Virves extends WRC2 lead with fourth consecutive win in Finland

Robert Virves secured his fourth consecutive WRC2 victory at Rally Finland on Sunday, strengthening his position at the top of the secondary world rally championship standings with four rounds still to go.

The 26-year-old Estonian, co-driven by Jakko Viilo, drove a Toksport Škoda Fabia to the class win, following his success at Rally Estonia last month in front of a home crowd.

After the race, Virves described the weekend as "a very strange feeling" and a long and dramatic event, saying there were many difficulties and other drivers had problems too. He admitted he accepted the result and was happy to finish on top.

Although local driver Jari-Matti Latvala beat Virves by more than 21 seconds in the Rally2 classification, Latvala was not registered for WRC2 points, so Virves took full advantage. The four consecutive wins have given him the maximum possible 100 points from the four scoring rallies.

Virves had entered Sunday's stages second in WRC2, but moved into the lead after Teemu Suninen, who was leading the category, was given a 30-second time penalty. Suninen failed to stop correctly after Estonian driver Patrick Enok's crash on Saturday triggered an emergency response.

Elsewhere at Rally Finland, Sami Pajari took a second consecutive WRC victory after winning in Estonia in July. The Finn was dominant at his home event, finishing ahead of Oliver Solberg in second and championship leader Elfyn Evans in third. At 24, Pajari became the youngest-ever winner of the Finnish round of the World Rally Championship.