At the finale of the Finnish Rally Championship (Ralli SM) in Porvoo, Estonian duo Patrick Enok and Silver Simm suffered heartbreak when a commanding rally lead was wiped out by a heavy off on the penultimate stage.
Enok, who had dictated terms and led from the opening stage, saw his rally end abruptly after crashing out on the penultimate test. Enok’s retirement also meant he had to settle for third in the final SM1 standings, with Lauri Joona securing championship silver.
There was plenty of drama in the fight for the rally win as well. Following Enok’s crash, Esapekka Lappi—already crowned Finnish rally champion—surged into the lead alongside co-driver Enni Mälkönen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) to claim his fifth victory of the season with a time of 39:21.4. Lappi battled across the line despite major technical headaches after his windscreen wipers packed up in the pouring rain.
“I feel truly sorry for Patrick; he drove a fantastic rally. The wiper motor completely melted in the end, and it is what it is—I could barely see anything. All I could think about was keeping it out of the ditch. Now the car goes up for sale. Huge thanks to everyone who has supported me over the years,” an emotional Lappi stated at the finish to FlyingFinn.tv.
The battle for the podium was settled by fractions of a second: setting the fastest time on the final stage, Niclas Grönholm (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) edged ahead of Lauri Joona (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) by 0.15 seconds to grab second place, trailing Lappi by 25.9 seconds. Joona, held back by a puncture, took third (+26.4).
Among the other Estonian entries, Joosep Ralf Nõgene and co-driver Aleks Lesk (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) delivered a consistent, composed performance to take fourth overall, 39.0 seconds off the top spot. Benjamin Korhola (Hyundai i20 N Rally2; +55.0), using the event as preparation for the upcoming Rally Sardinia, finished fifth.
In the SM2 class, Toyota Gazoo Racing junior Rio Ogata (Renault Clio Rally3) took both the event victory and the class championship title, edging compatriot Kanta Yanaguida by just over five seconds. The Japanese pairing placed sixth and seventh in the overall standings.