Rally Finland, the penultimate round of 2009 Junior World Rally Championship was held in Jyväskylä and Aaron Burkart / Michael Kolbach (number 31), Michal Kosciuszko / Maciek Szczepaniak (number 32), Simone Bertolotti / Luca Celestini (number 33) and Yoann Bonato / Benjamin Boulloud (number 35) drove their Swift Super 1600s. Among the four Suzuki drivers, Michal Kosciuszko held the greatest attention for competing for the 2009 JWRC championship with Citroen C2 driver Martin Prokop, who still had another rally to go in Spain. Kosciuszko and Burkart were required at least to score more points than his rival, to win the 2009 JWRC title.
Kosciuszko and his Swift S1600 appeared to enjoy a smooth run in the beginning of the first day, putting him in the third place close behind Prokop and Renault driver Kalle Pinomaki. Unfortunate puncture in the Special Stage (SS) 7 and 8 made Kosciuszko drop his position to fifth place, while other Suzuki drivers made a good start with Burkart in third, Bonato in fourth and Bertolotti in eighth place.
Despite the disappointment on the day before, Kosciuszko made a patient effort in the Day 2 to put him back in third place, whereas Bonato was forced to concede the rally for leaving the road in SS 11. Burkart and Bertolotti ended the Day 2 in fourth and sixth respectively.
The remaining Day 3 was too short for Kosciuszko to catch up with Prokop and Pinomaki. However he and his car fought hard and finished in third, which confirmed his 2009 series podium before the final rally is run. Burkart, with fourth place in Finland, also left the possibility of series podium. The last round of 2009 JWRC will be held in Spain from October 1st to 4th.
