Huttunen and Linnaketo started to head towards top and special times improved. The last special day of the day was the 8.9 kilometer long Tornsby 1 and there the Finnish couple made history when they fluttered the fastest time in the whole competition. This is the first time in the current WRC cars, when the R5 car sets the fastest time in proper, long special stage.

– After the puncture our driving began and the times improved all the time. The fastest stage time for the whole race was, of course, a surprise. In the end of the stage I first wondered what the clock might like about our wide lines. Well it certainly did like it.

Huttunen and Linnaketo ended Friday on third position in WRC2 grade three and the time difference to the leader was 28.3 seconds. Saturday Huttunen tightened the pace even further and drove five fastest stage times in eight special stages. At the end of the day, he had risen to the second and he was only 12 seconds behind the leader.

On Sunday, the tactic was clear, winning was the only goal. On Special stage 18 Huttunen pushed too much and went off road.

– There was nothing special about the off road itself, the line ran wide and I couldn’t get braked properly before the left turn. It was no longer possible to continue the race.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacin

 

13.2.2019

Season begins in Rally Sweden

Young Finnish driver Jari Huttunen, aged 24 starts his WRC season 2019 in Rally Sweden. Last year Huttunen competed 7 WRC rounds in Hyundai Development Program but in Sweden he is driving Skoda Fabia R5 with Printsport Racing.

– Our plans for this season are still open and of course it is important to have a good result from Sweden, but I don´t take too much pressure. If everything goes well and we have clean rally, my aim is to be among the top at the end of the rally. It is it not going to be easy, because there are very fast drivers in our class. I really like this rally and the feeling before the start is great, Huttunen says.

Last year Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo drove here with Hyundai and took sixth position in WRC2. They managed to take to fastest time on special stages but one mistake took so much time that fight for the podium was over then.

– We had a good rhythm and speed last year before I made a mistake and we hit a snowbank so now it is time to get better result. The route is now nearly the same and I think last year experience helps us.

In Sweden Huttunen jumps to Skoda after Hyundai. Last time he drove with Fabia in Rally Finland 2017 where he won the WRC2 category in his second rally with 4wd rally car. Victory in Finland was his breakthrough. In pre event tests Skoda still feels familiar.

– We tested the car on three different roads and it felt good in every road so I feel confined before the rally. We had altogether about 200 kilometers in tests and the roads we used were similar to stages in Sweden.

Rally Sweden starts on Thursday evening  with Karlstad’s Super Special Stage. The final special stage will be run on Sunday afternoon. There are 19 special stages in the rally with 317 SS kilometers in total. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo will compete in number 46.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

2018

29.10.2018

WRC Spain: Ups and down in the season´s final

Hyundai WRC2-rally driver Jari Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo had variying performance in their season´s last rally. Hyundai Driver Development Program crew had to retire the rally on Saturday and in final result they were 11th. Season´s last rally went according to the plan until special stage four where Huttunen had a puncture. On Friday´s first loop he was third in WRC2 and managed to drive fastest time on SS3.

– On SS4 we also had a strong start and our split times were the fastest in WRC2. Unfortunately we had a puncture and we had to stop and change the tire because it was a very long special stage. We lost almost three minutes and basically our fight for a podium was over after that.

After Friday´s mid day service the Hyundai duo was back on pace and they managed to drive two top-three times and climbed from 14th position to 9th at the end of the day. On Saturday they were in eight position before they ran in to problems.

– On Saturday our goal was to drive at least one fastest stage time on tarmac as well. We were pushing a little bit too much in SS12, we spinned and the car got stuck for a while. On the start line of SS13 we had to retire due a technical issue.

Huttunen re-joined the rally on Sunday and finished 11th overall in WRC2. He´s  first season in WRC was a learning season with ups and downs.

– This has been the most difficult in season in my rally career so far, we have struggled but on the other hand I´ve learned a lot. Our performance in Rally Sweden was very good but we there lost time because of our own mistake. In rally Finland we were second in WRC2 but I wasn´t too happy for our performance in home soil. The fastest stage time here on Friday´s opening loop was one of season´s highlights, but I can´t be fully satisfied for my performance in this season.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

25.10.2018

WRC Spain is season´s last rally for Jari Huttunen

Hyundai Development Driver Jari Huttunen starts this years seventh WRC event on Thursday in Spain. WRC Spain is a new rally for Huttunen and his goal is to drive himself to podium.

– Competition in WRC2 is now very tough, especially when Volkswagen takes part for the first time. Podium place is a major goal and I´d be very happy to achieve it in last rally of the season. Of course it´s not going to be easy for the first timer.

The route of this rally is new for both Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo and they´ve spend some time watching old incar videos. WRC Spain is a unique rally as it combines both tarmac and gravel stages. Huttunen and Linnaketo had a one day pre-event test where had a chance to drive in both surfaces. In this rally Italian BRC Racing Team provides service to Huttunen and Linnaketo.

– We drove tests on Monday and the car felt good in tarmac and gravel. Altogether we had about 100 test kilometres. I´m especially looking forward to tarmac stages, it seems almost like racing track you can choose your driving lines. Also the gravel stages look superb so we are anxious to start the rally. Hopefully the weather stays dry because I think it is easier rally then.

WRC Spain features 18 special stages and 331 stage kilometers. It starts on Thursday night with a short Super Special Stage in Barcelona. On Friday there will be six stages in gravel and on Saturday and Sunday rally continues in tarmac. The last stage of the rally is on Sunday at 13:18. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo compete in the rally under number 35.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

7.10.2018

Jari Huttunen fourth in WRC2-class in  Wales Rally GB

Jari Huttunen finished at 4th place in WRC rally Wales at Sunday night. Hyundai Motorsport development program driver Huttunen with i20 R5 car was bit under three minutes slower than winner Kalle Rovanperä. Gap to the third place was 43 seconds away. Huttunen and Linnaketo were fastest in the last stage.

– Long rally and almost flawless performance. It is positive that pace was better every day but the gap was surprisingly big and I am never happy to the fourth place, says Huttunen.

Targeted podium place was slipped out of the Huttunen and co-driver Linnaketo’s hands at Friday due spin and puncture at SS9. At the end of Friday duo was holding 9th place.

At Saturday Huttunen’s rally was running smoothly and he got the fourth place holding it all day. Only setback for the day happened at last stage of the day due puncture but despite of that 4th place was secured.

– Difficult to say if third place could have been possible without issues. Both punctures happened about 5 km before the stage finishes so those were not catastrophic. In the other hand SS4 puncture was front tyre so it cost some time. The rally route was good, roads were in good condition end there were no big surprises. The grip change was challenging time to time but ot was known beforehand. We went high pace but the risk level was not at maximum.

Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo’s WRC program continues with Hyundai at 28-28th October in WRC-rally Spain

Wales Rally GB 2018, final results WRC2, top 6:
1 Kalle Rovanperä – Jonne Halttunen, FIN, Skoda Fabia R5, 3:15:27.2
2 Pontus Tidemand – Jonas Andersson, SWE, Skoda Fabia R5, +1:34.2
3 Gus Greensmith – Alessandro Gelsomino, GBR/USA, Ford Fiesta R5, +2:13.6
4 Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo, FIN, Hyundai i20 R5, +2:56.8
5 Stéphane Lefebvre – Gabin Moreau, FRA, Citroen C3 R5, +4:35.4
6 Lukacz Pieniazek – Mazur Przemyslaw, POL, Skoda Fabia R5, +6:20.1

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

4.10.2018

Huttunen is targeting to the podium at the Wales Rally GB

Hyundai’s Finnish driver Jari Huttunen, 24, will start the WRC2 World Championship rally in Wales on Thursday to chase a sequel to his well-drawn lineage in Poland and Finland. The driver of the Hyundai Motorsport Development Program is aiming for a clean rally and thus a place in the top three. Last autumn, Huttunen drove his debut race at the Hyundai i20 R5 in Wales, but at that time he met retirement at first loop of the rally due technical problems. At the moment there are two second positions from ERC-Poland and WRC Rally Finland in the pocket, so expectations are higher now.

– We are starting with good feeling, since in Poland the pace was good and in Jyväskylä at the end result was good. I think we have the potential of the top three group if we avoid incidents. However, the pace must be in place since the start because no one is driving here “grandmother to the church”– pace like we say in Finnish. It’s right away pedal to the metal, Huttunen says.
Two weeks ago, after the ERC rally Poland, Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo tested Hyundai in GB for one day. During the tests, the car got again a bit more of speed and performance.
– We fine-tuned the differential lock settings and the car feels one step better now. The biggest challenge in this rally is the changing grip and actually I hope to have more wet conditions than mixed or completely dry roads. I believe we are strong with slippery conditions. The competitors in this rally are very tough, the factory team Skodas will be fast for sure and Ford’s Gus Greensmith also, who is driving his home rally.
In the WRC Rally Wales there are 23 special stages and 318 SS kilometers in four days. Rally’s specialty is at Saturday when the drivers make a total of 150 competitive kilometers without service.

– Saturday is certainly vital, and thus we have to drive fast but sensible and avoid breakdowns. We are going to run at our own pace and we are happy if we’ll reach the final flag within our target.

WRC Rally Wales starts on Thursday night at 21:00 Finnish time with a short Super Special Stage. The final stage of the rally will start on Sunday at 14:18. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo are driving car number 37.

For more information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

24.9.2018

Jari Huttunen was second in ERC Poland

The ERC Poland finished on Sunday evening brought the second place to Finland. Hyundai Driver Development Program driver Jari Huttunen, aged 24, competing for the Hyundai i20 R5, took the second place only 8.3 seconds behind to rival Russian Nikolay Gryadin. Third place went to Chris Ingram, who lost to the winner almost two and a half minutes. Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo drove fastest time to 6 special stages. Unfortunately they got 10 seconds time penalty before SS14.

– We changed the control arm of the car, it took too much time and we got time penalty. The control arm took a bit of a hit on the previous stage as we leaned on the bench. It´s not worth of too much speculation did we lose the victory because of that or not, it was great to have a good fight and drive flat out, Huttunen says.

Huttunen’s rally went from scratch as planned. On Friday night he was fourth fastest on the first special stage and took the second place in overall on the third special stage. Since then, the battle was between Huttunen and Gryadin the time gap between Huttunen and Skoda driver remained in around 10 seconds. On Sunday Huttunen was fastest on four special stages out of six.

– I’m not totally satisfied for the result, because we had a chance to win. This rally was a good test for Wales Rally GB Rally at least from the point of view that we got more important kilometres. After all, we still have a small experiece behind the four-wheel drive. Before Wales we will test more so that we will be fast right from the SS1.

Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo’s season at Hyundai’s Driver Development Program will continue on 4th-7th October in Wales Rally GB

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

19.8.2018

First tarmac rally with Hyundai ended on Saturday

Jari Huttunen retired Rally Deutschland on Saturday due to a technical problems. Rally Deutschland was first tarmac rally with 4wd rally car for Huttunen and he managed to set some promising stage times before he had to retire. Huttunen ran in the third fastest stage time class for two stages.

Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo started the rally with a safely drive on Thursday evening´s super special stage. On Friday they were pushing more and their position got better during the day. The struggle within the WRC2-class was tight.

– On Friday we did some wrong tire choices for the morning loop, but in the end of the day we managed better and we were eighth after Friday. The time gaps were small, so on Saturday we were able to fight for the better positions.

On Saturday, Huttunen and Linnaketo moved up to sixth in WRC2 during the morning’s special stages. However, their rally ended in the middle of a special stage 13, which was the second run of the long, legendary Panzerplatte.

– We had an alternator belt issue and had to stop to change it.  My experiences in the Hyundai Motorsport workshop have prepared me well for these eventualities. We then had a turbo problem, which forced us to stop completely for the day. It was a real disappointment as we had moved up to the top-six at that point.

Huttunen started on Sunday in the Rally 2. Their ranking in the class was finally twelfth.

– We didn´t have any tarmac experience with a 4wd rally car when we came here, so we are happy that we gained the experience here. My speed was OK and it developed during the rally. The level of competition was fierce, the differences were small and surprisingly many drivers were able to drive top-three times.

Jari Huttunen´s WRC2 season in the Hyundai development program will continue in Rally Wales on the first weekend of October.

More information: 
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

15.8.2018

Jari Huttunen is looking for a good result in Rally Deutschland

WRC2 season will continue this week in Rally Deutschland. Jari Huttunen, who took the second place in Rally Finland few weeks ago, drives now for the first time in tarmac with Hyundai. The aim of Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo is to develop the car, gain experience and also fight for the podium. Huttunen, who is now in sixth place in WRC2 standings after solid performance in Finland, feels comfortable also in tarmac.

– Of course, the goal is to gather experience, but if we are in the podium, then we can really be happy with it. The competition is very tough as there are many fast tarmac drivers.

Huttunen has competed in the Rally Germany twice. In 2016 he drove to the victory in ADAC Opel Rallye Cup and secured the championship title. Last year, Huttunen won the R2 category by car with its class overwhelmingly. Now there is a new challenge ahead of Hyundai i20 R5 asphalt for the first time.

– This is the second rally of the season, which we have previous experience and driving on tarmac suits me, so in that sense we are quite confident. However, this is my first tarmac rally in Hyundai and actually I haven´t drove tarmac rally with any four wheel drive rally car, so we have a lot to learn. We ran around 300 kilometers test before the race and the car feels better and better all the time, Huttunen says.

Rally Deutschland starts on Thursday night with St. Wendel’s super special stage. The final special stage will be on Sunday 13.18. In total, the rally has 18 special stages and 325 stage kilometres. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo will compete in number 40.

– We have good results here for the last two years, and the feeling is very good before the rally. Weather conditions vary here and for me both dry and wet are OK, the most important thing would be that the conditions would remain fair to all during the special stages. The great and demanding race is again ahead.

More information: 
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

29.7.2018

Jari Huttunen finished second in Finland

WRC2 battle in Rally Finland was a Finnish celebration. Hyundai driver Jari Huttunen took second place one minute behind winner Eerik Pietarinen. Second place in Jyväskylä was the first prize-winning place with the Hyundai i20 R5 in this year’s WRC2 series for Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo. At the same time, the pair were ranked sixth at WRC2 championship points. Huttunen, who won WRC2 class in Rally Finland last year, was delighted for the second place.

– This is a great rally and the route was challenging this year, so it was great to drive Hyundai to the podium for the first time right here in Jyväskylä. Rivaling the home crowd brings a good feeling, so the best result of the season came just in the right place, says Jari Huttunen.

On Friday, Huttunen and Linnaketo were in fifth in class after the first leg. In the afternoon loop they raised their speed, so in the evening service they were already in third place. On Saturday, Ole Christian Veiby and Huttunen took a hard stopcatch of a class third. The fight ended on SS18 when Veiby drove out and Huttunen rose third. In the last special stage of the day the rank improved even further, with Kalle Rovanperä limping through a stage  with a broken car dropping from first to fourth place. Huttunen´s second place was secured after that, so he drove on Sunday without risks.

– During the rally we set the shock absorbers and the car was better after that. On Friday afternoon and Saturday our speed was OK. We did not have any problems during the weekend and it was really important for the result. We have missed a bit of speed compared to the front-runners but we have been consistent.

WRC2 season continues in Rallye Deutschland, from 16-19. It is Huttusen’s first WRC2 event on tarmac, and before that he is driving tarmac tests in Germany.

