Evgeny Novikov recalls famous jump ahead of Finland

Novikov was lucky to avoid a huge crash when the Citroen Junior Team C4 WRC he was driving at the time almost flipped after it landed on its rear bumper following the leap on the Leustu stage

The Russian, then 18, miraculously regained control of his car only to crash into a tree later in the stage and retire. The jump and subsequent wild landing became one of the images of the year and was Wrc.com’s second most watched video clip of 2009.
“Of course I remember the jump,” Novikov told Wrc.com. “I just thought I don’t want to finish the rally on this jump but I didn’t know where the car is going, right, left or the middle of the road.”
Despite coming close to potential disaster, Novikov jokes about the incident now: “It’s good I did something on that rally because there was no big result. I had to do something and the jump was good.”
Novikov will compete in Finland aboard a Ford Fiesta RS WRC he will share with French co-driver Denis Giraudet.