Pentinpuro fastest in the summer season opener in Suomusjärvi

Jarno Pentinpuro opened the summer season with a win at the Xmeal Tarmac Rally held in Suomusjärvi.

For the Lumijoki-based Jarno Pentinpuro, the May Day weekend was filled with rally action. Pentinpuro and his co-driver Teemu Neuvonen built up speed for Sunday’s summer season-opening rally already on Saturday in Hämeenlinna. At the Ahvenisto circuit, they competed in a rally sprint where they were able to fine-tune the car and get into rhythm ahead of the Xmeal Tarmac Rally.

The rally held in Suomusjärvi on Sunday was quite unique in both schedule and road conditions. The compact rally featured two special stages driven twice, all on asphalt. Pentinpuro mastered the tarmac surface and set the fastest time on every stage. His winning margin to overall runner-up Aleksi Tukiainen was 41 seconds, and to Mika Karppanen, who finished second in the four-wheel-drive class, 1:23.5. It was no surprise, that the two-time Finnish rally champion was pleased with the outcome of the race weekend.

- From a driving perspective, the weekend progressed positively. In Saturday’s race, most of the focus went into the tyres, as we had issues with them and couldn’t get them to work despite our efforts. On Sunday, I was able to focus more on the pace notes and driving, which went surprisingly well and kept improving throughout the day. I enjoyed driving on tarmac once I got into the rhythm, Pentinpuro said on Sunday.

The next rally in Jarno Pentinpuro’s calendar is the Nordic Championship round Rally Kjellerup in Denmark at the end of May. In Denmark, Juho-Ville Koskela will read the pace notes for Jarno.

- We’re heading into the summer rally season with a good mindset. The goal for this weekend was to gain experience and speed for the Denmark, and I think we achieved that well on Sunday. We also gained a better feel for driving on tarmac and working with the pace notes. Our overall performance improved, and now we have a clear picture of where we stand in different areas. That’s important so we know what to focus on first to become even better, Pentinpuro summed up.

Photo: Jari Louko