Final Overall Classification WRC 2 – Rally Finland:
1.Eerik Pietarinen – Juhana Raitanen, FIN, Skoda Fabia R5, 2:45:18.4
2. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo, FIN, Hyundai i20 R5, +1:06.8
3. Gus Greensmith – Graig Parry, GBR, Ford Fiesta R5, +2:34.9
4. Kalle Rovanperä – Jonne Halttunen, FIN, Skoda Fabia R5, +2:36.8
5. Pierre-Louis Loubet – Vincent Landais, FRA, Hyundai i20 R5 +4:05.0

More information: 
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

24.7.2018

Solid performance is the main target in Rally Finland

Jari Huttunen, winner of the WRC2 category in Rally Finland 2017, is defending his victory this year with  Hyundai i20 R5.  Hyundai Driver Development Program driver and his co-driver Antti Linnaketo are confident before their home event and the goal is to have clean performance throughout the whole rally.

– Last year we were challengers and our win was a surprise for many people. This year, of course, the situation is another when we have the first place to be defended, but we don´t take any pressure on it, and we focus to drive a solid rally. This year we have had so many different problems that it would be a nice to get to the finish without any problems.

In Rally Finland, the competition in WRC2 class is very tough this year, so the Hyundai-duo know that to get to the top postitions, everything has to work from the start to the finish and the pace must be found right away.

– Jyväskylä is such a fast rally that here you can´t observe, you simply have to push hard all the time. When you look at a route, Friday afternoon leg looks very demanding, if you manage to drive good times there

Huttunen has been driving three World Rally Championships this season for Hyundai. The season started in Sweden in February, and the results was sixth place after a small accident. In Rally Mexico in March, Huttuned retired two times due to technical issues, but with the Rally2 rule the catch was again sixth. In Rally Portuguese held in May car’s drive shaft broke down and Huttunen was finally ranked 12th in the class. After three competitions, Huttunen and Linnaketo have collected 16 points and are ranked 15th in the series. In Jyväskylä they are hunting the best result of this season.

– Jyväskylä is the most anticipated rally in this season. This is our home event and there is both experience and great memories from last year, and of course we have a lot of friends and fans cheering for us here. We drove to this for two days of tests and Rally Estonian in Estonia, and on that basis, our car is constantly evolving. The competiton in our class will be tough, so it’s difficult to predict, but hopefully we are on Sunday afternoon in the finish line with the highest possible level.

Rally Finland starts on Thursday night at 19:00 with Harju’s legendary super special stage. The competitors will arrive to finish in Jyväskylä Paviljonki on Sunday afternoon at 16:00. A total of 23 special stages are run on the rally and 315 km of kilometers will be collected. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo will compete in number 38.

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

16.7.2018

Second place and more speed from Rally Estonia

The two-day Rally Estonia, which ran the weekend in Estonia, was a test rally to Rally Finland for Jari Huttunen. The young rising star of the Hyundai i20 R5 took the second place in the R5 class and drove fifth in overall. The gap to the R5-class winner Eerik Pietarinen was 18 seconds after a good fight. Huttunen drove the faster time to seven special stages.

– A good test run and we got the pace boosted when we changed the shock absorbers. Now we are going in the right direction with the adjustments, but we still have to find more grip. The car worked very well, and the high weather temperature did not cause any extra problems, Huttunen says.

For the first time in Estonia, Huttunen was happy with his experience. The two-day competition was a good test before the home event where he defends WRC2 class victory from last year.

– This rally was a new acquaintance and it was surprisingly positive. The stages were good and even the articificial jumps were very similar to those in Finland. Useful and good test rally with Jyväskylä. Next is time to continue testing in Central Finland.

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

12.7.2018

Rally Estonia is test for upcoming WRC home rally

Hyundai Motorsport Development Program driver Jari Huttunen competes in Estonia at the Rally Estonia this weekend. Rally Estonia is a test rally for Huttunen and co-driver and Antti Linnanketo for Rally Finland, where they defend the WRC2 class win within two weeks. The target for this weekend’s rally is to develop Hyundai i20 R5 for the vital home rally.

– Now, the starting point is different than usual, because we are not taking too much risks for chasing the victory. I have not competed in Estonia before, so the conditions are new, but I believe that this competition is very useful for Jyväskylä. The most important thing is to improve car even better. We work especially with the shock absorbers and the car’s height. After Rally Portugal in May, Huttunen has tested Hyundai on asphalt. After the weekend of Estonia, there is another test day before the start of the home race starting on Thursday, July 26th.

– Last year, before the Jyväskylä, I tested my car in AutoGlym rally, which was also my first four-horse race. There we drove a few good stage times before we went off road. However we managed to win in Jyväskylä. Now the tactic is different, the purpose is not to take any risks and now I have a lot more experience of the R5 car than last year.

Rally Estonia will be run at the weekend in Otepää town. The Rally will start on Saturday morning at 8 am and end on Sunday afternoon, with a total of 16 special stages and 146  kilometers in two days. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo compete in the rally with number 6.

 

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

21.5.2018

Jari Huttunen’s  Rally Portugal was full of technical problems

Technical problems were in remarkable role in Hyundai WRC2-class competitor Jari Huttunen’s Rally Portugal. The rally ended at Sunday night and best position during the rally was fourth overall for the young Finnish driver. Finnish duo retired at special stage six at Friday after cutting off the track rod bolt. Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo continued in the rally by Rally2 regulation and met the finish line at the end in 12^th position. Best part of the weekend were few promising stage times during the last rally day.

– We met two punctures at Friday and especially the last one was time consuming because we replaced the wheel on the special stage. At the stage six there was a rock in the rut before the right hand curve, steering rod bolt snap off and car was not turning anymore, so it was game over.

At Saturday after the restart Huttunen’s car had more troubles and he had to drive with low turbo pressure to save the engine. At Saturday’s two last stages had to take easily since skid plate got loose and eventually lost completely.

At Sunday the car worked better and stage times were more competitive. Best stage position was third in class for Huttunen and he was not happy for the weekend.

– With the school grade scale this competition ranking is six. Circumstances in this rally were demanding for the development version car and basically we had some challenges ongoing all the time. It’s not possible to push full speed with the broken car. At Sunday morning we were able to drive clean runs and the stage times were good. We got plenty of good experience for the crew and to the car so hopefully we are able to minimize the problems in the future. We have also pace notes for all the stages and full speed experience about almost all stages so this will be beneficial for us next time.

Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo’s next WRC rally with Hyundai development program is Neste Rally Finland at end of June where the duo is defending winner. In WRC2-class they are in 13^th position at the moment.

More information:

Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

16.5.2018

Jari Huttunen chases top positions in Rally Portugal

Young Finnish driver Jari Huttunen will start his WRC2 career´s fifth rally in Portugal on Thursday. The HMDP in the Hyundai i20 R5 tries to hit in the top of the class. Portugal is Huttunen’s fourth rally at Hyundai, and now the main target is to get a solid rally with good result.

– The goal is to drive the top class, but equally important is to get clean competition without any problems. If it succeeds and we are on the podium, I can be happy with the race. The class level in this rally is very good, so we must push hard to get to the podium.

Rally Portugal is a new rally for both Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo. The route has remained the same as last year so experienced drivers have an advantage.

– For me the route is familiar in advance only from videos. I found them somewhat, but their usefulness can have many views. Certainly, that’s some help, but it’s not quite realistic about the route. Hard opponents include Pontus Tidemand, Gus Greensmith and Juuso Nordgren. Of them, at least Tidemand has experience here.

In the previous rally in Mexico, Huttunen´s rally ended twice as technical defect. With the Ralli2 rule he drove to the finish line sixth. After the Rally Mexico, the car has been further developed.

– Our car development progresses step by step in the better direction and runnability is now again better than before. Mexico was a very tough race for all cars, but Portugal is hopefully a bit easier with that.

Rally Portugal rally will feature 20 special stages and 358  kilometers, and it starts on Thursday night with a shortrun on the Lousada rallycross track. The last stage of the rally is on Sunday at 14:18. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo compete in the rally under number 35.

More Information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

14.3.2018

Jari Huttunen’s Mexico WRC Rally was problematic

Hyundai WRC2-driver Jari Huttunen’s WRC rally in Mexico in WRC2-class was underperformed due to the different kind of technical problems. Top two group targeted promising Finn youngster retired two times due technical problems. At best point Huttunen was in fifth place together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo and they were third fastest couple at the special stages too.

At Friday Hyundai i20 R5 car development program driver was fighting with British Gus Greensmith about the second place until was forced to retire in sixth special stage.

– We hit to the rock laying in the middle of the road and radiator broke down so we had to retire for Friday. Before the accident we had problems with the powertrain and car was time to time front wheel drive only. We suffered one puncture on the way also at Friday.

Huttunen-Linnaketo duo started to the Saturday loop allowed by the Rally2 regulation. They were able to run three stages but after that retirement was faced again.

– There was a leak in the fuel tank and we were forced to retire to the service park due to the safety reasons. This car is new and due to the harsh environment we faced many kind of small issues which are typical for the early development versions. Unfortunately we were not able to drive any trouble free stages this time.

At Sunday Finnish duo was ready again with the fixed car and they completed three stages to the finish flag. Because of the double retirement final standing in WRC2 was sixth place. Overwhelming Mexico rally winner in WRC2 class was title holder world champion Pontus Tidemand.

During the first weekend ever in Mexico rally there was one driving mistake by Huttunen. At Thursday night super special stage he spun and lost 15 seconds.

– It was a stupid mistake by me. The road was more slippery than I thought and then we went wide. There were small issues with the car all the time during the rally so we had a good pace with some single splits only. Anyway, we have the pace notes now and most of the stages were driven with the full speed too.

Next event for Jari Huttunen is WRC rally Portugal at end of May. WRC2 championship standing is sixth after two rallies.

More Information:

Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

7.3.2018

Clean rally and top two position are the targets for Jari Huttunen in Rally Mexico  

Jari Huttunen’s WRC season continues in Rally Mexico at Friday night. 24 years old Hyundai driver is chasing clean rally and position in top two in WRC2 class together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo.

In Sweden WRC rally 6th in class finished Huttunen is 10th position in WRC2 standings at the moment. The podium position was ruined in the visit at snow bank in Sweden so this time “deepiceman” called driver from Kiuruvesi is going to keep calm.

– Our target is to have a clean rally and get the good result this way. We will start with our own pace and finishing in top two will be satisfying result. The biggest challenges for us will be completely new route and high temperature. In the high altitude there is serious lack of power with the car and the conditions are tricky otherwise too. Especially we need to keep on eye engine and brake temperatures, tells Huttunen.

After the Rally Sweden Huttunen’s Hyundai i20 R5 toke a big leap with new engine. Also the suspensions has been developed further between these rallies.

– We got the new engine version to Mexico but with these conditions there are still less power than in Sweden. We are working with the car handling development continuously. The roads conditions are sometimes so bad that probably there cannot be pushed in the limit all the time without breaking something. The speed need to be adjusted as per current conditions.

Jari Huttunen manager Marcus Grönholm’s best result in his own career was 2nd in WRC rally Mexico. His advice to Huttunen is clear.

– Patience, patience and patience. There is a good chance now to get good points. Jari and Antti are first time there so there will be lots of new things to learn and the pace notes will be tricky at the beginning and yes, I have shared also few tips to Jari beforehand, says Grönholm.

Early Sunday morning Finnish time ending WRC rally Mexico includes 22 special stages and 344 competitive kilometers. This event is one of the most challenging rally in terms of conditions. Temperature is high and the route is at very high altitudes. Due to the thin air even turbo charged cars are losing power and high temperature can cause issues with brakes and engines. The stages which are driven two times may meet serious erosion so it’s important to drive precisely those sections and keep the car in good shape. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo are driving car number 32.

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

18.2.2018

Jari Huttunen’s WRC2 season started in the sixth place

The Hyundai Motorsport Driver development Program (HMDP) crew Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo took the sixth place in WRC2 in Rally Sweden. They hold the fourth place before a mistake in SS11, which cost them almost five minutes. During the rally Huttunen took two WRC2 stage wins.

–  I am disappointed to our result, but without the mistake, the rally would have been ok. This was our first Rally Sweden and the pace was comparable with the more experienced drivers, the driving was solid, the pace notes worked well and we managed to develop a new car all the time better.

Huttunen made a steady job and held the fourth place before the mistake, only 18.8 seconds behind the leader.

– We drove out in a slow corner. There was not much spectators, so we had to dig out of the car ourselves. Not a heavy crash, but it took a lot of time.

The Swedish World Rally was the fourth rally with a 4WD car for HMDP driver Huttunen. During the rally Jari and Antti learned a lot about the new car. The Swedish special stages were positive surprise for them, although their experience before the rally was only 200 kilometers.

– There were technical sections between the fast-paced places. We would have fought the podium without the mistake, but it is difficult to say whether our pace would still be enough to win. We got the all-weather set for better and new car Hyundai I think is already good now. At the top of the class, the differences are small and you really have fight for every second.

The competition program of Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnanketo will continue on 8-11 March. in Rally Mexico. Before a distant rally, two-day tests will take place in Portugal.

– The car is coming up with new development parts with a fast timetable, Mexico, for example, we will get a new engine. We´ll go there with good spirits and our aim is to drive a solid competition.

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

14.2.2018

Jari Huttunen is targeting the WRC2 top in Rally Sweden

Young Finnish driver Jari Huttunen, 24, will start his WRC2 World Championship on Thursday in the Rally Sweden with the Hyundai i20 R5. Huttunen, who was selected last autumn to Hyundai Motorsport Driver development Program (HMDP) , leaves the Swedish snow to challenge the class’s more experienced top drivers.

Rally Sweden is only the fourth rally with 4wd car of Huttunen career. Last year, he won the WRC2 in Jyväskylä and in the autumn of 2017 he was selected from among the 15 competitors in the Hyundai factory development program. The first start in Hyundai in November at the Rally Wales ended with a technical defect right at the start of the race, but now the expectations are higher.

– I drove about 200 kilometers of snow test in Sweden. First meters did not smile yet, but during the test we got the car set all the time better. The tactic is familiar: win is our target and we will start the race at our own pace and after a couple of special stages we´ll see whether the pace needs to be tightened. There is no pressure on the victory because the resistance is tough and we are still inexperienced, says Huttunen.

Huttunen has not previously competed in Rally Sweden during his career, so in addition to the new car, roads and conditions are now a new challenge.

– Based on the tests and the videos I saw, special stages look similar to those in Finland, so I look forward to them. My manager Marcus Grönholm gave good advice on how to adjust the car, and before the rally we´ll have chat and I guess he is going to give some tips to the rally also because he has always been great in this rally.

Jari Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo will compete in the 2018 season at the Hyundai Motorsport Driver development Program (HMDP) with the factory’s satellite team Sarrazin Motorsport. The season program will be finalized later, but there will be a 7-8 WRC events and the goal will be to develope the new generation Hyundai i20 R5 car and to success in the WRC2 championship combat. After the Swedish rally the season will continue immediately in March at the Rally Mexico.

– Of course, we don´t have a lot of experience about our new team, but our race engineer immediately impressed us. Sweden is almost a home rally for us, because there are plenty of Finnish spectators here for my home from Kiuruvesi. It definitely adds a lot of good spirit to driving.

Rally Sweden starts on Thursday evening at 21:00 Finnish time with Karlstad’s Super Special Stage. The final special stage will be run on Sunday at 13.18. There are 19 special stages in the rally with 314 SS kilometers in total. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo will compete in number 34.

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

 

2017

29.10.2017

Technical problem ceased Huttunen’s rally Wales at the beginning

Jari Huttunen’s WRC rally in Wales with Hyundai i20 R5 car ended well before planned when radiator broke down in the fourth stages at Friday. At the retirement moment Huttunen and co driver Antti Linnaketo were 7^th in RC2-class and best Finn in the class. Gap to the top was 46 seconds.

– In the middle of fourth stage radiator got loose and broke down. We did not hit anything, just following the road neatly between the ditches. We lost the engine power partially in the stage but finished it anyway and retired to the next road section. The engine was damaged so much that it was not possible to continue the rally next day, says Huttunen.

