Teemu Suninen launched sharp criticism over a tyre issue after losing more than 30 seconds to a puncture at WRC Finland 2026, dealing a major setback to his hopes of fighting for the WRC2 victory.
Suninen led the category after the opening special stage of Friday afternoon’s loop, but his situation changed on the second pass through Saarikas. The Finn briefly ran wide into the roadside bank on the rain-soaked stage, initially raising the possibility that the Hankook tyre had been damaged in the incident. Suninen insisted the puncture was not caused by that moment.
“It’s a pretty familiar story based on what we’ve been hearing. I can’t really comment on it, but in my opinion this simply can’t be accepted. It’s a major safety risk, and it’s happening to quite a lot of people,” Suninen said.
Suninen also described the problem as a situation in which the air pressure disappeared before suddenly remaining stable again. “The air just disappears, and then suddenly it stays in again. So it’s not a puncture, but… Well, I’ve already said too much. I’ll probably get another penalty,” he added.
The time loss left Suninen third in WRC2 when he returned to Friday evening service, 40.8 seconds behind category leader Robert Virves. While admitting that victory has become considerably harder to achieve, Suninen has not given up and believes exceptional stage times will be required on Saturday to remain in contention.
Virves leads WRC2 by 13.5 seconds over Roope Korhonen. Korhonen also endured a difficult Friday afternoon after clipping a rock on the Laukaa stage and carrying out repairs on the road sections before torrential rain added another challenge later in the loop.
Suninen now requires a significant recovery to move back towards the WRC2 victory fight. WRC Finland 2026 continues on Saturday with eight special stages before the rally concludes on Sunday.
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