1000 Lakes Classics: Ouninpohja pt. 2 – The Evolution

In the previous post we already tried to figure out what makes Ouninpohja so special and found a lot of corners with history, incidents and legends. But all the those places haven’t always been the same or even included in the rally. Decades worth of Ouninpohja was driven without the Kakaristo junction turn or the yellow house jump in today’s direction where you can actually jump far. Years have gone by with no Ouninpohja on the itinerary at all. Let’s take a look at how Ouninpohja became what it is today. Cover image by Simon Durand / Flickr

The early years

The first occurrence of Ouninpohja in the 1000 Lakes Rally was in 1962, but in a short 7 km format (with the exact route unknown). The stage returned in 1966 under the moniker Alhojärvi, starting from Kakaristo and ending in Hämepohja, but slightly shorter than in the following decades. In 1967 – when Timo Mäkinen drove with the bonnet open – the stage was run again as Ouninpohja. However, the direction was reversed, going now from Hämepohja to Kakaristo. The following year’s Ouninpohja used the same direction but was shortened because the Häme county didn’t allow rallying on their territory. Thus the stage started on the county border, on Okskulmantie, and ended in Kakaristo. On this video at 16:41 we can see the cars first turn towards Ouninpohja on the road section and then the infamous “Amazon jump”.

In 1969 Ouninpohja was absent because the route didn’t go at all South from Jämsä. Meanwhile, the 1970 edition had an exceptional 26 km configuration with the stage starting on Hassintie and using Juuvantie before joining Ouninpohjantie. Near the end of the rally, another stage called Okskulma was driven. It was essentially the same as the shortened 1968 version.

Ouninpohja (bottom) and Okskulma (top) 1970

The Classic Era

In 1971 Ouninpohja finally introduced its classic format. Start on Okskulmantie in Kakaristo, right junction turn in Mutanen, left junction turn (or a long bend) in Hämepohja, finish soon after. This version was used every year from 1971 to 1985 (except 1975 and 1976 when the rally once again skipped the area) in the same format with just slight changes on the length. Between the years 1978 and 1985 the first six stages of the rally were always the same, with Ouninpohja being always SS5. Furthermore, with stages becoming shorter in these years, Ouninpohja with its 25 km length was the longest stage of the rally in 1981 and 1983-1985. Stage repeats were introduced to the rally in 1979. That year (and the following) Okskulmantie was repeated as a stage called Mutanen. It turned left from the Mutanen junction (where Ouninpohja had turned right) and went on southwards onto Puukkoistentie and Haikupohjantie, roads later used on the stages Hassi and Konivuori. A curious detail about the 1979 route is that Hassi, following Mutanen two stages later, would use the same four-road junction with the two stages running at the same time separated by concrete blocks, and of course in the dark!

Mutanen and Hassi (orange) 1979

In succession to the partial repeats with the Mutanen stage, Ouninpohja was driven fully twice every year from 1981 to 1985, even three times in 1982! The first run was driven in the darkness, like here on the 1984 edition at the Mutanen junction at 3:45.

1985 was the pinnacle of the classic Ouninpohja with Hannu Mikkola’s average speed on the second run over 127 km/h, being the fastest stage of the rally. This video shows the Ouni house area at 17:06.

The second run of Ouninpohja occurred always on Saturday afternoon, and was packed with spectators, as we can see here on the Hämepohja junction at 31:21.

However, after 1985 Ouninpohja would never be driven in this classic format again.

Rapsula decides the 1986 rally

In 1986 after Henri Toivonen’s tragic accident in Corsica, FISA decided that the average speed of a special stage may not exceed 110 km/h. The 1986 1000 Lakes Rally – having its route already approved by FISA – got a waiver of 10% tolerance, but still they were forced to make last minute changes to the route. Ouninpohja could not be driven in its super fast classic format, so it was cut into two stages. A new 7 km stage called Rapsula was introduced, starting on a a new smaller road called Rapsulantie before continuing onto Okskulmantie and ending well before the fast section near the Mutanen junction. The junction turn can be seen here at 24:08.

Another stage called Ouninpohja comprised of the last 7 km of the traditional route, starting at the yellow house jump, again omitting a very fast section. Both stages were driven at the beginning of the rally on Friday and then repeated on Sunday with Konivuori – a very rough and technical stage – between them. The average speed of Rapsula was 118 km/h and Ouninpohja 114 km/h so the target was achieved.

1986 Rapsula (top), Konivuori (bottom) and Ouninpohja (left)

Surprisingly, the second run of Rapsula on Sunday morning decided the rally as the leading Markku Alen rolled his Lancia Delta S4 on Rapsulantie, lost some minutes and along with that the rally win and probably also the drivers’ title. Curiously, current M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson had also rolled his Metro 6R4 just nearby on the first run of the stage on Friday night.