WRC rally Wales was the maiden competition with WRC2-class Hyundai and at the same time third rally with four wheel drive car in his career. The plan was to gain experience with the new car for next season WRC2-class championship series but this time competition was ended too early.

– It’s of course frustrating to retire the rally. There is a potential with the car when we get the car behavior developed more to fit with my driving style. In fact our stage times were surprisingly good since I was not happy with my own performance. I had not the best rhythm and we were driving safely.

Jari Huttunen’s next rally with Hyundai will be in the mid of February Rally Sweden WRC rally. Huttunen will be competing 7-8 WRC rallies as a part of Hyundai Motorsport young drivers development program. In addition to rallies there will be significant amount of developing work with the car. Racing and testing program is managed by French satellite team Sarrazin Motorsport which is responsible of new Hyundai i20 R5 car development work.

– Good part of the Wales trip was that we were able to make pace notes for every stage and that will be beneficial for the next year. Of course it would have been even more beneficial to drive all through with full speed but didn’t happen this time. We have to drive as much as possible testing now to be fully prepared when the season starts.

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
https://www.walesrallygb.com/home.php

 

Jari Huttunen:
Age: 23
Place of birth: Kiuruvesi
Manager: Marcus Grönholm
Career:
2018: WRC2-driver in WRC series, Hyundai i20 R5
2017: ERC silver medalist Junior U27-class
2017: Winner of Neste Rally Finland WRC2-class
2016: ADAC Opel Rallye Cup –champion
2015: Finnish rally champion, SM3-class
2015: Rally star of the future –prixe winner
2013: First rally
Member of AKK Driver Academy since 2013
Go kart double Finnish champion Rotax-class 2011 and 2012

26.10.2017

Huttunen with WRC2-class Hyundai to the Wales WRC Rally

Recent ERC-series silver medalist Jari Huttunen competes at Thusday night starting Wales WRC rally with WRC2-class Hyundai. WRC2-class winner in Neste Rally Finland in last summer starts his third 4wd rally to gain experience about the new car for the upcoming WRC season 2018. In the season 2018 Huttunen drives together with co driver Antti Linnaketo seven or eight WRC rallies with Hyundai Motorsport and their season starts from Rally Sweden in February.

– Wales WRC rally is an excellent test competition for the next season. Most important goals are to gain experience and have a solid performance until to the finish line. This is finally a rally in my career which we don’t have to win at any cost, says Huttunen.

23 years old Huttunen’s career have had fast progress. In 2015 he won Finnish Rally Championship in SM3-class with front wheel drive Citroen and year after in 2016 he won Adam Opel Cup championship on Germany tarmac.

For this season that particular championship opened the door to the Opel Motorsport team and ERC series where silver medal was got after the tough fight for the gold.

At September 2016 world champion Marcus Grönholm hired Huttunen into the GRX Management Team driver and started to manage Huttunen’s career. This contract made possible to drive two rallies with WRC2-class Skoda Fabia.

In the Neste Rally Finland winner in WRC2-category was surprisingly Huttunen for many people and after that, he was selected to participate into the Hyundai drivers test program. Huttunen won the multi level test where participated Kalle Rovanperä and Emil Lindholm from Finland also. After the tests Huttunen was selected to be member of Hyundai young drivers development program for the season 2018. It includes lots of testing work and 7-8 WRC rallies with Hyundai i20 R5 car.

Wales rally starts at Thursday night by short 1.5km long super special stage in the horse racing arena. At Friday will be headed to the forest with three stages and double runs. One of the most important stages will be 35 km long Hafren. Friday leg is 119 km long. Saturday is the longest day of the rally by 142 competitive kilometres and nine stages. Ending day includes five stages with 41 competitive kilometres. The last stage and Power Stage with extra points is Brenig 2. Jari and Antti are driving car #82.

– It will be challenging rally with changing conditions in the mud, gravel, water and fog. We need to drive precisely and we are going to do our own performance. We have less than 100km testing done so it will take for a while to get the good touch.

More information:

Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.walesrallygb.com/home.php

9.10.2017

Jari Huttunen got ERC silver medal – the gold medal was ruined by the punctures

The last weekend driven ERC-series U27-class final round was dominated by the Finn driver until midpoint of the rally. Opel driver Jari Huttunen was leading the class by 25 seconds and was heading to be awarded the European champion until the bad luck stroke and he faced double puncture. Huttunen and co driver Antti Linnaketo’s championship fight was turned to be a drive through rally due to the only one spare tyre. They were forced to drive two stages with one flat tyre and it caused fatal time loss to the championship but was enough for the silver medal in ERC series. The less shiny medal was not satisfying Huttunen since the target was to have the most shiny one.

– Obviously I am very disappointed but this is rallying. I have no idea why the tyres got flat since we did not hit anything on the stage at any point and we were on the road all the time. Also there was not too bad ruts at all with our turn.

Latvia ERC rally U27-class winner is Huttunen’s team mate Chris Ingram from Great Britain who was second at last season. Third in class is Czech Filip Mares.

Despite of the second place in the series, Huttunen proofed his pace in Latvia again. He won most of the stages and was controlling the pace on the slippery wet roads without big risks.

– It makes this even more painful since we were able to do almost half minute lead without risks. I would have got room to improve the pace more if needed.

After one year with Opel Motorsport team Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo continues their careers with Huyndai Motorsport Team. Next year young drivers development program selected pair starts with WRC2 car to Wales WRC rally with Huyndai i20 already at November. Neste Rally Finland WRC2-class winner starts to his first 4WD rally abroad with full of enthusiasm.

– It will be a great rally since participants are very high class competitors. New car and new conditions are waiting for us.

European Rally Championship series final standings 2017:
1. Chris Ingram, Great Britain, 139
2. Jari Huttunen, Finland, 122
3. Filip Mares, Czech, 118
4.  Aleks Zawada, Poland, 108
5. Karel Kupec, Czech, 64

More Information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
http://2017.lvrally.com/eng

 

27.9.2017

 

18.9.2017

Jari Huttunen was second at Italy ERC rally

At Sunday night ended ERC rally at Italy brought second place to Finland when Jari Huttunen from Kiuruvesi, Finland finished second in Junior U27-class. Opel manufacturing team driver Huttunen was leading the race after Saturday but was defeated eventually by 4,9 seconds after very tight competition to winner Peugeot driver Filip Mares from Czech. Third in class was Huttunen’s team mate Chris Ingram who lost 33,4 seconds to winner. Marcus Grönholm’s protégé drivers was not completely satisfied with the second place.

– At Sunday morning first two stage were vital and turned the game for Mares benefit since we were slower more than 16 seconds there. I am not sure if we selected wrong tires there but in any case my pace didn’t work so well there. It was a bit surprise that Mares was so quick and we weren’t at his pace despite of maximum attack mode, says Huttunen.

Competition at Italy U27-class was as tight as usual. Leader was switched three times during the rally since in addition to Mares and Huttunen also Ingram was the leader for a while. Top driver at ERC standing Polish Aleks Zawada’s rally was ended by the technical failure at Saturday. Due to his retirement situation with ERC top standings was get closer and Huttunen has a chance to win the championship despite of targeted win was not achieved. Last rally will be driven at Latvia 6^th-8^th October on the gravel roads.

– It feels easier to start to Latvia than it felt Italy tarmac at this point. In the other hand we have been on the tarmac lately with this car only so we will see how gravel surface fits for us at the beginning. Standing table looks like that winner at Latvia will win the championship but also good leg points are needed.

Despite of proper result from Italy Huttunen had a bit messy feeling at the end. At Saturday there was cancelled several special stages.

-We drove 470 kilometers at Saturday and 30 kilometers special stages so it’s clear it does not make the driving rhythm even better. After the finish line we were guided by the local police to wrong direction and due to the adventure with them we were late for the podium ceremony by two hours, revises Huttunen.

Italy ERC-rally Junior U27-class results top5:
1) Filip Mares, Czech, Peugeot 208 R2, 02:10:15.3
2) Jari Huttunen, Finland, Opel Adam R2, + 4,9
3) Chris Ingram, GB, Opel Adam R2, +33,4
4) Karel Kupec, Czech, Peugeot 208 R2, + 2.40,0
5) Klausz Kristöf, Hungary, Peugeot 208 R2, + 05.20,5

ERC-series, class U27 2017 standings top 5, after 5/6 races:
1. Filip Mares, Czech Republic, 117
2. Chris Ingram, Great Britain, 115
3. Jari Huttunen, Finland, 106
4.  Aleks Zawada, Poland, 99
5. Karel Kupec, Czech Republic, 62

More Information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

28.8.2017

Jari Huttunen’s fight for the win crashed by accident

Finnish driver Jari Huttunen started last weekend at Czech ERC-rally to chase victory and U27-class top position in the ERC-series. This time Huttunen and co- driver Antti Linnaketo’s rally ended by accident at fourth special stage Saturday afternoon. Opel manufacturing team Adam R2 car using Huttunen was second in his class, only 1,2 seconds behind the leader. Huttunen was leading the rally after two stages but at the third stage he caught the previous car and passing this car took some time so Polish driver Aleks Zawada was quicker and toke the leading position.

– I did a mistake with slow right hand corner where was some loose gravel on the tarmac. I lost the rear tires grip and had no time neither space to fix the situation on the narrow section so inside curve wheels drop from the curb stone. There was 1,5 meters drop to the small creek and we rolled over there. I think it would not have been possible to turn around the car and push it back to the road even with Finnish rally spectators.

Huttunen had a good chance to take the top position in the championship since his best rival Chris Ingram retired already at Friday night by front suspension failure. Ingram started at Saturday and continued the race but due time penalty he was far away from the top.

– It’s the most painful thing that we drove safely without excess risks since Chris retired. We need to have a control with this type of situations but this time it didn’t work. But I believe we learnt something about this incident anyway. We were not able to continue the rally at Sunday, so no points at this time.

ERC-championship series have two rallies to go. At mid of September there is a tarmac rally in Italy and second weekend of October last competition at Latvia gravel roads. Despite of accident at Czech Huttunen has everything at his own hand regarding the championship. Top three competitors for the championship are Huttunen, Ingram, Filip Mares and Czech winner Zawada.

– Looks like we need to keep both guys Ingram and Zawada behind us rest of the season. I will try my best and let’s calculate the points after that. We have few weeks break before the next rally so we can rest a bit says Huttunen who has been driving six rallies since mid of July.

 ERC-series, class U27 2017 standings top 5, after 4/6 races:
1. Aleks Zawada, Poland, 99
2. Chris Ingram, Great Britain, 96
3. Filip Mares, Czech Republic, 84
4. Jari Huttunen, Finland, 75
5. Bugra Banaz, Turkey, 56

ERC competitions 2017, Junior U27:
30.3.-1.4. Azores Airlines Rallye, Portugal, gravel
4.-6.5. Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés, Spain, tarmac
3.-5.8. Rally Rzeszow, Poland, tarmac
25.-27.8. Barum Czech Rally Zlín, Czech, tarmac
15.-17.9. Rally di Roma Capitale, Italy, tarmac
6.-8.10. Rally Liepāja, Latvia, gravel

More Information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
http://www.czechrally.com/en/

20.8.2017

Jari Huttunen drove overwhelming victory in the WRC Deutschland

Young Finnish driver Jari Huttunen won the RC4 victory in the WRC Rally Deutschland on Sunday. Opel Motorsport factory driver Huttunen with Adam R2 car beat second place Dutch driver Timo van der Marel by three-minute and 15-seconds margin. In addition to the win his class, Huttunen was the fastest driver with two-wheel driver in the competition.

The victory in WRC Rallye Deutschland was a continuation of Huttunen and co driver Antti Linnaketo’s success story of the late summer. Marcus Grönholm’s 23-year-old protege driver has been driving four races during the month, winning all of them in his class. The winning strike opened on 21-22 July from the Weiz Rally in Austria, where he won the R2 class with his Opel. A week after Austria, he celebrated in his his second 4WD rally WRC2-class victory at the Neste Rally Finland with Skoda Fabia R5. After the Neste Rally Finland, where he got the nick name “deepiceman”, winning strike was continued in Poland ERC rally by winning the U27 class.

Now, in Germany, Huttunen was leading from the start to the finish line. In total of 21 special stages, the Finnish pair was fastest with 16 stages and the class win was not seriously threatened at any point.

– This rally went like planned. At this time in the class was not close fight for the win, so I did 80-90 percent pace without unnecessary risks. At the same time, we also tested some shock absorber setups. Friday afternoon special stages were run in the rain, but slippery roads were not so bad since we had time to be prepared in the service park and we were able to pick right tires, tells Huttunen.

The most dramatic moment of the Huttunen and Linnaketo’s rally was on Saturday morning when Opel’s rear tire was drained over the very long Panzerplatten classic special stage of more than 40 kilometers. The Finnish pair did not stop to change the tire, but decided to continue the stage to the finish line, by driving 23 kilometers with an empty tire. However, they lost only 45 seconds.

– We thought for a moment whether to stop to change the tire, but in the end the decision was to push to finish and it was good. At the end of the stage we had only rim left at the rear wheel. We had also one too long jump in the stage and due to the flat tire the car was difficult to keep in control after landing. It was not actually that scary moment but anyway this landing was not as per pace notes.

Huttunen’s manager Marcus Grönholm was excited about his performance.

– A great run from Jari and Antti once again, and at the same time this was good exercise for the future. Such results makes my way smoother and helps my work, Grönholm says.

Huttunen and Linnaketo’s busy rally season will continue soon, since next weekend will be the ERC-rally again. In Czech Zlin Rally, they drive for the Junior U27 title at Opel. The pair is in the 2nd position in the ERC standings with only eight points behind teammate Chris Ingram.

The tight rallying pace does not feel bad, because it has been my dream to drive as much as possible. For the ERC title, the Czech rally is really important, so there are no other goal than win there.

WRC Rallye Deutschland, RC4 class final results, top 5:
1) Jari Huttunen, FIN, Opel 3.26.35,1
2) Timo van der Marel, NED, Opel + 3.15,1
3) Julius Tannert, GER, Ford + 4.19,3
4) Taisko Lario, FIN, Peugeot + 13.13,5
5) Raphael Astier, FRA, Peugeot + 15.40,6

More Information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
https://www.adac-rallye-deutschland.de/uk/

 

17.8.2017

Jari Huttunen does not risk too much at the WRC Rally Germany

Jari Huttunen, the young Finnish driver, will continue his busy competition strike this weekend at the Germany WRC. Three weeks ago at the Neste Rally Finland WRC2 winner Huttunen starts on the German asphalt roads to chase the RC4 class win with Opel Adam R2 with the Opel factory team. The main goal of Marcus Grönholm’s protégé driver this season is the success of the ERC rally Junior U27-class, so he does not take heavy pressure on the Germany WRC, ​​especially since the ERC series continues a week after the Germany rally.

– Of course, the win in class is the goal again, but it’s also important to get into the finish line with an intact car as we compete with the same car next weekend in the Czech ERC competition. The tactic is to start with our own pace again and then tighten the pace as needed. During the race, we will test different settings for the ERC series, says Huttunen.

The Germany WRC rally is familiar for Huttunen and co driver Antti Linnaketo from last year when the rally was part of the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup. At that time, two rallies were run inside the WRC competition, and the Finns won both of them and secured the championship. The car was also Opel Adam but it was one step milder rally car version than this year.

– I have a good memories here of course, but this year route has been renewed pretty much so there is not too big benefits about last year’s merits. There are three types of roads here, there is a vineyard, narrow streets in the military area and then ordinary village roads. Actually, I really like those village roads only.

In addition to fluctuating road types, the Germany WRC rally is characterized by heavily changing weather conditions. This year, both rain and snow are forecasted for the race.

– It does not matter if it’s raining or shining but it would be best if the weather type were constant during the day to avoid surprises.

