Video: Ouninpohja, the mother of a special stage returns to WRC

Big news today is the return of full length Ouninpohja special stage to the itinerary of this year’s Rally Finland.

Not only did famous stage make it’s return but it’s also going to be used as a power stage on which crews can score extra points. Neste Rally Finland published a schedule of stages today and got the WRC community jumping with excitement over the news that stage was reinstated in it’s original length of over 30 kilometers.

Full Neste Oil Rally Finland press release after the break + video tribute to one of the most amazing stages in the world.

The eighth round of 2012 FIA World Rally Championship, Neste Oil Rally Finland, has released the route for the August 2nd-4th event. Among the special stages the legendary Ouninpohja makes a return, doubling up as the Power Stage, which concludes the action. The rally will again be based in Jyväskylä, although it also visits Lahti for the second year running.

The route of Neste Oil Rally Finland this year comprises 18 special stages with a total length of 302,82 km. The city of Jyväskylä will is once more central to the action, but on the opening day, Thursday, the route stretches all the way to Lahti. After tackling special stages like Koukunmaa, Jokimaa and Mynnilä the competitors return to Jyväskylä for an overnight rest halt.

On the Friday the route heads from Jyväskylä towards Keuruu. The well-known Urria and Jukojärvi special stages are on the bill, as are Mökkiperä and Palsankylä after a couple of years absence. These two will be run twice during the day, which also takes in the traditional Lankamaa stage. Friday concludes with a Superspecial on the Killeri trotting track. The competitors will return to rally base twice during the day for service at Jyväskylä Paviljonki.

The decisive leg on Saturday heads towards the Jämsä region. Three special stages are to be run, each of them two times, and the cars can be twice serviced during the day at Jyväskylä Paviljonki. The day´s first two stages, Surkee and Laukaa, will be run in the opposite direction to what has been the norm. The rally will then climax with two runs over the legendary Ouninpohja special stage.

Neste Oil Rally Finland´s Clerk of the Course, Kai Tarkiainen, is pleased to see the return of Ouninpohja to the world series. The last time this stage, sometimes said to be the most awesome in the world, was run in its grand length of 33 km, was back in 2004.

“We wanted to run the long version of Ouninpohja, because that stage lost a lot of its character, when split in two. Ouninpohja always gets big crowds of spectators and there´s a lot going on. Through the years it has almost become the epitome of Finland´s WRC round. To many people Ouninpohja equals to Neste Oil Rally Finland.

I believe the result will only be settled in Ouninpohja, which will be tackled twice in succession at the end. The second running, after refueling, will also be a Power Stage with live TV-coverage. It awards bonus points for the three fastest drivers on a scale of 3-2-1.

The biggest change, in addition to the return of Ouninpohja, is that the special stages of Surkee and Laukaa on the Saturday will be run to the opposite direction to what we have been used to in the last few years”, explains Tarkiainen.

Winners of the legendary gravel road classic will receive their trophies in a ceremony beginning at Jyväskylä Paviljonki at 21.00 on the Saturday night.

Wednesday, August 1

Thursday, August 2

Friday, August 3

Saturday, August 4