Elfyn Evans has created history by becoming only the third driver from outside of Finland to win the event on multiple occasions.
The Dolgellau driver and co-driver Scott Martin ensured their Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team celebrated another win on its home roads of Rally Finland, with Evans’ team-mate Takamoto Katsuta also battling to finish on the podium in third overall.
Evans, 34, repeated his 2021 triumph on the fastest rally in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Welshman Evans looked at home in his GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID all weekend, closely matched with team-mate and local hero Kalle Rovanperä on Friday until the Finn had to retire following a crash.
Having taken over the lead, Evans was then in fine form on Saturday, winning seven consecutive stages to build an advantage of over 30 seconds ahead of the final day.
He won three of Sunday’s last four stages, sealing his seventh career victory by 39.1s with the fastest time in the rally-ending Power Stage. Second in the championship standings, Evans’ maximum score means he is now 25 points from leader Rovanperä with four rallies remaining.
A delighted Evans said: “It’s been a great weekend for us and it feels pretty special to win this rally for the second time.
“It’s one of my favourites and a home rally for the team with the factory being based in Jyväskylä.
“It also feels really special to win with Akio (Akio Toyoda, alternate team principal) here this weekend and to share the podium with him and with Taka as well.
“It’s been fantastic to drive this car on these roads and it’s been a joy to be behind the wheel.
“We had a really nice feeling almost from the beginning.
“We were sorry to lose Kalle from the fight on Friday but then we could make a few little steps with the setup for Saturday which really boosted my confidence.
“Things really clicked and the stage times came naturally.
“It’s a positive weekend in terms of the championship as well and we’re now a bit closer to Kalle than we were before.”
Provisional Final Classification Rally Finland:
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) 2h33m11.3s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +39.1s
3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +1m36.7s
4 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +1m41.0s
5 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hänninen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +4m09.4s
6 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +9m33.6s
7 Sami Pajari/Enni Mälkönen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +10m03.7s
8 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +10m37.5s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +11m11.5s
10 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +11m35.2s
• The Acropolis Rally in Greece is up next on 7-10 September and has a legendary reputation for rocky mountain roads and high temperatures which combine to create a tough challenge for cars, tyres and drivers alike.