Riku Tahko wants to win the SM Pohjanmaa Rally - “Maximum result and then we can count points”
The final race of the Finnish Rally Championship starts on Friday in Seinäjoki. The two-day rally ends on Saturday and ends also the Ralli SM season at the same time.
The fate of the Finnish Rally Championship medals will be fought around Seinäjoki on Friday and Saturday. Riku Tahko from Porvoo, who is fourth in the SM2 class, is chasing something brighter than a bronze medal in his prize cabinet. Despite the burning desire to brighten the medal, Tahko's most important goal in Ostrobothnia is to win the race.
- At the moment, the place is fourth in the series and I am not quite sure how far far we are from the top, but the most important thing in Ostrobothnia is to drive for victory. In Kouvola, we showed that we had enough speed to fight for victory. We have to continue with the same rhythm, drive the maximum result and then count the points, says Riku Tahko about the strategy of the final rally of the season.
The summer rally of the SM Pohjanmaa rally is a special return to the good old days, when three special stages are already run on Friday night. All special stages are run in the dark. Before the special stages, the drivers will recce all six special stages of the competition.
- Friday is already a busy day. First we recce and then run over three certainly challenging special stages. Gotta be ready, but we will definitely be ready.
Tahko, who last captured the Finnish Rally Championship medal in 2012, does not remember directly driving the Finnish Rally Championship in Seinäjoki, but the roads of Ostrobothnia have been suitable for him before.
- In 2011 and 2012, the Finnish Championship rallies were run in Lapua, and then the roads fit us well. In 2012 we were third in the overall competition. In Ostrobothnia, roads contain precise junctions. Certainly they will also be challenging and fast. We drove good tests and the extra lights have been adjusted so that we can attack right from the start.
The first special stage of the SM Pohjanmaa Rally will start on Friday at 8.04 pm. Competitors will arrive at the rally finish after 9 special stages on Saturday at 5.37 pm.
Picture: Jarno Saari