The Germany WRC rally is a four-day race that will start on Thursday with a super special stage near Saarbrücken and ends on Sunday afternoon. In total, the route has 21 special stages and 309 competitive kilometers. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo drives car number 76.

More Information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
https://www.adac-rallye-deutschland.de/uk/

 

5.8.2017

Jari Huttunen gained brutal victory at ERC class in Poland

At Saturday night ended Poland ERC rally podium was celebrated with blue and white colors when young Finn driver Jari Huttunen drove victory in U27 class with his Opel Adam R2 car.

Rally Rzeszow -tarmac rally victory in class was Huttunen and co-pilot Antti Linnaketo’s first in this year ERC championship. Win margin was at the end almost two and half minutes to the second place Czech driver Filip Mareš. Third was Polish driver Aleks Zawada.

Marcus Grönholm’s protege was satisfied with his performance after the race. Huttunen and Linnaketo were fastest couple with 8 stages out of 11 in total. Rally in Poland was not easy for the drivers. There were multiple crashes and hot weather put extra stress to the drivers.

– Basically fight for the win ended quite early since Chris Ingram met problems but despite of that rally was challenging. The roads were bumpy and lots of gravel was spread onto tarmac due greedy corner cutting. We did not take unnecessary risks, car worked well and also men were strong enough in over 30 degrees heat, says Huttunen.

By winning the class Huttunen passed Polish driver Aleks Zawada in the ERC standings to second place. Leading driver, Huttunen’s team mate Chris Ingram was 8th in Poland so Huttunen shrunk the gap to the ERC top remarkably. As per unofficial point calculation Ingram leads by eight points after three rallies.

– I have not seen the official standings yet, neither thought about it too much but obviously this is important win for the rest of the season. It looks good at the moment. Two weeks ago we won in Austria, a week ago in Neste Rally Finland and here now.

European Rally Championship continues in Czech tarmac rally at last weekend of August. Before that Huttunen and Linnaketo participates to the WRC rally Deutschland after two weeks by Opel.

ERC rally Poland, Rally Rzeszow, results top 5, Junior U27:
1 Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo, FIN, Opel, 02:07:02.7
2 Filip Mareš – Jan Hloušek, CZE, Peugeot, + 2:26.3
3 Aleks Zawada – Grzegorz Dachowski, POL, Opel, + 3:08.0
4 Karel Kupec – Ondřej Krajča, CZE,  Peugeot, + 3:37.3
5 Buğra Banaz – Burak Erdener, TUR, Ford, + 8:06.3

ERC competitions 2017, Junior U27:
30.3.-1.4. Azores Airlines Rallye, Portugal, gravel
4.-6.5. Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés, Spain, tarmac
3.-5.8. Rally Rzeszow, Poland, tarmac
25.-27.8. Barum Czech Rally Zlín, Czech, tarmac
15.-17.9. Rally di Roma Capitale, Italy, tarmac
6.-8.10. Rally Liepāja, Latvia, gravel

More Info: 
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.rajd.rzeszow.pl/en/start/

3.8.2017

Jari Huttunen aiming to the victory in class at ERC Rally Poland

Last weekend winner at WRC Neste Rally Finland WRC2-class Jari Huttunen competes for ERC points with Opel manufacturing team in Poland. Huttunen jumps from 4WD Skoda Fabia R5 car and gravel roads to the Opel Adam R2 car at Rally Rzesow tarmac rally.

Marcus Grönholm protege driver’s goal is to have more points in ERC Junior U27-class. Before Poland Huttunen and co driver Antti Linnaketo are third in the championship, 40 points behind British driver Chris Ingram. Second is Polish driver Alan’s Zawada two points ahead Huttunen.

Huttunen was fastest driver in the test special stage in his class at Thusday so tarmac rally skills are still there.

– Indeed return to the 2WD car was a bit shocking. I got a feeling that driving performance was not in place but despite of that the time was good. Our goal is to win the class or at least be faster than Ingram. Otherwise gap with the points opens too wide says Huttunen.

It will be interesting rally in Poland with different conditions during the special stages. There are very fast sections but also narrow and bumpy sections which will be challenging for the drivers and cars.

– We had top temperature during the recce 37 degrees. If this heat continues during the rally there will be very hot in the cabin. High temperature will put the car and especially brakes to the extreme test. Victory at Neste Rally Finland doesn’t bring any extra pressure to me. Personally it was a big thing to me to find 4WD pace quickly but it’s different car and different series now, says Huttunen.

Rally Rzeszow is a tarmac rally with 11 special stages with 214 competitive kilometres located in South East Poland. The first stage starts in Friday at 11.50. Podium celebration starts in Saturday at 18.30. Jari and Antti are driving car #32.

 ERC-series, class U27 2017 standings top 5, after 2/6 races:
1. Chris Ingram, GB, 76
2. Aleks Zawada, POL, 38
3. Jari Huttunen, FIN, 36
4. Bugra Banaz, Turkey, 29
5. Tamara Molinaro, IT, 28

More info:
Jari Huttunen, p. +35844 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.rajd.rzeszow.pl/en/start/

 

30.7.2017

Jari Huttunen gained convincing victory in Neste Rally Finland WRC2-class

Neste Rally Finland WRC rally was a Finn celebration at WRC2-class too. Young and fast Jari Huttunen drove ot only himself but also home city Kiuruvesi to the world map by having a WRC2-class victory in his second 4WD rally with Skoda Fabia R5 car. Marcus Grönholm’s protégé driver Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo left behind all other R5 cars and final standing in the rally overall classification was 11^th. The win margin In the WRC2-classified drivers group was 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Second fastest R5 driver Eric Camilli, who was not driving for the WRC points was beaten by Huttunen and Linnaketo by 12,7 seconds.

–  I am quite a bit tired but of course I am very happy. A clean race, no punctures or any technical issues and pace was right there, one small mistake by the driver and that’s all. It was a silent target to beat all other R5 cars, not WRC2 classified cars only, so this was a bull’s eye, told Huttunen after the race.

Huttunen started the race gently but toke his own position on the top of WRC2 classified drivers group at third stage in Urria. After that he did not lose the grip from the leading driver position but increased the gap almost to the minute before the end of the Friday. At Saturday plan was to grab top position of R5 cars from Ole Christian Veiby and Eric Camilli, who both were close enough for battle.

At Saturday morning he increased the speed and catched Camilli ending up to 5,5 seconds behind Veiby. Norwegian driver crashed at next stage Päijälä so Huttunen inherited the top position. After that fastest R5 car fight was between Huttunen and Camilli. Fight was controlled by Huttunen until the finish line. Despite of setting fastest times Huttunen was driving without the traces and comments regarding own performance were very short so in the rally radio he was renamed to the “deep iceman”, a Finn who talks less and drives more.

– Our pace was good enough to fight for the win. About my own performance, I recall Päijälä stages which went really nice with both times. Actually it’s a shame when Veiby retired because I am sure we would have got really good battle with him. Our car worked perfectly all week end so I rate it to straight A.

Marcus Grönholm was very satisfied with his protege driver performance.

– It was better than expected! Second rally competition for Jari with 4WD car and in addition to the impressive speed he was able to control the race also. Absolutely great performance and I got lots of positive comments about him from different level of rally professionals during the race, said two times world champion.

Huttunen and Linnaketo’s rally calendar is full in August due participating two ERC competitions and WRC rally Deutschland by Opel Motorsport Opel Adam R2 car. Huttunen is holding at ERC U27 championship standings 2^nd place so stakes are high for the coming week-end rally in Poland.

– We don’t have time to celebrate this WRC2 win now because we have to start heading Poland tomorrow morning at 6 AM. We will have there 2WD car and tarmac stages so it will be a different kind of rally for sure. A full calendar is not a problem since this is the reason why I started to drive rallying in the past, have a drive with great cars every week end.

 

Classification Neste Rally Finland 2017 WRC2-class top 10
(including not WRC2 classified drivers but driving with similar R5 cars):

1 Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo, FIN, Skoda, 2:39:30.9 *
2 Eric Camilli – Benjamin Veillas, FRA, Ford, 2:39:43.6
3 Teemu Asunmaa – Jonne Halttunen, FIN, Skoda, 2:41:33.8
4 Quentin Gilbert – Renaud Jamoul, FRA/BEL,  Skoda, 2:41:48.7*
5 Tom Cave – James Morgan, GBR, Hyundai, 2:43:13.9*
6 Max Vatanen – Jacques Julien Renucci, FIN, Ford, 2:44:39.0
7 Osian Pryce – Dale Furniss, GBR, Ford 2:45:39.6*
8 Simone Tempestini – Giovanni Bernacchini, ROU/ITA, Citroen, 2:47:27.1*
9 Jari Kihlman – Tomi Ikonen, FIN, Hyundai, 2:49:04.5
10 Raul Jeets – Kuldar Sikk, EST, Skoda, 2:51:36.2*
* = WRC2 classified drivers

 

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

Jari Huttunen background:
Age: 23
Place of birth: Kiuruvesi
Manager: Marcus Grönholm
Rally career:
ADAC Opel Rallye Cup champion 2016
Finnish Rally Champion, SM3-class 2015
Rally Star of the Future Prize winner 2015
First rally: 2013
Member of AKK Driver Academy since 2013
Two times Finnish Champion in Rotax go kart-class 2011 and 2012

 

26.7.2017

Jari Huttunen a new challenger to fight in WRC2-class at Neste Rally Finland

Young Finnish driver Jari Huttunen, 23 starts his second rally with 4WD car. Marcus Grönholm’s protege driver with Skoda Fabia R5 car starts to rally in Jyväskylä with low expectations to gain experience and making good stage times.

Two weeks ago driven national Autoglym rally proofed Huttunen and co driver And to Linnaketo’s 4WD Skoda R5 pace by leading the class before the crash from second position on the class. Last weekend he participated to Rallye Weis tarmac rally with Opal R2 class car. The couple was fastest 2WD car and winners in the class. Huttunen and Linnaketo prepared themselves to the WRC competition by testing Skoda at legendary special stage Palsankylä 100 km. The car is fixed after Autoglym rally accident and crew have a good touch with it now.

– Primary target is to have a clean race and see the finish line. I have a good touch with the car and with this limited experience what I have, I think it’s very good. Plan is to start carefully and increase the pace if needed. We will compare our times to the top WRC2 driver and then we will see the result at Sunday night.

Huttunen has competed once before in Jyväskylä at 2015 when he was a Rally Star of Future-competitor with 2WD Citroen. That rally was difficult due food poison disease and car got unlucky damage with jump landing.

– Jyväskylä is a long rally so it is important to keep constant and careful pace. I believe crucial stages are at Ouninpohja region. Ouni was a difficult one for me last time. It is very fast stage and it feels like car is more flying than on the road.

Marcus Grönholm’s opinion is that it’s needed to gain more routine and consistency to Huttunen. Two times world champion is not doubting his driver competence at all.

– Jari is a very very fast driver. I know it and many other people too. He needs to hold his horses at Jyväskylä and start neatly. In the other hand he needs to find the rhythm quickly since here all stages are fast ones. I am advising him with some details only, at least I know some places where cannot be screwed. Clean race, good special stage times and finish in top3 is the target and all on top of that is bonus.

Neste Rally Finland starts with legendary Harju special stage in city of Jyväskylä at 19.00 Thursday night. Finish is in Jyväskylä Paviljonki at Sunday afternoon 15.00. Rally includes 25 stages with 314 competitive kilometres. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo are driving car #40.

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

8.5.2017

Jari Huttunen finished second in Canary islands ERC rally

Last week end driven ERC series second competition in Gran Canary islands brought podium position to Finland when 23 years old Finnish driver Jari Huttunen took second position in U27 class. Opel Motorsport team’s Opel Adam R2-class car driver Huttunen was 20.5 seconds slower than British driver Chris Ingram. Third in class was Czech Karelia Kupec who lost 48.4 seconds to Huttunen.

Canary islands second position was the first podium position to debut ERC season driver Huttunen. Marcus Grönholm’s protégé driver was not cheering too much after the race.

– This week end my performance rating was 7. We got important points from second place for the championship but I am not satisfied since we drive for the win always. Today we needed to take this result, says Huttunen.

Huttunen and Co driver Antti Linnaketo’s winning fight was turning difficult in the first stage already when Finnish duo was 19.5 seconds slower with first 25 kilometers.

– The car setup was not good so we had serious understeer with the all first stage. I had to adjust the driving style to prevent bad tyre wearing and that was not good for the stage time. The team made setup changes during the rally and we improved our pace on the way. This time it was not enough to beat the team mate since gap opened too large at the beginning.

During two days and 12 special stages Huttunen was fastest with one special stage.

– We did not take dumb mistakes and the car worked perfectly except the needed setup changes. It was delighting to see for example how much better brakes are performing under the harsh conditions compared to the last year car.

ERC series continues with U27 class in Poland Rally Rzeszow tarmac rally in first week end of August. After two rallies Jari Huttunen is third in overall standings.

ERC, class U27 2017 standings, after 2/6 competitions:
1. Chris Ingram, GB, 77
2. Aleks Zawada, Poland, 40
3. Jari Huttunen, Finland, 39
4. Bugra Banaz, Turkey, 33
5. Tamara Molinaro, Italia, 33
ERC series 2017, class U27:
30.3.-14.4. Azores Airlines Rallye, Portugal, gravel
4.-6.5. Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés, Spain, tarmac
3.-5.8. Rally Rzeszow, Poland, tarmac
25.-27.8. Barum Czech Rally Zlín, Czech, tarmac
15.-17.9. Rally di Roma Capitale, Italy, tarmac
6.-8.10. Rally Liepāja, Latvia, gravel

 

More Information: 
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.opel-motorsport.com/rallye/adac-opel-rallye-junior-team/aktuelles/

 

4.5.2017

Jari Huttunen is driving in Canary Islands at ERC-rally in coming weekend

European Rally Championship second competition will be driven in Friday and Saturday in Canary Islands Gran Canary. Opel Motorsport driver Finn Jari Huttunen is chasing top positions in U-27 class again. Opening competition in Azores in April was proven that he is able to fight for highest podiums in his debut season. Win in class at Azores was ruined during last special stage due drive shaft failure.

To the Canary Islands competition Huttunen starts together with his co-driver Antti Linnaketo with confident mind set despite of they don’t have experience about local roads more than some test special stages. The tarmac roads in the island are tasty to the driver.

– The roads are kind of spectacular, there are not too many cross roads but rather is like circuit driving. The grip is changing quite a lot depending about the tarmac age. It will bring some challenge for sure.

Opening race in Azores indicated that toughest competitor is British driver team mate Chris Ingram who won after Huttunen retired.

– In Canary Islands we have a clear goal. We need to finish the race and get good points. Ingram has a full set of points at the moment and we have none so we need to keep that in mind.

Huttunen managed to drive 40 kilometers testing prior the race and the car was fine tuned for the tarmac. Everything is OK as per testing but still there are some question marks.

– We need to have a smart drive at the beginning and see how the tires will wear with these conditions. As per weather forecast it will be dry race and that’s fine for us. In the other hand some special stages are at the high altitude so weather may change drastically.

Canary Islands competition starts at 12.00 Finnish time. There will be 12 special stages and 200 kilometers. There will be twisting tarmac roads which are familiar for most of the Finns just by looking out from the tourist bus. First competitors will finalize the race at Saturday night 20 o’clock. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo are driving the car number 34.

Huttunen competes in U-27 class in ERC series. It includes total six rallies, four on tarmac and two on the gravel. The season ends in Latvia at October. Huttunen’s team mates are British driver Chris Ingram and Italian Tamara Molinaro.

ERC has been driven since 1953 and there has been many Finn participants in the past. Champions in ERC are Esa-Pekka Lappi 2014, Juho Hänninen 2012, Pauli Toivonen 1968 and Rauno Aaltonen 1965.

