11-Time Finnish Champion: Juha Salo Finishes 2026 on Top with X Shift

For Juha Salo, 2026 brought another milestone to an already remarkable career. The experienced Finnish driver secured his 11th Finnish Rally Championship title in the SM5 class, while also claiming his 20th Finnish Rally Championship medal.

Driving a Toyota GR Yaris with Jarno Ottman alongside him in Porvoo, Salo ended the season exactly as a champion should – with another victory.

The final round of the Finnish Rally Championship, the SM Porvoon Autopalvelu Ralli, took place on 26 September 2026. Salo dominated the SM5 class from the opening stages, building a lead of more than one minute during the first five special stages. Despite losing some time after a driveshaft failure, he recovered strongly and finished the rally 1:30.3 ahead of the nearest SM5 competitor.

A season of remarkable consistency

What makes Salo’s 2026 season even more impressive is just how consistently he delivered throughout the championship.

Salo joined the season from the third round onwards and went on to win every one of the five SM5 events he entered. He finished the championship on 125 points, 25 points clear of Jarkko Hosike in second place.

Behind the wheel of his Toyota GR Yaris, Salo relied on a combination of experience, pace and dependable equipment – including an X Shift sequential gearbox.

Seeing our gearbox in a car competing at this level is always great. Rallying gives the drivetrain a proper workout – hard shifts, high loads and very little time for mistakes. The gearbox simply has to keep doing its job, stage after stage, while the driver focuses on getting the most out of the car.

And Salo certainly put his equipment to work.

The final Porvoo victory was the perfect conclusion.

For X Shift, we are proud to have played a part in that success by supplying the sequential gearbox that helped power Salo's Toyota GR Yaris through another championship-winning season.

Congratulations to Juha Salo and Jarno Ottman and their team on an outstanding 2026 season.

11 Finnish Championship titles. 20 SM medals. One seriously impressive rally career.

Keep X Shifting forward!

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