Hanninen hoping for dry Ypres Rally

Former Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Juho Hänninen says he would prefer the Geko Ypres Rally to be “boring” if that meant that it stayed dry.

The ŠKODA Motorsport star fears rain on the event would make the driving conditions treacherous and wouldn’t be much fun for the thousands of fans expected to line the route.

Weather forecasts suggest a 40 per cent chance of rain today (Friday) and a 60 per cent chance of showers on the final day of the event on Saturday.

Hänninen, whose last appearance in Ypres in 2010 ended when he went off the road on the opening evening, said: “It would be too difficult if it’s raining because we are cutting basically every second corner so you can imagine how much mud there will be on the road. It sounds boring to hope for a dry and easy rally but I would prefer it to be boring than for it to be raining.”

Finnish ace Hänninen is returning to the IRC for the first time since winning the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally in April. He will also be chasing European championship points in Ypres and currently leads the standings.

“Honestly it’s not my favourite rally because I don’t have so nice memories for here,” he said. “Last time we ended up in a ditch but one of the positive things is it cannot be much worse than it has been in the past. Basically every stage feels like a new stage for me but I’m motivated to make a good result, it’s a good unique event.”