ERC-series competitions 2017, class U27:
30.3.-1.4. Azores Airlines Rallye, Portugal, gravel
4.-6.5. Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés, Spain, tarmac
3.-5.8. Rally Rzeszow, Poland, tarmac
25.-27.8. Barum Czech Rally Zlín, Czech, tarmac
15.-17.9. Rally di Roma Capitale, Italy, tarmac
6.-8.10. Rally Liepāja, Latvia, gravel

More Information: 
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.opel-motorsport.com/rallye/adac-opel-rallye-junior-team/aktuelles/

2.4.2017

Jari Huttunen faced cruel technical failure in top position

Late Saturday night ended ERC-rally series opening competition in Azores islands was a very interesting Finnish show which was ended a cruel way to the very last kilometer in ending special stage. Class leader Jari Huttunen’s car broke down due drive shaft failure and Opel Motorsport driver was forced to retire the rally.

Before the last special stage Marcus Grönholms protege driver Huttunen was leading the race together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo in ERC Junior U27 class by six seconds before British team mate Chris Ingram. Ingram toke the advantage due Huttunen retirement and won the class before second Polish driver Aleks Zawada. Third in class was Czech Filip Mares.

– The drive shaft inner joint failed suddenly before the finish line and right before the water splash and steep uphill. The car was not able to climb the hill with one wheel drive so game was over. We did not went out of the road neither hit anything, tells Huttunen.

Opel Motorsport drivers Huttunen and Ingram had a serious fight for fraction of seconds with all 16 gravel special stages since special stage one. Huttunen was leading the race after first stage but Ingram toke the lead in special stage two. Huttunen toke the leading position back in SS14. Huttunen won seven stages and Ingram eight stages. In addition to new conditions Huttunen was suffering about serious flu which was a big stress especially during the day one.

– I am satisfied with my own performance except the last incident with the car failure. We were very close the top pace all the time and at the end we gained a bit more speed and passed Chris. I got more and more familiar with the local roads and we were adjusting the suspension setup on the way better all the time. Chris has been participated this rally several times before so compared to that our pace was very good.

After the race Huttunen got some balm when he was awarded by special Colin McRae trophy. The trophy is a credit for the rookie who drives flat out from the start to the end.

– We did not gain too many points from here but instead we got lots of experience about very slow and technical gravel roads compared to Finnish roads. In addition we know our pace now.

ERC-series continues in first weekend of May in Canary Islands competition. This time race is on tarmac and last year tarmac series winner in ADAC Opel Rallye Cup Germany Huttunen waits the race anxiously.

– This is a new rally once again so there will be new challenges. We got good results from Germany so I believe we have good situation to go there. I have driven lots of kilometers on the tarmac during past year so I am confident to start tarmac rallies in ERC.

ERC compatitions 2017, class U27:
30.3.-14.4. Azores Airlines Rallye, Portugal, gravel
4.-6.5. Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés, Spain, tarmac
3.-5.8. Rally Rzeszow, Poland, tarmac
25.-27.8. Barum Czech Rally Zlín, Czech, tarmac
15.-17.9. Rally di Roma Capitale, Italy, tarmac
6.-8.10. Rally Liepāja, Latvia, gravel

More Information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.opel-motorsport.com/rallye/adac-opel-rallye-junior-team/aktuelles/

 

29.3.2017

Jari Huttunen begins European Rally Championship in Azores

Rally driving ERC-series begins in Portugal Azores islands in Thursday. Only Finnish driver in the series is Opel Motorsport manufacturing team driver and Marcus Grönholm’s protege Jari Huttunen. Young driver in R2-class with Opel Adam starts to chase victory in his class together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo. Primary target in the first competition is to perform solid and clean competition.

– Gravel roads in Azores are very different than in Finland. The pace is much slower, there are more corners and the roads are much more narrow than in Finland. The driving lines must be precise due big dirt banks and wide lines will cost immediately, comments Jari Huttunen during the recce.

Huttunen was preparing himself to Azores race by testing his car on gravel roads in Italy. In addition he managed to drive 50 kilometers testing in Azores. As a new comer in the Azores he starts the race with careful mindset and avoiding too big risks.

– We will look how the race starts and begin to adjust our pace as per other guys’ pace. Conditions are challenging so there will be incidents during the race and hopefully we can perform trouble free rally. I think it’s beneficial if you have been driving here before and gained some experience about the local conditions. My team mate Chris Ingram for example has participated to the rally several times before.

Rally Azores starts at 17.30 Finnish time Thursday night. The race includes 16 special stages with 210 special stage kilometers in total. First car crosses the finish line at 22.00 Saturday night. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo are driving car number #36.
Huttunen is racing in ERC-series Junior U27-class. The series includes six rallies, four on tarmac and two on gravel. After the Azores rally next race is Canarias Islands tarmac rally in May. Season continues until October to last rally in Latvia. Huttunen’s team mates in Opel manufacturing team are British driver Chris Ingram and Italian Tamara Molinari.

ERC-series has been driven since 1953 and there has been many Finnish drivers in the series. Finnish ERC-champions are Esa-Pekka Lappi (2014), Juho Hänninen (2012), Pauli Toivonen (1968) and Ranu Aaltonen (1965).

ERC-series competitions 2017, class U27:
30.3.-14.4. Azores Airlines Rallye, Portugal, gravel
4.-6.5. Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés, Spain, tarmac
3.-5.8. Rally Rzeszow, Poland, tarmac
25.-27.8. Barum Czech Rally Zlín, Czech, tarmac
15.-17.9. Rally di Roma Capitale, Italy, tarmac
6.-8.10. Rally Liepāja, Latvia, gravel

Jari Huttunen
Age: 23
Hometown: Kiuruvesi
Career:
ADAC Opel Rallye Cup champion 2016
Finnish rally champion, class SM3 2015
Rally Future Star- prize winner 2015
First rally: 2013
AKK Driver Academyn member since 2013
Go Kart champion in Finland with Rotax max class in 2011 and 2012

More Information: 
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.opel-motorsport.com/ rallye/adac-opel-rallye- junior-team/aktuelles/

5.3.2017

Jari Huttunen extended his winning strike in Germany 

On Saturday night ended two days lasting Saarland-Pfalz tarmac rally was a Finnish celebration in Germany St. Wendel. 23 years old Jari Huttunen from Kiuruvesi won 2wd R2-class and was fastest 2wd driver in the rally. Overall standing was 10th.

This season debut driver in Opel manufacturing team was extending his winning strike in Germany tarmac rallies. Last year he won together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo ADAC Opel Rallye Cup in Germany. Then Finnish duo won six rallies out of seven. This time they were using Opel manufacturing team Adam R2 first time and similar car will be used in European Rally Championship series.

– During the rally we improved the suspension setup and we will continue that work in the future. Conditions were really good for the fine tuning since route was mostly dry tarmac, says Huttunen.

Saarland-Pfalz Rallye was a test competition to Huttunen but despite of that he fought seriously for win and was leading the race since special stage one. At the end of last stage winning margin was 22 seconds compared to 2nd position Danish driver Jacob Madsen. Madsen got 30 seconds penalty on top of that so at the end Huttunen got the first place by 52 seconds gap.

Youngsters had a really tight race in class all Saturday and smallest gap was 5 seconds only. Huttunen was fastest with 4 special stages and Madsen was fastest with 8 stages.

– This was a really good rally. We tried to push seriously and we had an enjoyable fight with Madsen. I was also impressed about my new team professionalism so we are confident to start in European Rally Championship series.

Final results, ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye 3.-4.3.2017, class RC4 top 5:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo, Opel Adam R2 1:22:52,5
2. Jacob Madsen – Karsten Isaksen, Opel Adam R2 + 0:52,1
3. Roman Schwedt – Katrin Becker, Opel Adam R2 + 4:28,5
4. Benjamin Schmitt – Kerstin Pohl, Citroen C2 R2 Max + 8:05,0
5. Tamara Molinaro – Ursula Mayrhofer, Opel Adam R2 + 8:32,1

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/ JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.saarland-pfalz-rallye.de/

 

2.3.2017

Jari Huttunen chasing the win again on Germany tarmac

Two weeks ago driven Mikkeli Finnish Rally Championship Vaakuna-Rally SM3 class winner Jari Huttunen starts this coming week-end in Deutsche Rally Championship  competition with Opel Motorsport car. This rally is part of the test program by preparing young driver to the European Championship Series with R2-class Opel Adam car. Despite of test competition status target has been set high so 23 years old driver from Kiuruvesi is chasing the highest podium in class together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo.

– There are not too many competitors in our class this time but it’s well known that local drivers goes fast on these roads. Victory is our target even if this is part of our test program, tells Marcus Grönholm’s GRX Management driver Huttunen.

ADAC Saarland-Pfalz in not new rally for Huttunen since last year he won this competition in ADAC Opel Rally Cup class. Today he is driving one step more powerful car and first bite will be taken in Germany on shakedown right before the rally starts.
– We will compete by using test program car so it’s not the same unit which will be used in ERC. I have spent two days now at Opel Motorsport facilities by getting familiar with the team and routines. Manufacturing team resources and facilities are new experience for me and for sure all resources are in place.

ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rally will be driven around the St. Wendel city and it lasts two days. All special stages are on the tarmac surface and total special stage length is 125 kilometers. Rally starts in Friday night by three stages. In Saturday there are nine special stages and first car is in the finish line at 18.15.

At this point there Huttunen’s plan does not include other upcoming DRC rallies. First competition in ERC-series will be driven  in Azores islands in tne end of March.

More information: 
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/ JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.saarland-pfalz-rallye.de/
19.2.2017

Jari Huttunen had a victorious visit in Mikkeli SM Vaakuna-Rally

Jari Huttunen who came back for one competition to FRC-series toke highest podium in SM Vaakuna Rally in Saturday night. Marcus Grönholm’s GRX Management Team driver, 22 years old Huttunen from Kiuruvesi, won two wheel driven SM3-class with 10,4 seconds pace to second position taken Emil Lindholm. Third in class was Henrik Pietarinen.

FRC rally in Mikkeli were ERC driver Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo’s first competition with R2-class Opel Adam in this season. In addition to win, they were able to gain valuable experience about the new car for Azores islands rally which is a starting competition for 2017 ERC-season after 5 weeks.

Huttunen was in Mikkeli after day one and after two special stages having 2nd position and two seconds behind Emil Lindholm. In Saturday morning former SM3-class champion from year 2015 toke his position in top and kept the lead until the finish.

– Beginning of the race was a bit getting familiar with the new car and driving on the snow since I have been in snow condition rally last time two years ago. It was recognized in the beginning but after few stages it started to go more smooth and I am satisfied with the last leg pace. The car was a positive surprise. It is good when you are familiar with it, says Huttunen.

Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo’s season continues in Saarland-Pfalz tarmac rally in ADAC series Germany after two weeks. This will be first rally with Opel Motorsport manufacturer team car. After the Germany race, preparations for FRC continues with gravel tests in Italy.

– We will get more and more driving before the main target starts. After the Germany we will go to Italy for two days. We will get important test kilometers before opening ERC rally in Azores islands, which will be exotic experience for sure.

Results FRC Vaakuna-Ralli 2017 SM3-class top 5:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo, Opel Adam R2 1:12:11,4
2. Emil Lindholm – Tomi Tuominen, Peugeot 208 R2 + 10,4
3. Henrik Pietarinen – Juha Lummaa, Ford Fiesta R2 + 1:20,5
4. Miika Hokkanen – Jukka Pasenius, Ford Fiesta R2  + 1:39,0
5. Niko Mäkinen – Antti Haapala, Ford Fiesta R2 + 2:05,2

More information: 
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

16.2.2017

Jari Huttunen – visiting star of SM3-class in SM Vaakuna-Rally

European Rally Championship driver, 22 years old Opel Motorsport team driver Jari Huttunen starts his season in Mikkeli, Finland SM Vaakuna Rally during coming week-end. Marcus Grönholm’s GRX Management Team driver and FRC Champion in SM3-class in year 2015 returns to the Finnish Rally Championship SM-3 class for one rally by using Opel Adam R2. Huttunen’s target is to try new type of car and at the same time check the speed of SM3-class top drivers.

– Most important thing in this event is to get familiar with R2-class Opel car which is similar with my ERC car, but obviously target is always to win when I put the helmet on, so the plan is to push hard this time too, says Huttunen.

Jari Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo are competing in Mikkeli with rental car owned by Jukka Korhonen. They were testing one hundred kilometers prior rally so this is a new challenge for them. In last season Huttunen drove in Germany by winning Opel Adam Cup and got the driver seat to the ERC. This time car is one step bigger compared to the Adam Opel Cup car.

– The car is fancy indeed and it’s clearly much more intended to build as a rally car than my Citroen R2-class car was. For example steering feeling and feedback is very good. During the test we did some changes to the suspension to meet my driving style requirements but there are still some fine tuning to do.

Huttunen and Linnaketo has a good memories from SM Vaakuna-Rally because first victory in SM3-class was got in Mikkeli two years ago. This time Huttunen is a great pace reference to the top drivers if rally goes as per plan.

– Special stages in Mikkeli area are great and it’s nice to drive here again. I suppose top drivers in the class gives a tough challenge and I expect this especially from Emil Lindholm.

After Mikkeli Jari Huttunen’s season continues with tarmac rally in Germany by Opel Motorsport manufacturer’s team Opel Adam R2 car.

Mikkeli SM Vaakuna Rally starts in Friday 17th of February at 19.00. Rally includes nine special stages and lasts two days. The podium is waiting competitors in Saturday 18th of Feb. starting at 18.49. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo are driving car number 59.

 

2016

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

28.11.2016

Jari Huttunen was selected to Marcus Grönholm GRX Management’s driver

22-years old promising rally driver Jari Huttunen was selected to Marcus Grönholm’s managing GRX Management Ltd. driver. Huttunen, origin from Kiuruvesi, Finland, achieved championship in ADAC Opel Rallye Cup in Germany and was awarded by Opel Motorsport manufacturing driver title for 2017 ERC-series with two wheel driven Opel Adam car. Mr. Grönholm has a solid belief with Huttunen’s skills.

– Jari is a talented person which is proven by success in Germany. We try to build such a conditions in GRX Management that his rally career continues successfully, states Mr. Grönholm.

Huttunen is naturally excited about the given opportunity.

– This is a really great chance to step into the Mr. Grönholm’s team. This will help future plans for sure. This season was even more successful than expected in Germany and then we got this management deal on top of that. I am very pleased with this situation, says Huttunen.

Grönholm started to pay attention to young driver in Rovaniemi, Finland driven BMW Business Rally in last winter.

– I won this friendly race and Tommi Mäkinen was third. I was looking around that who is this guy when he finished between us. After that I began to follow Huttunen’s performance in Germany and at the end my choice was pretty much clear, tells Grönholm about the selection process.

Huttunen was doing agriculture work at home when two times world champion contacted him first time in last autumn.

– I was harvesting the grain when Bosse called and asked if there is a time for talk. I stalled the harvesting machine right away to the field and that’s how we started the process, recalls Huttunen his first contact with Mr. Grönholm.
Next season Huttunen participates to the Europen Championship Series by Opel. This package includes WRC-Deutschland and other races in Germany Championship Series DRC.

– We are acquiring funds together with Jari’s sponsors and let’s see if something else will be added to the schedule, says Mr. Grönholm.

Other drivers in the GRX Management are Niclas Grönholm and Joni Wiman.

– Niclas will continue in World Rallycross Series and Joni most probably in the Global Rallycross serie in United States. There will be quite much to do for next year so GRX Management Ltd. operations has started with good pace, tells satisfied Mr. Grönholm.

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

22.10.2016

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup champion Jari Huttunen awarded by Opel contract for European Championship 2017

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup award gala was Finnish celebration in late Saturday night. 22 years old Finn Jari Huttunen was selected to drive Opel Motorsport manufacturer team car in 2017.

