Adrien Fourmaux took the opening stage of Rally Finland to head a Hyundai one-two ahead of team-mate Thierry Neuville, but the Frenchman was quick to point out that Thursday night in Jyvaskyla settles very little.
The Harju stage, run on the streets of the host city, is a short, tight curtain-raiser bearing almost no resemblance to the flat-out gravel that follows. Fourmaux won it by 1.1 seconds with the rest of the weekend already on his mind.
"I really tried to optimize everything because I remember last year the gaps are so tight in the long stages, so we lose more on the short stages," Fourmaux explained. "So I tried."
Behind him the field was packed. Neuville beat Elfyn Evans and Sebastien Ogier, who shared the third-fastest time, by a tenth. Takamoto Katsuta was a further 0.6s back and just 0.1s clear of Rally Estonia winner Sami Pajari. Toyota filled third through seventh, with Oliver Solberg 2.9s down and only a tenth ahead of Hyundai's Esapekka Lappi.
That Toyota block is the story of this rally. All five of the marque's drivers have won an event in 2026, and every one of them arrives in Finland with a mathematical shot at the title.
"Of course I really want to win this one as it's my second home rally, but it's one of the most challenging rallies in the world," Katsuta said. "So if you get a great result here, it means you are a special driver as well."
Pajari, fresh from a dominant maiden WRC victory in Estonia two weeks ago, is being talked about as a favourite on home roads. He is not buying it.
"It is the best possible preparation for Rally Finland to do such a great result in Estonia," Pajari told Motorsport.com. "The rallies are not exactly the same but some of the bits are quite similar. So, what is common in these rallies is you need to have really big self-confidence. You really need courage to be able to go flat out on those demanding and fast stages."
He added: "We can never underestimate the competition, so it is not really going to be any easier going into Finland. Of course, we are ready for the fight and we can win if everything goes our way."
Evans, who leads the championship by 25 points from Katsuta, was fourth on shakedown and struck a more wistful note about a Rally1 era now running out of road.
"I'm looking forward to the weekend," Evans said. "We obviously have to enjoy these cars while we have them on these roads."
Ogier, meanwhile, has an unusual weekend ahead. With regular co-driver Vincent Landais absent for personal reasons, eight-time champion Julien Ingrassia has been drafted in for their first event together since the 2021 Monza Rally.
"For sure I'd have loved Vincent being there, we're thinking about him and his family. But at the same time I'm happy Julien accepted my call to be back with me after five years," Ogier said. "He's as crazy as before, very precise on everything so I'm quite sure he will do the job perfectly again. I'm definitely here to try and fight for the win, so it's all on me to live up to it."
"It was fantastic to see Sami score his first win in Estonia and it's been wonderful to watch his growth this season," Latvala said. "It's also remarkable that all five of our drivers have now won rallies this season, and they all still have chances in the championship. They're also all capable of winning Rally Finland, our team's home event, and I think we can expect a tight fight."
Friday brings the first proper day of competition: two loops of Laukaa, Saarikas, Sydanmaa and Hoho, totalling 127.94 competitive kilometres of the fastest stages in the championship. Twenty stages and 316.04km stand between Fourmaux's slender lead and Sunday's finish in Jamsa.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/fourmaux-leads-hyundai-1-2-as-rally-finlands-toyota-five-await). Visit for full coverage.*