Experimental routes in 1987

The 1987 route is known for its small roads and chicanes. As FISA threatened to take away the WRC status of the rally, the organizers were serious about limiting the average speed on the special stages at 110 km/h. This would start an era of 1000 Lakes Rallies with no Ouninpohja on the itinerary, but having a number of other stages on and off the Ouninpohja route. The 1987 route included one of the weirdest stages in the history of the whole rally. It was called “Unionin sähäkkä”,  meaning “Union’s saucy”, Union being a Finnish chain of gas stations (later owned by Neste). Many 1987 stages had sponsor titles and there’s no official geographic title for this stage, other than Ouninpohja. The start was from Rapsulantie proceeding through very small roads or forestry tracks into Ouninpohjantie, a bit North from the yellow house jump. If you have been spectating at the yellow house jump, you know these paths. This was also where Tommi Mäkinen rolled his Group N Lancia with the infamous picture of the car on its nose.

The Unionin Sähäkkä stage joining Ouninpohjantie. Photo by Harri Ukkonen (C)

Rapsula was retained for 1987, but it was made longer, stretching the finish onto Ouninpohjantie with a chicane detour through the houseyard at Jyrkynen. Konivuori was another keeper from 1986, but it extended as well onto Ouninpohjantie in addition to having 7 km of new roads at the beginning. At 29.94 km it was the longest stage of the rally. A fast section on Ouninpohjantie just before the yellow house jump can be seen here at 38:06

This way, there were three different stages that used Ouninpohjantie, joining the traditional Ouninpohja route from different directions. Rapsula included the ultra-fast section of Okskulmantie and thus was the third-fastest stage of the rally with its average speed of 109 km/h, despite the chicane. Meanwhile, the forest adventure version of Ouninpohja (“Unionin sähäkkä”) was the second-slowest stage of the rally excluding super specials, with a Sunday drive average speed of 87 km/h. Konivuori – containing probably the slowest and fastest parts of the rally – was actually quite close to the whole rally average speed at 94 km/h, whereas any other year it would have been among the slowest.

1987 Ouninpohja aka Unionin Sähäkkä (red), Rapsula (purple) and Konivuori (green)

Speed increases for 1988

For 1988, the average speed limitations were held back. Rapsula remained almost the same as the year before, but this time it turned left from the Mutanen junction, continuing onto Juuvantie. Driven on Saturday morning, it was repeated in the evening as Hassi, with added 6 km of Hassintie northwards. With winning average speeds at 119 km/h, these two were the second and third fastest stages of the rally – and it’s no surprise when most of their routes are very wide and fast roads. The video at 2:35 shows Alen and Kankkunen sliding on the fast and flowing Juuvantie of the Rapsula stage, a bit of road not used so often.

Konivuori kept its ending but received a new beginning on firmer roads from the Hassi area, starting just a kilometre from where Rapsula ended. Also, Konivuorentie was majorly rebuilt after 1987 and started finally resembling a road at some parts, instead of a track. Konivuori was again the longest stage of the rally.

1988 Rapsula (highlighted), Konivuori (bottom) and Hassi top right, start shared with Rapsula.

The Ouninpohja area on Saturday was now basically the same on the Sunday of 1986, except that the competitive sections were longer. The area between Mutanen and Konivuorentie junctions must have been popular to spectate, as you could see two consecutive stages within 1.5 km of walking.

Okskulmantie absent from 1989 to 1990

For 1989, Rapsula was gone and Hassi would become a shorter stage run mostly on Hassintie, so no stages used Okskulmantie at all. Thus Juha Kankkunen seized the opportunity to do pre-event testing on the road.

Okskulmantie remained absent in 1990 although Hassi started from the Kakaristo junction, but away from Okskulmantie. This was the first time Salinmäentie was driven in the rally. Konivuori was unchanged between 1988 and 1990, being also the longest of the rally each year at 32.15 km. It was not forgiving even the previous year winners – in 1989 the engine of Markku Alen’s Lancia blew at the end of the stage whereas in 1990 Mikael Ericsson crashed his Toyota on Ouninpohjantie. Hannu Mikkola’s Mazda also gave up the game in Konivuori, both 1988 and 1990. This video at 22:52 demonstrates a bend-jump-combination on Ouninpohjantie close to the Hämepohja junction.

1991 introduces Pitkäjärventie

For 1991, the Hassi stage begin was reverted to its 1989 form and the finish was almost in the same place as before, but about 20 km of road was added in between. A crucial addition was the narrow forest road of Pitkäjärventie, from Liisanmutka to Kakaristo, also known as the Ouninpohja small road. This section showed its treachery right away when Markku Alen suffered a puncture and had to have a tyre changed in the Kakaristo junction. This short video clip at 32:45 shows well the fast but technical nature of the road with soft surface, jumps and tight bends.