Huttunen’s contract covers next year ERC-series with two wheel driven R2-class Opel Adam car. In addition he will drive in WRC-Deutschland and other smaller rallies in Germany. Full program details will be determined later.

– This is a top story! We selected this series just because this target and now we got it. I don’t have all details available yet but obviously this will have very big impact to my rally career, says Huttunen.

Jari Huttunen together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo were new comers in tarmac rallies but despite of that they were dominating in the Opel single trademark series. They won six competitions out of seven and one third place due time penalty. In addition Huttunen made most fastest special stage times in every rally and won all Power Stages. The chapionship title was won by Huttunen already in August after five rallies. At the end winning margin was 132 points.

– Beginning of the season we had zero experience with tarmac rallies and also from Germany. My speed compared to the other drivers was a mystery. We were able to gain the winning speed since beginning and overall this season performance was a bull’s eye.

Huttunen won Finnish Championship in SM3-class last year and decided to try tarmac series in Germany partially due AKK Driver Academy’s recommendation.

– It’s very difficult to give better demonstration about your work skills than this. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo took big steps during this year with rallying skills and with mental skills. One year ago we were not able to imagine that pure tarmac rally series were dominated this much by a Finn, says AKK Driver Academy head coach Mr. Tuomo Nikkola.

Also last ADAC Opel Rallye Cup competition was won by Huttunen. He drove 3-Städte Rallye competition five best times in class and won Czech driver Matej Kamenek by 12,4 seconds. Kamenek was not fighting for ADAC Opel Rallye Cup points and drove with different type of tires.

Second place in cup was taken by Swedish Tom Kristensson who also finished in second with overall in the cup series before another Swedish driver Pontus Åhmann. Huttunen passed Czech driver Kamenek during second last stage.

– It was difficult at the beginning in this rally. I was not satisfied with our pace and we put the attack mode on at the end and found the needed pace to win. It’s of course great to close the season with the victory.

Huttunen will drive next season in European Championship series by Opel Adam R2 which is very competitive car provided by the Opel Motorsport. European Rallye Championship series has been driven since year 1953 and there has been many Finnish drivers in the past. Former champions are Esa-Pekka Lappi (2014), Juho Hänninen (2012), Pauli Toivonen (1968) and Rauno Aaltonen (1965).

Jari Huttunen
Age: 22
Place of birth: Kiuruvesi
Career: ADAC Opel Rallye Cup champion 2016
Finnish Rally Champion, SM3 class 2015
First rally: 2013
Member of AKK Driver Academy team since 2013
Two times Rotax go kart Finnish champion 2011 and 2012

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2016 points, top 5:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo FIN, 284
2. Tom Kristensson – Timmy Berntsson SWE, 152
3. Pontus Åhmann – Johan Johansson SWE, 144
4. Niklas Stötefalke – Tobias Braun, GER 122
5. Tim Novak – Uros Ocvick, SLO 106

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup competitions 2016:
04.03.-05.03. ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye
15.04.-16.04. ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg
06.05.-07.05. ADAC Rallye Sulinger Land
15.07.-16.07. S-DMV Thüringen Rallye
18.08.-21.08. ADAC Rallye Deutschland
21.10.-22.10. ADAC 3-Städte-Rallye

 

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.adac-motorsport.de/ adac-opel-rallye-cup/de/

20.10.2016

Jari Huttunen’s stake for coming week-end is Opel manufacturing team award to ERC-series

Seven rounds long ADAC Opel Rallye cup tarmac serie driven with Opel Adam cars ends to the 3-Städte-Rallye this weekend in southern Germany Kirchhamn city. Despite of Finnish driver Jari Huttunen ensured the championship in fifth competition already, his target for the last competition is the victory again.

Even more important than victory in this event is the prize released after the race. One of the top five driver in the series will be awarded by the driver contract with Opel Motorsport manufacturing team in the European Championship Rally series in 2017.

– Opel award is the top target for this weekend obviously. Awarded driver will have Opel Adam R2-class car for ERC-series and also as per tentative information participation to the WRC-Deutschland and some other rallies in Germany. This would be great for my future rally career, tells Huttunen.

During the coming weekend will be racing two days including 11 special stages and 120 SS kilometers. Rally starts in Friday at 15.50 and ends in Saturday at 16.30. Huttunen has prepared to the competition by doing AKK Driver Academy pace note practices and physical condition tests. Last time he was driving race car two months ago in WRC-Deutschland.

-We can start without the “must win” feeling but anyway plan is to go with our natural speed and fight for the victory. Swedish drivers Pontus Åhmann and Tom Kristensson are fighting for the second position so they must have full attack since beginning, says Huttunen.

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2016 standings top 5, after 6/7 races:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo FIN, 241
2. Pontus Åhmann – Johan Johansson SWE, 126
Tom Kristensson – Timmy Berntsson SWE, 125
4. Niklas Stötefalke – Tobias Braun, GER 101
5. Tim Novak – Uros Ocvick, SLO 91

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.adac-motorsport.de/ adac-opel-rallye-cup/de/

21.8.2016

Jari Huttunen won the championship in WRC Rally Germany

During the weekend driven WRC Rally Germany in city of Trier was a Finn celebration when promising rally star 22 years old Jari Huttunen from Kiuruvesi won both ADAC Opel Rallye Cup races included to the WRC competition. At the same time Huttunen ensured Opel single trademark series championship in end of Friday. Huttunen’s debut season on tarmac with Opel Adam cars abroad from Finland brought first ever championship in history to Finland.

Jari Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo’s championship was clear in late Friday evening when ADAC Opel Rallye Cup second last competition planned to be held in end of September was announced to be canceled. Thus Huttunen’s lead in the series gained large enough to ensure the cup after five races.

– My first feeling is relieved. Championship was our goal since beginning and we got it already now. The season has been almost perfect. Five wins out of six competitions is an achievement what I could not believe even myself before the season, especially because we hadn’t experience about driving on tarmac at all, says Huttunen.

In Friday race Finnish duo started carefully with first two special stages but best time in third stage set them to the top position in class. Fastest time setting continued with next two stages and thus after the finish line there was 6,2 seconds gap to Tom Kristensson. Second position driver in the series Pontus Åhmann went out of the road in the first stage and retired.

– We took first two stages a bit watching competitors but in third stage we decided to attack. It worked and we jumped up from position four to the top. Before the last Power Stage we had only 1,4 seconds lead but there we gained 4,8 seconds more gap.

After ensuring the championship Huttunen continued in his familiar mode in Saturday and Sunday competitions. Without pressure driven Finn lead the competition from start to the end and gap after the finish line was 39,9 seconds compared to second position driver Pontus Åhmann. In Sunday evening there was celebration in the Finnish camp in Trier due the perfect week end: Championship in the 2016 cup, two competition wins, nine fastest times and two Power Stage wins in second WRC competition in Jari’s career.

– WRC Germany was a very good experience, three long driving days in full of different types and challenging tarmac special stages. Despite that championship is ours, we will participate to the last race in October. There will be announced the best driver in series who will continue in 2017 in European Rally Championship with Opel manufacturer’s team R2 car. First season with Opel has been awesome, car has worked very well and it has been pleasure to gain tarmac experience with this. This is good situation to continue find my path in my career at the moment.

 

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2016 standings top 5, after 6/7 races:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo FIN, 241
2. Pontus Åhmann – Johan Johansson SWE, 123
Tom Kristensson – Timmy Berntsson SWE, 123
4. Niklas Stötefalke – Tobias Braun, GER 101
5. Tim Novak – Uros Ocvick, SLO 91

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup competitions 2016:
04.03.-05.03. ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye
15.04.-16.04. ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg
06.05.-07.05. ADAC Rallye Sulinger Land
15.07.-16.07. S-DMV Thüringen Rallye
18.08.-21.08. ADAC Rallye Deutschland (2 osakilpailua)
21.10.-22.10. ADAC 3-Städte-Rallye

More information:

Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.adac-motorsport.de/adac-opel-rallye-cup/de/

 

18.8.2016

Jari Huttunen is fighting for ADAC Opel Rally Cup victory in Rallye Deutschland

During coming weekend is the most important competition in this season for Jari Huttunen who is participating to the ADAC Opel Cup Rally. Opel single trademark cup’s fifth and sixth competition is held together with WRC Rallye Deutschland. The series leader Huttunen is starting as a favor winner for WRC rally route.

Huttunen and co driver Antti Linnaketo is facing three challenging driving days. During those days there will be two ADAC Opel cup competitions on the same roads with WRC competitors. First competition is with Friday special stages and second day includes Saturday and Sunday special stages.

– At least Friday special stages are very challenging based to the pace notes. It’s not worth to go like crazy but we have a target to win the race once again. We will evaluate the competitors’ speed during first stages and push harder if necessary, says Huttunen.

Huttunen and Linnaketo are starting well prepared to the competition. Pre-run test was held on Czech republic tarmac roads. In addition to have good feeling to the car, it was secured that everything works.

– It’s always possible that something happens in the long race but car will be reliable unless we hit something by mistake. Tire wearing will be remarkable during the long stages so it’s mandatory to take account that. WRC-competition brings some new elements because there are so many cars cutting the corners before us and spreading gravel on to the road. We need to pay attention this too.

Concerning to the Opel single trademark series winning, this weekend is crucial. Huttunen has achieved three 1^st podiums out of four competitions and this gives 59 points lead compared to Swedish Pontus Åhmann. Third position is held by Åhmann’s countryman Tom Kristenssen.

 

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2016 standings top 5, after 4/8 races:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo FIN, 155
2. Pontus Åhmann – Johan Johansson SWE, 96
3. Tom Kristensson – Timmy Berntsson SWE, 77
4. Sebastian von Gartzen – Hans-Peter Loth GER, 65
5. Niklas Stötefalke – Tobias Braun, GER 63

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup competitions 2016:
04.03.-05.03. ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye
15.04.-16.04. ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg
06.05.-07.05. ADAC Rallye Sulinger Land
15.07.-16.07. S-DMV Thüringen Rallye
18.08.-21.08. ADAC Rallye Deutschland (2 osakilpailua)
30.09.-01.10. ADAC Rallye Baden-Württemberg  
21.10.-22.10. ADAC 3-Städte-Rallye

More information:

Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.jarihuttunenracing.fi
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.adac-motorsport.de/adac-opel-rallye-cup/de/

 

17.7.2016

Jari Huttunen was third due time penalty in Germany

Saturday night ended ADAC Opel Rallye Cup fourth competition gave third position to series leading driver Jari Huttunen in Thüringen Germany. Young Finnish pilot was 16,6 seconds behind the Swedish Pontus Åhmann at the end. Huttunen’s total time was stressed by 30 seconds time penalty due hit to the chicane at SS4.

Huttunen got good points by finishing third place but also some extra points by winning the Power Stage and winning more special stages than competitors. Jari Huttunen and Antti Linnaketo are leading Opel-cup with 59 points gap to Åhmann at the moment.

– Situation where we got the penalty was purely my own mistake so it’s not worth it to speculate too much with that. We just had to tolerate the consequence, says Huttunen. In SS4 we simply brake to the artificial chicane a bit too late and line went too wide causing the front bumper hit to the pole. We knew that hitting to the chicanes may cause penalties but unfortunately I heard about the decision so late after SS9 so it was not possible to close the gap anymore by pushing harder.

Huttunen was fastest with 4 special stages overall. Opening special stage in Friday was driven a bit with hesitation but during the Saturday speed was familiar Huttunen’s pace again.

– I am happy to my performance during the weekend except SS4. Two months period without racing was noticeable at the beginning. Roads were extremely fast and it was not possible to gain large gaps. We faced also some slight technical problems with wheel alignments during the race.

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup continues 18th-21st of August by WRC-Germany where series drivers have two separate competitions inside the WRC competition. There are 4 competitions left for 2016 Opel Cup overall.

– Our standing in the Opel Cup looks very good for us. Next two races inside the WRC Germany are very important for the Cup standings. Those are long and challenging racing days so surprises may occur. For sure it will be interesting weekend.

 

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2016 standing top 5, after 4/8 races:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo FIN, 155
2. Pontus Åhmann – Johan Johansson SWE, 96
3. Tom Kristensson – Timmy Berntsson SWE, 77
4. Sebastian von Gartzen – Hans-Peter Loth GER, 65
5. Niklas Stötefalke – Tobias Braun, GER 63

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup competitions 2016:
04.03.-05.03. ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye
15.04.-16.04. ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg
06.05.-07.05. ADAC Rallye Sulinger Land
15.07.-16.07. S-DMV Thüringen Rallye
18.08.-21.08. ADAC Rallye Deutschland (two separate rallies)
30.09.-01.10. ADAC Rallye Baden-Württemberg
21.10.-22.10. ADAC 3-Städte-Rallye

More information:

Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/ JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.adac-motorsport.de/adac- opel-rallye-cup/de/

14.7.2016

Jari Huttunen’s goal is victory on the Germany tarmac once again

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup fourth competition is driven in Thüringen Germany during coming weekend. Series leader with maximum points 22 years old Jari Huttunen is chasing his fourth win in this season.

Two days race includes more than 120 special stage kilometers on challenging tarmac roads. Rally starts in Friday night and finish is in Saturday night. Due to the three races winning strike Huttunen and co-driver Antti Linnaketo are favorite winners.

– Target is familiar, meaning that we try to extend the winning strike. There has been more than two months without racing but it’s crucial to find good speed since beginning. I have realized that it’s easiest to do some gaps during the first special stages.

Rally Thüringen, like all past Opel-cup races, is new for Huttunen who is driving his first season in Germany. As per weather forecast it will be driven in dry conditions.

– All what I have heard is that roads are the most technical what can be found in Germany. It should fit to us because our speed has been best exactly with this type of roads. I expect that toughest competitors are swedishmen Pontus Ahmann and Tom Kristensson.

Jari Huttunen’s lead in ADAC Opel Rallye Cup after three races is 65 points to Pontus Ahmann. Tom Kristensson is holding third place but already 77 points behind the Finn.

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2016 standings top 5, after 3/8  races:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo FIN, 126
2. Pontus Ahmann – Johan Johansson SWE, 61
3. Tom Kristensson – Timmy Berntsson SWE, 49
4. Sebastian von Gartzen – Hans-Peter Loth GER, 48
5. Niklas Stötefalke – Tobias Braun, GER 46
Tim Novak – Uros Ocvirk SLO, 46

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup races 2016:
04.03.-05.03. ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye
15.04.-16.04. ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg
06.05.-07.05. ADAC Rallye Sulinger Land
15.07.-16.07. S-DMV Thüringen Rallye
18.08.-21.08. ADAC Rallye Deutschland
30.09.-01.10. ADAC Rallye Baden-Württemberg
21.10.-22.10. ADAC 3-Städte-Rallye

More information:

Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.adac-motorsport.de/adac-opel-rallye-cup/de/

8.5.2016

Hat trick for Jari Huttunen in Germany

Saturday night finished ADAC Opel Rally Cup third competition was a Finnish jubilee once again. 22-years old promising young rally star Jari Huttunen extended his winning strike in Sulingen by winning his third tarmac rally competition in his career.

Winning pace was 59 seconds compared to second place by Swede Tommy Kristensson. Third was also Swede Pontus Åhmann.

Jari Huttunen was leading the race since first special stage in Friday and started overnight break by having 22,5 second lead.

On Saturday morning pace was getting a bit smaller until for SS7 he did tremendous time and nailed the race. More than 20 seconds gap during 23 kilometers was too much for competitors.

– Before the SS7 in the service area we decided to push as much as we can and we did it. Excellent time makes me very happy, especially because SS7 was very difficult road in the military area with countless cross roads and tight bends, says Huttunen.

Rally Sulingen was driven in nice sunny weather so roads were dry all the time. Pure dry asphalt rally was welcome and liked by Huttunen as well.

