SM Auto Sorsa Riihimäki Rally at Tehtaankatu Messupuisto

The route of the Auto Sorsa Riihimäki Rally, the last rally of the Finnish Championship series of the winter season, consists of a total of nine special stages that can be driven once. One of these has been built in the Tehtaankatu Fairgrounds area of ​​Riihimäki.

In the last Finnish Championship event of the winter season of the Rally Finnish Championship, the Auto Sorsa Riihimäki Rally, everything is ready for what is to come. The route, which will start on Saturday 28 February and consists of nine special stages, is ready to be driven, the road surfaces are covered in deep ice and there is already some snow on the edges of the roads. The rally's track master Riku Bitter states that the route team was able to mainly implement the pre-planned route.

"We originally had a plan for two day care centers. The roads are in good condition, and they can handle a rally. Of course, it could snow a little more so we could also have benches along the roads," Bitter hopes.

In Riihimäki, the rally is driven with special stages, and no time is wasted on transition sections. The total length of the very compact Finnish Championship rally route is 215 km, of which 102,04 km are special stages. The first three special stages of the rally are driven in the Loppe area, the next three in Hausjärvi, the spectator special stage in Riihimäki, and the last two special stages of the rally are again in the Loppe area.

Each special stage of the rally will only be run once. Only special stages 1 and 8 contain 3,5 km of the same road section. Guidance for each special stage has been built along main road 54 and at Turkhauda in Hausjärvi. A spectator area has been built for each special stage on the rally route. The main viewing areas for the competition are planned to be the finish line of special stage 2 in Launos, Loppe, and special stage 7 in Messupuisto, Riihimäki.

"The first competitor starts for EC 2 at 11:33. There is a really long viewing area at the finish line of EC and with a one-minute start interval, you can see two competitors at the same time. The section has both fast and slow corners. The parking area is in the immediate vicinity of EC, with guidance from main road 54. There is a grill/kiosk at Riihimäki UA. The area is very suitable for families with children."

“We also moved the special stage to Messupuisto, next to the Finnish Glass Museum and the Finnish Hunting Museum, so that it is easily accessible for city residents and families with children. The area also has good services, a rally sausage shop, kiosks and a parking area. The first competitor will start at Messupuisto at 15:29,” Bitter lists. The start on Riihimäki Kauppakatu, the finish line on Tehtaankatu and the maintenance facilities have also been built to be easily accessible for the public.

"For maintenance purposes, public parking has been arranged on the south side of Mattilantie. And the public has free access to these three locations," Bitter reminds.

The ticket office is already open.

The headquarters of the SM Auto Sorsa Riihimäki Rally is the car sales and repair company Auto Sorsa Oy, located on Tehtaankatu in Riihimäki, which houses the competition and press center and the rally finish in the yard. The central service area of ​​the SM rally is located in the Mattilanpelto industrial area in the immediate vicinity of the competition center. Competitors will be serviced twice during the rally, starting at 12:46 and 15:59.

The race starts from Riihimäki Kauppakatu on Saturday, February 28th at 10:31. The first cars are expected to cross the finish line at Auto Sorsa in the shortened race at approximately 17:00, and for the Finnish Championship and other classes at 18:19. The rally's electronic ticket shop is already open. The price of the rally package electronically is 25 euros, and the digital route map will be published the day before the rally at 8:00. The traditional rally package, which includes an entrance ticket to each EK and a route map, costs 30 euros. The package will go on sale the morning of the rally day. A single entrance ticket for a special stage costs 15 euros, and children under 12 years of age can watch the event for free.