The small road ended at Kakaristo while the stage proceeded from there onto Okskulmantie, thus making it the first time the Kakaristo hairpin junction was ever driven in the rally. This sequence of roads would form the basis of the modern Ouninpohja. But in contrast to that, the 1991 Hassi stage ended like Rapsula in 1988, turning left from the Mutanen junction. Once again, you could spectate two stages within a walkable distance.

1991 Hassi (top) and Konivuori

Konivuori got shortened from both ends. The stage ended now just before the infamous section where Marcus Grönholm would later keep the throttle down for 46 seconds. This meant that while Okskulmantie was now fully returned in the rally, driving on Ouninpohjantie was reduced to mere 3 kilometres and the cars didn’t pass the yellow house at race speed.

The return of Ouninpohja in 1992

For 1992 the Hassi stage from the year before was changed just slightly, turning now right from the Mutanen junction and end in the same place where Konivuori ended the year before, as Konivuori was dropped from the itinerary for good. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Hassi stage was now boldly titled Ouninpohja, making a return to the itinerary after an absence of six years. The 1992 Ouninpohja ended where Konivuori 1991 had ended. It had almost exactly the same length as the 1991 Hassi. The official magazine preview of Vauhdin Maailma even claimed that the stage is the same as the year before. Maybe it was planned that way initially? However, what did remain from 1991 was that the yellow house jump or the Hämepohja junction wasn’t included at race speed at all. The same stage was also used for 1993.

Ouninpohja 1992-1993

This video at 25:04 shows the junction turn to Hassintie (nowadays paved) and the Kakaristo junction in 1993. Not as many spectators as nowadays!

A curious detail is that the 1992-1993 Ouninpohja shares no road with the 1986 short version. If these two were merged, it would make a 40 km stage.

Ouninpohja 1986 (left) and 1992-1993 (right)

The modern version finalized 1994-1995

For the 1994 1000 Lakes Rally, Ouninpohja was lengthened from the end and shortened from the beginning, as the beginning part was given back to Hassi. Thus the modern Ouninpohja was born, except that it was still driven from North to South (just like 2016) and for this occasion the stage ended before the Hämepohja junction.

Ouninpohja 1994. Reversed for most years after that.

In 1995 Rally Finland had to do its part in the three-year rotation system where every WRC rally had to once skip being an official event and just host local drivers and F2 cup. The organisers probably saw this as a chance to try new things and promptly reversed Ouninpohja, making it finally the stage we know today, and the version that would be used for most the following years. As a small detail the start was now again behind Hämepohja junction but now the finish line was already before Hassintie.

Rapsula revised in 1996

In 1996 and 1997 Rapsula was taken back on the itinerary for the Saturday morning, replacing Hassi. It was a new version that was driven from Rapsulantie through Kakaristo to Liisanmutka and then Southwards to Hassintie. The junction from Pitkäjärventie to Hassintie is quite straight when going Northwards, but this way it made a very tight hairpin. Part of the Rapsula stage was driven twice. When the crews returned from the leg in the afternoon, they did Ouninpohja just as the year before, joining the Rapsula route before Kakaristo, but stopping before Liisanmutka.

1996 Rapsula and Ouninpohja (highlighted)

In 1998 the ending was moved onto Hassintie, where the 1994 stage had started. This 34.55 km stage was the longest edition of Ouninpohja known to date. As more and more stages started to be repeated, Ouninpohja also was driven twice from 1999 onwards. In 2001 and 2002 the second run was shortened not to include the small road.

In 2003 the start was shortened to be after the Hämepohja junction. This was due to new regulations allowing service only in one service park, in Rally Finland’s case Jyväskylä. This in turn meant that fewer stages were run South of Ouninpohja, so the stage was typically accessed from the North. By entering the stage through the Hämepohja junction might have shaved 1.3 km from the stage but saved 16 km in liaison distance.

Limiting the average speed after 2004

The new World Rally Cars were getting faster and faster. After Petter Solberg made a record-setting fastest time in 2004 exceeding 130 km/h of average speed, a limit set by the FIA, something had to change.

For 2005 and 2006 the stage was cut in half, the first part ending just after the Mutanen junction and the second one starting a few kilometres later. This way, the fastest section of Okskulmantie was left out. The stages were given the additional names Länsi and Itä, Finnish for West and East. The average speeds were under 130 km/h, but by just a small margin.

2005-2006 Ouninpohja Länsi & Itä

In 2007 Ouninpohja returned in its full form, but with three chicanes. Still, we were looking at average speeds of 129 km/h. Ouninpohja would be benched for a while.