-It is much more comfortably to drive when grip is constant. I had a good feeling since beginning that this race will go well. It may look like that pace is big but I have to push seriously because other guys are pushing hard as well. Anyway, we did not take crazy risks.

Finnish duo has cleaned the table with first three ADAC Opel Rally Cup competitions and they are leading the series with 65 points gap now. Beginning of the season has been perfect for us and beside of three victories, we have learned a lot here about different things. Next competition will be in mid July so there is a long break in Adam Opel single trademark series now.

-I have realized that gained experience helps especially with the cross road driving. It’s going much better now than in the first race.  During the coming break, we will concentrate to the sponsors because all support is needed when building the career for the future, says Huttunen.

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2016 points top 5, after 3/8 competitions:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo FIN, 126
2. Pontus Ahmann – Johan Johansson SWE, 61
3. Tom Kristensson – Timmy Berntsson SWE, 49
4. Sebastian von Gartzen – Hans-Peter Loth GER, 48
5. Niklas Stötefalke – Tobias Braun, GER 46
Tim Novak – Uros Ocvirk SLO, 46

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup competitions 2016:
04.03.-05.03. ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye
15.04.-16.04. ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg
06.05.-07.05. ADAC Rallye Sulinger Land
15.07.-16.07. S-DMV Thüringen Rallye
18.08.-21.08. ADAC Rallye Deutschland
30.09.-01.10. ADAC Rallye Baden-Württemberg
21.10.-22.10. ADAC 3-Städte-Rallye

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.adac-motorsport.de/adac- opel-rallye-cup/de/

4.5.2016

Jari Huttunen chasing the third win during this season

Jari Huttunen’s season continues in Germany ADAC Opel Rallye Cup during coming weekend with Opel cup third competition. First two competitions winner Huttunen is a favorite winner for coming competition starting in Friday at ADAC Rally Sulinger.

Nearby Bremen area in Sulingen driven race includes 13 special stages with 150 SS kilometers and ends at Saturday night.

– Winning is our target without questions. I don’t see reason to change our tactics so we will concentrate for our own driving at the beginning. After couple of stages we will see is it the pace good enough or is it needed to push harder, says Huttunen.

Before third competition is 22 years old Huttunen leading the Opel trademark cup with maximum points.

– I have not been following too carefully competitors’ driving. Swedish drivers Pontus Ahmann and Tom Kristensson seems to have good pace time to time.

Past two races weather conditions have been changing from snow to the dry tarmac. As per today’s weather forecast it looks like we will have a race with dry conditions. This fits well with Huttunen’s plans.

– Yes, it would be nicer to drive on dry tarmac. There wouldn’t be additional grip fluctuation and it would be easier to play with tyres. I hope we will get completely dry conditions for all stages.

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44970 5538
www.jarihuttunenracing.fi
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.adac-motorsport.de/ adac-opel-rallye-cup/de/

17.4.2016

Huttunen achieved solid victory again in Germany 

During the week end driven ADAC Opel Rallye Cup second competition was dominated by Jari Huttunen. 22 years old driver was leading the competition together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo from beginning to the finish line. Pace to the second fastest driver Nikolaus Schelle was at the end bit more than 1,5 minutes. Third place was taken by Swedish driver Pontus Ahmann. Huttunen was fastest in the class with seven special stages.

– It wasn’t necessary to push like crazy during this race. Of course pace was fast but we didn’t take too big risks. This time race was driven on the dry and wet tarmac. I think both went well but personally I feel it more important that on the dry tarmac conditions my speed was fastest in class, tells Huttunen.

Jari Huttunen who is representing Kiuruveden Urheiluautoilijat – automobile club has achieved impressive statistics with asphalt rallies: 2 wins out of 2 competitions. Best stage times this promising Finnish rally star has gained 13 times out of 22 stages overall.

– With this rally we were able to gain solid lead in quite early phase. It’s not actually too easy to drive safely because grip was fluctuating very much. We had to keep concentrated all the way even if the leading margin was safe.

Finnish Automotive Association club – AKK Driver Academy head coach Mr. Tuomo Nikkola was following Jari’s and Antti’s performance on site.

– Outstanding performance overall. Jari has a good fundamental pace on asphalt at the moment and this victory in class proved it today. Better perspective for the pace can be taken by looking the overall times. Jari was third fastest 2WD driver overall and both faster drivers were driving R3-classified cars, says Mr. Nikkola.

Jari Huttunen is leading the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup after 2 events with top points. Second position is held by Slovenian driver Tim Novak who has gained 40 points less. ADAC Opel Rallye Cup continues after three weeks in 6th – 7th of May by ADAC Sulinger Land Rally.

–  I know about the next competition and its conditions as much as I knew about this rally which is equal with nothing, smiles Huttunen. We will go there and see if we can extend the winning streak in May.

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2016 standings top 5
after 2/8 competitions:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo, 86
2. Tim Novak – Uros Ocvirk, 46
3. Pontus Ahmann – Johan Johansson, 40
4. Sebastian von Gartzen – Hans-Peter Loth, 35
5. Niklas Stötefalke – Tobias Braun, 29

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup schedule 2016:
04.03.-05.03. ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye
15.04.-16.04. ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg
06.05.-07.05. ADAC Rallye Sulinger Land
15.07.-16.07. S-DMV Thüringen Rallye
18.08.-21.08. ADAC Rallye Deutschland
30.09.-01.10. ADAC Rallye Baden-Württemberg
21.10.-22.10. ADAC 3-Städte-Rallye

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/ JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.adac-motorsport.de/adac-opel-rallye-cup/de/

14.4.2016

Jari Huttunen aiming for the victory again in Germany tarmac rally 

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup continues this coming week end with second competition ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg in Schlitz city. Competition starts in Friday and ends in Saturday evening. Leading driver in the series, promising rally driver from Finland Jari Huttunen is going to continue in winning pace.

– Opening competition in the series was driven on the slippery roads due to the heavy snow fall and thus the time gaps between the drivers were extra ordinary large. I believe we have now much more traditional tarmac rally so we can benchmark our pace properly and for sure competition will be tighter. Victory is the target once again, says Huttunen.

Beginning of April Huttunen did the test event provided by the AKK Driver Academy in Czech Republic. During the day he drove 90 kilometers on the wet and dry tarmac.

– We really needed to have these test kilometers and I appreciate a lot of this possibility. Thanks to the coaching team about this. We were able to fine tune the car setup and it’s confident feeling now to start the competition in Friday. We will start without too big risks and see the pace after 2 stages if necessary to push harder.

ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg starts in Friday night at 18.00 and after four stages there is overnight pause. During the Saturday there are eight stages and Finish is at 18.00.

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup standings  after 1/8 competitions:
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo, 38
2. Tim Novak – Uros Ocvirk, 29
3. Tom Kristensson – Timmy Berntsson, 22
4. Sebastian von Gartzen – Hans-Peter Loth, 17
5. Calvin Beattie – Martin Brady, 16

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup competitions in 2016
04.03.-05.03. ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye
15.04.-16.04. ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg
06.05.-07.05. ADAC Rallye Sulinger Land
15.07.-16.07. S-DMV Thüringen Rallye
18.08.-21.08. ADAC Rallye Deutschland
30.09.-01.10. ADAC Rallye Baden-Württemberg
21.10.-22.10. ADAC 3-Städte-Rallye

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/ JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.opel-motorsport.com/ rallye/adac-opel-rallye-cup/ aktuelles/

8.3.2016

Jari Huttunen took victory in his first tarmac rally

Jari Huttunen opened his season with victory in 2016 season Germany ADAC Opel Rallye Cup rally in Saarland Pfalz competition. Huttunen drove together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo to the class victory in Saturday night with almost one minute pace to the Slovenian driver Tim Novak.

Nearby of the city of St.Wendel arranged rally was driven with very difficult conditions. Snow fall made the tarmac roads unpredictable slippery. Due to the harsh conditions two special stages was cancelled and at the end competition consisted 12 special stages. Overall Huttunen was fastest during six special stages.

-Nice result, as per target even if competition was difficult. There was not so much snow and ice on the roads at the end but it was more than slippery and muddy instead of that. I felt sometimes that car can be out of control even with walking speed so it was required to keep close attention all the time, tells Huttunen.

22-years old promising rally driver from Kiuruvesi started the event carefully with 4th position in SS1. In Saturday morning he found his normal speed and he was leading after SS3.

– On the only SS in Friday we drove carefully and I was after that wondering what will be the needed speed because we lost 10 seconds with the short special stage. During the Saturday morning we went out of the road a bit but despite of that we lost 15 seconds only. Then I knew that our pace is good enough for the victory.

The Finnish couple started the competition without too much experience because local conditions were completely new. Also Opel Adam car was new and pre-rally testing was driven 70 km only.

-Car is not too powerful but it’s very good balance. Other drivers’ real pace is not known yet due the harsh conditions. Let’s see the upcoming competitions when we have warm and dry conditions. Anyway it’s good to continue the season with this position.

The serie continues in 15th-16th of April in ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg.

ADAC Opel Rallye Cup standings after 1/8 competitions :
1. Jari Huttunen – Antti Linnaketo, 38
2. Tim Novak – Uros Ocvirk, 29
3. Tom Kristensson – Timmy Berntsson, 22
4. Sebastian von Gartzen – Hans-Peter Loth, 17
5. Calvin Beattie – Martin Brady, 16

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.jarihuttunenracing.fi
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.opel-motorsport.com/rallye/adac-opel-rallye-cup/aktuelles/

 

 

2.3.2016

Jari Huttunen aiming for victory in Germany Rally Championship

Current SM3-class Finnish champion Jari Huttunen starts towards new challenges together with his co-pilot Antti Linnaketo in Opel Adam Rallye cup opening competition in Germany during coming weekend. Total length of eight competitions series starts with ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rally in Friday and Saturday in nearby of St. Wendel city next to the border of France. Series is driven on the tarmac and cars are Adam Opel models.

22-years old Huttunen won in his debut season in 2015 tough Finnish Rally Championship SM3-class. Old achievements does not carry too far in Germany because there are so many new things to be learnt. Works starts with humble mode but the target is clear.

– Car is new, tarmac roads are new experience and I have no clue about the other drivers’ pace in the series. The target is still same, we drive only for victory, says Jari Huttunen.

After the Finnish Rally Championship, international rally series on the tarmac is Huttunen’s next step forward in his career. During the long season, experience will be gained by driving on the tarmac, creating pace notes for the new type of special stages and also gaining experience about the changing weather conditions in Germany. The weather plays typically major role in Germany rally competitions.

– Additional extra stakes is that top drivers in the series will be eligible to compete about the free of
charge Opel R2 rally car for the 2017 European championship rally series. That is the target, in
addition to win the series and gain the tarmac experience.

Overall Opel Adam Rallye Cuo includes eight competitions which are performed during the seven
week-ends in different locations in Germany. In August during the Germany WRC competition will be
driven 2 competitions. This year there are 16 drivers signed into the series from six different
countries and Jari Huttunen with Antti Linnaketo are the only Finns in the series.

Opel Adam Rallye Cup competitions 2016:
04.03.-05.03. ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye
15.04.-16.04. ADAC Hessen-Rallye Vogelsberg
06.05.-07.05. ADAC Rallye Sulinger Land
15.07.-16.07. S-DMV Thüringen Rallye
18.08.-21.08. ADAC Rallye Deutschland
30.09.-01.10. ADAC Rallye Baden-Württemberg
21.10.-22.10. ADAC 3-Städte-Rallye

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing
www.opel-motorsport.com/rallye/adac-opel-rallye-cup/aktuelles/

 

2015

6.11.2015

Finnish Champion Jari Huttunen is heading to German National Rally Championship

Finnish rally champion titleholder in SM3-class Jari Huttunen is heading to Germany to continue his career. 21 years old Huttunen will participate into German national championship series Opel Adam Rally Cup together with his co-driver Antti Linnaketo. The series with eight competitions starts in March 2016 and all of the events are driven on the tarmac. The car in the series is front wheel driven Opel Adam with 1600 cc/145 hp engine.

– Championship series in Germany is a natural step forward in my career. Opel Adam Rally Cup is a tough series where you can drive tarmac rallies cost effectively. Target is besides winning the cup to compete for the prize provided by the Opel for season 2017. Next season most successful drivers will participate into the evaluation contest where prize is Opel R2-class car for the European Championship competitions for season 2017.

Debut season winner in SM3-class Finnish Rally Championship has never participated to tarmac rallies so coming season will bring some new challenges. His solid background with go karting will help his adaptation. In addition Huttunen visited in this season last competition in Germany to find out local circumstances and get familiar with the event.

– The roads are of course very much different than in Finland but for example reconnaissance is done similar way. Coming Opel car is not tuned so high level compared Citroen what we used in Finnish Rally Championship so we are confident that technical failures will not cause too many problems. Everybody are driving with similar cars and tires so basement is good for the tight fights.

In addition to German championship series Jari Huttunen will drive some competitions in Finland. More detailed plans about the coming rallies and car in Finland will be described later.

More Information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

26.9.2015

Jari Huttunen’s debut season result was championship in the Finnish Rally Championship series

Jari Huttunen finished Tampere Pirelli Rally SM3-class in second place last Saturday. Pirelli rally was last competition in the Finnish Rally Championship season 2015 and thus Huttunen celebrated his championship victory in SM3-class together with co-driver Antti Linnaketo. In Pirelly rally Huttunen was fastest in 3 special stages and gap between winner SM3-fastest driver Tommi Järvinen was 3,5 secs. only. In championship leaderboard gap between Huttunen and 2nd place Joonas Tokee was 12,5 points. FRC bronze medal was taken by Jaro Kinnunen.

– I have a great feelings now. I cannot analyze these feelings deeply yet. This is something what I cannot describe by words. It was not needed to push for the victory today, it was enough that we were faster than Joonas Tokee. Thus we did safe run at the end and made sure that we will win the championship. We had some troubles within 2 special stages but otherwise competition went as per plan.

21 years old Huttunen represents Kiuruveden Urheiluautoilijat and goal for season 2015 was the championship in FRC SM3-class. This season was Huttunen’s first full season in FRC. In the year 2014 he finished 2 last competitions as a test events for Citroen C2 R2 rally car. 2015 goal was fulfilled and championship season results were in 6 competitions two victories, two 2nd positions, one 3rd place and one retirement due technical problems.

– In terms on driving, this season went exactly as per plan. We had a good speed and we did not make mistakes. We had some problems with the car during the season but we were able to fix the problems. I want to thank our service team and all sponsors now. Without them this championship would not have been possible to achieve.

Season 2015 was started in Arctic Lapland Rally in Rovaniemi last January, where Huttunen presented promising speed and took the 3rd place despite of puncture and technical problems. First victory was taken in February in Mikkeli FRC-competition. There Huttunen was leading the class from the start to the finish line. This was the competition where Huttunen took the leadership in the championship series first time. The FRC Pohjanmaa rally in March was unlucky and fight was over early stages due engine failure. Thus leadership was changed to 3rd position in the championship leaderboard. In the summer season opening competition in Itäralli Joensuu was victorious again for Huttunen and he took the leadership again in the FRC series. Turku FRC competition in August he was second fastest and was in the top position before the last competition in Tampere.

– About the recipe of the championship cannot be said more than it was needed to be faster than anyone else and it worked. Plan for the next season is open. The goal is of course to take the next step in my career but this can be announced when we have more structured plan available.

