Finnish Racing Championship Event Media Recap (translated from Finnish; please excuse any translation errors) –
The fourth round of the Finnish Racing Championship season was held on Saturday, August 9, at the Porsche Ring circuit in Pärnu, Estonia. The race in our southern neighbour featured fierce fights for victory, the familiar blistering pace of Arto Ojaranta, and even dramatic twists after the chequered flag had fallen.
In the first start, series leader Arto Ojaranta had to line up only in ninth place.
“The feeling was good, but it left a slightly bitter taste. It felt good, but the clock didn’t agree,” Ojaranta commented on qualifying on his Instagram page.
The race unfolded in a familiar fashion: Ojaranta fought his way through the field to the front and took the win. Tommi Viitala also mounted a hard charge, muscling his way from 13th to second place, while Leevi Lintukanto finished third in the opening race.
In the second race, Ojaranta—having strengthened his lead in the championship—started from pole, with Lintukanto alongside in P2. Ojaranta’s team’s new addition, Matias Salonen, started on the second row with Viitala. Lintukanto made the best getaway and took the lead, with Viitala also slipping past the sluggish-starting Ojaranta. On lap two, Ojaranta retook the lead, Lintukanto stayed right in touch, and third-placed Viitala came under intense pressure from Kalle Merisalo. The leading pair pulled away for a moment, while behind them Onni Peltonen moved up behind Merisalo, Salonen held fifth, Viitala sixth, and Robin Sario joined the group. Lintukanto wasn’t willing to settle for second and went after Ojaranta’s scalp—successfully reclaiming the lead. Contact ensued, triggering a chain reaction that spun Salonen out of the lead battle. Viitala was also forced to retire. Ojaranta seized control again and the fight for the win boiled over in the final laps, with Lintukanto glued to Ojaranta’s rear bumper but unable to find a way past. Ojaranta crossed the line for his eighth win of the season, Lintukanto was second, and Peltonen’s late sprint earned him third just ahead of Sario.
After the race, bad news hit Ojaranta’s team: both Ojaranta’s and Salonen’s cars were disqualified in post-race technical inspection, shaking up the results and promoting Lintukanto to the win, Peltonen to second, and Sario to third. An appeal has been lodged over Ojaranta’s disqualification, so the results remain provisional.
Photo credit: Joona Gråsten