Four years of absence

In 2008 there was a new but familiar name on the itinerary, Kakaristo. This would be just the most Northern part of Ouninpohja with new small, narrow and rough roads at the end, partially the same as 1987’s “Unionin sähäkkä”. The driving direction was also reversed to start from Hassintie. The winning average speeds on this stage were only 112-113 km/h.

2008 Kakaristo. Reversed for 2014.

Here you can see Jari-Matti Latvala tackle through the Kakaristo stage on the Rally Finland of 2008. The new small road section starts at 7:23.

The whole Ouninpohja area was completely absent from the 2009 and 2010 rallies and in 2011 only a single run of Hassi represented it. As discussed in the Hassi entry, Okskulmantie was under repair in 2011, which prevented running of Ouninpohja. The rally was also heading southwards to Lahti, so driving Ouninpohjantie Westwards would have added unneeded liaison kilometres. The Hassi stage used a short bit of Ouninpohjantie before turning onto Konivuorentie, shown here from 5:17 to 6:00

Konivuorentie on the 2011 Hassi stage. Image by smerikal / Flickr

New rules allowing comeback in 2012

Ouninpohja made a welcome return again in 2012. The 1.6 litre WRC cars introduced in 2011 were slower at their top speed, and Ouninpohja was possible to be driven again in its full form without chicanes. Even though it was the power stage, the average speeds did not exceed 130 km/h. For the 2013 rally Ouninpohja remained on the itinerary with a small change: Tommi’s jump. A quick shortcut on a field with a small artificial jump, seen on this video at 10:55.

In 2014 Ouninpohja was again switched for Kakaristo, this time in the opposite direction than in 2008. The reason for not using Ouninpohja wasn’t limiting speed, but road repairs on Ouninpohjantie. Curiously, had Ouninpohja been driven, it would have been most likely cancelled as a thunderstorm cut many trees during the rally onto the road near the yellow house jump. In 2015 Ouninpohja returned onto the route, with now the start again behind Hämepohja, as Päijälä was now run before it. Thus the stage was once more than 34 km long, the longest stage of the rally since 2006.

Change of direction in 2016

For 2016 Ouninpohja was reversed to the traditional direction last driven in 1994. It made things interesting, as the stage was basically new for everyone. Half of it was driven as Kakaristo in this direction in 2008, but the only drivers who did the stages with WRC cars both years were Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen. Changing directions made spectators also search for new places. As we can see, the yellow house jump isn’t as spectacular into this direction. Even without the corner behind, you could easily break your car by jumping too far as the road drops lower.

Kris Meeke basically won the rally in Ouninpohja. He was already leading, but winning the local hero Latvala by 13 seconds on the first run was unheard of. Meeke explained he had woken up an hour early to refresh his memory with an onboard video.

Meeke was fastest also on the second run. If we look at the onboard, we can see the average speed on the classic part of the stage from Kakaristo junction onwards is 138 km/h. With that average speed, Meeke would have beaten Hannu Mikkola in 1985 by 55 seconds, more than two seconds per kilometre. Of course the road has been probably widened throughout the years, but it’s a good example of how the cars have become faster.

Circle completes in 2017

For 2017 Ouninpohja was again changed over. The WRC TV crew wanted show the cars running the Kakaristo junction turning right, so the stage and actually the whole Saturday loop was reversed again. In addition to that, the small road at the end of the stage was left out because a run through the live TV stage should last for about 12 minutes. For a Rally Finland stage, that’s typically at least 25 kilometres. Thus, Ouninpohja would end after the Kakaristo area with a new left turn and a short bit of Pitkäjärventie. The same version was actually used already in 2001 and 2002 for the second run, probably for television reasons as well. Curiously, this is the closest iteration to the 1971-1985 version ever since. While shortening the stage, the fastest parts remained. It didn’t help that the new 2017 regulation cars were faster especially on roads like Okskulmantie, nearing their top speeds, when the new aero packages would really work and increase the cornering speed.

After FIA made Rally Sweden 2017 to cancel the second running of a too fast stage, Rally Finland also were forced to add chicanes onto its finished route, a total of three of them for Ouninpohja. Still with three chicanes, Esapekka Lappi’s winning average speed on the second run was as high as 135 km/h. We can only guess how high it would have been without the chicanes.

2017 Ouninpohja (and 2001-2002 for the second run)

Ouninpohja has become close to what it originally was, but is this also the end of Ouninpohja? Is it simply too fast for the new WRC cars? It’s worth another blog post to speculate on future changes. Original post was written in 2017. As of 2022, Ouninpohja has been absent from the rally for five years (four editions, since 2020 was canceled), with just Kakaristo and Rapsula representing the area, but not using Ouninpohjantie at all.  Updated 16.9.2022: added final chapter and more details about years 1962-1972 Updated 20.9.2022: updated many chapters and added videos