SM3-class FRC-standings 2015:
1. Jari Huttunen 117,5
2. Joonas Tokee 105
3. Jaro Kinnunen 95

Pirelli Rally results SM3-class, top5:
1. Tommi Järvinen 1:20:44,3
2. Jari Huttunen + 3,5
3. Juuso Nordgren + 24,5
4. Jaro Kinnunen + 31,7
5. Joonas Tokee + 50,2

More information:
Jari Huttunen, p. +358 44 970 5538
www.facebook.com/JariHuttunenRacing
www.twitter.com/HuttunenRacing

 

2.8.2015

Jari Huttunen’s Sisu shines through on his first Rally Finland

Jari Huttunen was chosen as the Future Rally Star of Finland by his country’s motorsport governing body, and although he had an unlucky Neste Oil Rally Finland, he showed plenty of the qualities needed to star at the very top level: speed, determination, commitment and ‘sisu’.

This is a uniquely Finnish word that means courage in the face of adversity – and nothing could better describe Jari’s resolute performance on Rally Finland this weekend, having completed only 100 kilometres of testing in a new car before the start. From the opening full day of the rally he was faced with setbacks, the most serious of which was severe food poisoning, which depleted his energy throughout Friday morning. Not only that, but his Citroen DS3 R3T also had a long brake pedal, which led to an off in the most famous stage of the rally: Ouninpohja.

This caused a lot of cosmetic damage, but nothing that was structural. As Jari began to feel better his pace improved, and soon he started to challenge the category leaders on stage times. On the second day of the event, his luck ran out again. Following a heavy landing after a crest on Mokkipera, a suspension bolt broke on the car, meaning that he was forced to start the final day of the rally under the Super Rally regulations. From start to finish, he never gave up.

His food poisoning returned with a vengeance though, giving him stomach cramps throughout the final leg. Despite this, he showed himself capable of setting top-three stage times, concluding the rally with third-fastest time on the final stage. As a result of his earlier penalties, he finished eighth in the WRC3 standings and 43rd overall: the top finisher of the drivers who were forced into Super Rally, apart from Citroen factory driver Kris Meeke.

The final day of the rally consisted of just two runs over the 14.13-kilometre Myhinpaa test, which counted as the Power Stage. Huttunen’s priority was just to bring the PrintSport-run Citroen to the end of this challenging event for him, while trying to showcase his abilities all the way to the finish. He may have emerged from the rally feeling sick, exhausted and battered – but his determination and talent was still able to shine through, perhaps even more so than it would have done if his event had been straightforward. This is exactly what ‘sisu’ is all about, and this is how Jari underlined his credentials as a future star over the Rally Finland weekend.
Jari Huttunen Q&A after SS 20:

Jari, how did you become ill again?

“Unfortunately the food poisoning I had on Friday never really went away. I felt a bit better yesterday but this morning I was feeling really ill again; sadly if you have a stomach flu like this, it probably takes some time to go away. It was just very unlucky that this happened during Rally Finland, but I tried my best to ignore it.”

What was your approach to the final day?

“Most of all we just wanted to get to the finish with the car in one piece. So we had quite a careful start and then I was able to push more on the final stage. The chance of a big result was already gone so there was no point in pushing hard to risk everything.”
 
How would you describe your Rally Finland?

“It was such a tricky rally, very long and very difficult. It was hard going: even more than I thought, and we were a bit unlucky. But OK, this is the rally and this is how it was, so I needed to do my best. We were not able to show our best performance but we could still do some times that were quite encouraging in the top three, so that was good, and of course we didn’t do much testing before the start: only 100 kilometres. Everything considered we did our best under the circumstances. It’s always a special experience to take part here.”

What are you going to be doing after this rally?

“First of all, I want to have a rest and get better: it has been four long days. Unfortunately there is no party for me tonight in Jyvaskyla: I’m just going to go to bed! Then in a few weeks we have the next round of the Finnish Rally Championship, where I am driving this year. I want to concentrate on that and use all the valuable experience that I have gained here on Neste Oil Rally Finland.”

Do you have any final thoughts about the weekend?

“I just want to thank all the spectators who were there to watch us, and the AKK for giving me this incredible prize with the possibility to compete on Rally Finland. I am sorry that we were not able to perform to the best of our potential but we still learned a lot and I am sure that we will come back stronger.”

Top 10 WRC3 after SS20, Myhinpaa 2

1 Gilbert/Jamoul (Citroen DS3) 2h54m43.6s
2 Haapamaki/Salminen (Citroen DS3) +0.5s
3 Veiby/Jaeger (Citroen DS3) +3m09.1s
4 Folb/Le Floch (Citroen DS3) +9m27.3s
5 Perry/Reibel (Citroen DS3) +10m30.6s
6 De Tommaso/Bosi (Peugeot 208) +12m24.6s
7 Al Mutawaa/McAuley (Citroen DS3) +28m16.4s
8 Huttunen/Linnaketo (Citroen DS3) +30m17.5s
9 Della Casa/Pozzi (Citroen DS3) +31m48.2s
10 Tempestini/Chiarcossi (Citroen DS3) +43m51.8s

 

1.8.2015

Jari Huttunen forced out of Rally Finland on Mökkiperä

Jari Huttunen, chosen as the Future Rally Star of Finland by Finnish motorsport federation AKK, had his dreams of winning the WRC3 category of his home rally shattered by a heavy landing on Mökkiperä, SS15.The 21-year-old Finn fought back from food poisoning and brake problems yesterday to climb to fourth place in the class this morning. He was closing in on third when he hit problems right at the start of the 13.84-kilometre Mökkiperä stage, characterized by the sort of flat-out rollercoaster crests that make Rally Finland famous.

His Citroen DS3 R3T had a heavy landing after the first crest and hit a rock, which broke a suspension bolt on the lower arm. There might be other hidden damage, so the team will evaluate the situation once the car is back in service at Jyvaskylä’s Paviljonki in order to decide whether or not it can restart tomorrow.

Huttunen was given the prize drive in Finland after being elected by a panel of experts as his country’s most promising hope in rallying, and he was aiming to replicate the achievement of his predecessor Teemu Suninen, who won WRC3 in Jyvaskyla last year.

For the moment though, circumstances have conspired against the young flying Finn on an event where his potential had promised so much. Nonetheless, on the occasions when he had a clean run he showed plenty of speed, winning the opening stage this morning and finishing in the top three of every stage he completed today.

Jari Huttunen Q&A after SS15:

Jari, what happened to end your progress?

“It was just very unlucky: we came over a jump at the first corner of SS15 and the car landed quite heavily, on a rock. This broke one bolt of the front-right suspension but unfortunately we could not continue. I’m not sure if there is any other damage or not so we have to wait to get back to service. Then the mechanics can look at the car and tell us if it’s possible to continue.”

Are you recovered from your food poisoning yesterday?

“Yes it is much better now thank you. It’s a shame because if I had been feeling good like this yesterday, I think we could have done better. At the time my stomach was really bad: I did not feel well at all, so this affects performance a bit.”

You must have been pleased with your stage times on the stages where you had no problems?

“Yes, I would say they were OK, not amazing. The most encouraging thing for me is that those times were set when I was driving comfortably not pushing too hard. So I know that we have the possibility to improve a lot.”

Has this been a disappointing Rally Finland for you?

“Well, it didn’t go to our expectations, but this is just rallying: it happens sometimes. We’ve learned a lot and hopefully we might be able to get out tomorrow for Sunday’s two stages as well.”

 

31.7.2015

Jari Huttunen shows a strong stomach throughout first full day of Finland

Neste Oil Rally Finland got going properly today, with nine forest stages – including two runs through the legendary Ouninpohja – following the short superspecial yesterday evening.

Jari Huttunen, who was elected Future Rally Star of Finland by his country’s motorsport federation this year, ends the day with fifth place in WRC3.

However, this was despite possible food poisoning, which left Jari feeling unwell for most of the day. He may have been expecting the revenge of the rallying Gods as he traversed some of the most challenging stages in the world today, but he probably wasn’t expecting the revenge of Montezuma…

Nonetheless, Jari and co-driver Antti Linnaketo put in a stellar performance despite this considerable handicap, to finish Friday in the top six of the WRC3 runners, setting second-fastest time on two stages as their pace got quicker during the afternoon. Throughout most of the day, he had to contend with fading brakes, which caused him to go into an earth bank towards the end of Ouninpohja – luckily with only cosmetic damage to his car. Huttunen is also fifth in the Junior World Rally Championship standings overnight, which uses WRC3 class cars.

For Huttunen this is all a brand new experience, as the drive in Finland is his prize for winning the AKK Award, representing a chance to make a name for himself on the world stage. The 21-year-old only tested his Citroen DS3 R3T run by PrintSport for around 100 kilometres before the start of the rally, then had to fight back from a minor incident when he hit the barrier during the slippery superspecial stage last night. With 10 more stages still to go tomorrow and on Sunday, the talented Finn has every chance of continuing his march up the leaderboard.

Jari Huttunen Q&A after SS10:

Jari, how ill were you feeling today?

“In the morning I was feeling ill all the time. I thought I was going to be sick; a few times I was nearly sick. Luckily I could have medicin and that made me felt a bit better. Then from the middle of the day onwards, the sickness passed and now I feel better. Just very tired.”

How did the damage to the front of the car happen?

“We had a problem with the brakes all day, they were fading all the time. Towards the end of the first run through Ouninpohja we could just not stop the car for a corner and so we slid into a kind of earth bank and damaged the front-left. It actually looks more dramatic than it is: the car was still driving OK afterwards but the problem with the brakes did not go away and we have to try and fix this for tomorrow. This was the biggest problem.”

How would you describe the day in general?

“Very long and very difficult. These were not easy circumstances for me: I was not feeling well and I didn’t have confidence in the car with the brake problem. In the afternoon the day was a bit better but the morning was not good at all. I’m happy that today is over.”

So tomorrow is another day?

“Definitely. We need to fix these problems, have a good rest, and then tomorrow we can come back stronger. There is still a very long way to go so anything is possible.”

Top 10 WRC3 after SS10, Harju 2

1 Gilbert/Jamoul (Citroen DS3) 1h27m09.3s
2 Veiby/Jaeger (Citroen DS3) +1m23.3s
3 Haapamaki/Salminen (Citroen DS3) +1m32.4s
4 Della Casa/Pozzi (Citroen DS3) +2m46.1s
5 Huttunen/Linnaketo (Citroen DS3) +3m30.6s
6 Perry/Reibel (Citroen DS3) +4m32.6s
7 De Tommaso/Bosi (Peugeot 208) +5m02.1s
8 Folb/Le Floch (Citroen DS3) +6m22.6s
9 Al Mutawaa/McAuley (Citroen DS3) +19m14.6s

No other classified finishers

 

30.7.2015

A baptism of fire – and rain – for Jari Huttunen

The rally has got off to a challenging start for Jari Huttunen, who was elected by the AKK (Finland’s famed governing body of motorsport) as the country’s future rally star. As such he gets a prize drive in Finland with a Citroen DS3 R3T, which he tested for just 100 kilometres before the rally start.

However, the first 2.27-kilometre superspecial stage, run on both normal roads in Jyvaskyla and forest roads in a park, held a sting for the up-and-coming star. The youngster spun his Citroen into a barrier, losing a bit of time at the start of the stage. “I think it’s OK,” he said, after completing the short Harju test with a time of 2m13.6s, putting him currently 14th in the WRC3 classification, 10.3 seconds off the WRC3 lead time.

With no significant damage to the car, he’ll be ready for tomorrow’s nine stages – concluding with another run through the Harju superspecial. Harju returned to the Rally Finland itinerary for the first time in 16 seasons last year, and marks a popular venue for the enthusiastic Finnish fans.

After the worst summer on record for many years in Finland, this afternoon was characterized by heavy rain. Although the roads dried up in the evening as the sun came out, some sections still remained extremely slippery – and this is simply what caught Jari out. But there’s a long way to go tomorrow…

Jari Huttunen Q&A after SS1:

Jari, what happened with the back of your car?
“It was just at the very start of the stage; I’m not sure what happened. The car got away from me and we hit it at the back. The road conditions were extremely slippery, so it was important to be careful.”

How much time did you lose?
“Not so much I think – maybe six or seven seconds. But I was not counting: I just wanted to come back and get going again as soon as possible.”

Do you still have a good feeling with the Citroen?
 “Yes, the feeling is still very good. This superspecial stage is a bit different from the other stages so I think we should have a good day tomorrow. This doesn’t affect me at all and there is everything still to play for.”

And what’s the plan for tonight?

“I need to have a good sleep! Tomorrow will be a long day.”

 

29.7.2015

Jari Huttunen Q&A “I just want to get going now…the car feels really good”

 

26.7.2015 WRC-Rally as a dream

Rally star of the future will be selected as per success in Finnish Rally Championship. Who’s dream comes true this year?

Watch the full program from Yle Areena

 

16.6.2015

Jari Huttunen elected Future Rally Star of Finland by AKK Sports

Emerging talent Jari Huttunen has been chosen as the Future Rally Star of Finland by AKK Sports, the organizer of Neste Oil Rally Finland.

The 21-year-old will receive a prize drive on Neste Oil Rally Finland next month in a Citroën DS3 R3T, enabling him to follow in the footsteps of rising star Teemu Suninen, who clinched the award last year and used it to win the WRC 3 section of his home round of the world championship.

Finland is the spiritual home of rallying, with AKK backed stars having gone on to dominate in the sport thanks to healthy mix of talent and sisu: a uniquely Finnish word that describes bravery under pressure.

– I’m delighted and surprised to win this amazing prize,” said Huttunen, who was co-driven by Antti Linnaketo.

– There is a huge tradition of rallying in Finland, so to become part of it and to be recognised in this way by the AKK Sports is a big privilege. It’s the biggest opportunity of my life.”

Huttunen had to go head-to-head against three other competitors – Ville-Markus Marttinen, Joonas Tokee and Joni Viitala – to win the prize, which was judged over two days in Finland. The assessment included a recce test, where former World Rally Championship competitor Jarmo Lehtinen judged each candidate’s ability to make pace notes, a psychological test carried out by a top psychologist from Finland’s leading sports institute, designed to assess each candidate’s mental strength and attitude, a physical training test, to reveal each candidate’s agility and fitness, and finally an interview – just to find out more about each driver and what makes them tick.

In order to take part, each driver had to be under 25 and in the top five of the R2 class points table after the first four rounds of the Finnish Rally Championship that have taken place so far: the Arctic Lapland Rally, the Vaakuna Rally, the Pohjanmaa Rally and the Itaralli.

The judging panel consisted of a number of experts including Neste Oil Rally Finland Clerk of the Course Kai Tarkiainen, Jarmo Lehtinen, and Marc De Jong from WRC Promoter: the company that holds the commercial rights to the World Rally Championship.

– It was a tough and complex selection process, but it was made easier by the fact that Jari excelled in every discipline. From the outset it was clear that he has a lot of potential, so the selection panel were united in placing their confidence in him,  Tarkiainen said.

Huttunen, who will benefit from a full testing programme in his Citroën before the start of Neste Oil Rally Finland, comes from the town of Kiuruvesi, north of event host city Jyväskylä. He originally started his career in karting, before moving into rallying. Now he has been handed a dream opportunity to realise his life’s ambition.

– My goal is to become a professional rally driver one day, he said.

– This is a very exciting step towards that goal, so I would like to thank everyone who made it possible and had faith in me. I’m going to work as hard as I can to make the most of that opportunity.

Huttunen will have his first test in the Citroën DS3, run by an experienced team that fields the car in the Finnish championship, next month.

His predecessor, Teemu Suninen, used the prize and his resulting class victory in Finland as the springboard for a WRC3 campaign in the World Rally Championship this year, winning on the most recent round in Sardinia. He is also already a member of a factory team, having been recruited by Toyota as the famous Japanese squad gears up to its WRC return in 2017.

Neste Oil Rally Finland runs from July 30-August 2.

More information:

Kai Tarkiainen, Clerk of the Course, Neste Oil Rally Finland
phone: 040 846 6766
email: kai.tarkiainen@autourheilu.fi