Having won the Finnish Championship in 1996 Erkka Korpiaho set his sights on the Scandinavian Open in 1997, and along with his compatriots Harri Maikola and Juha Berner set out to claim the crown from Sweden's Jörgen Hållinder. The reigning champion struggled in miserable conditions at Alastaro in May while the three Finns monopolised the podium places, but on home ground for rounds three and four Hållinder took two straight victories. Mechanical failures for both Korpiaho and Berner at round 3 set them back but Korpiaho won again in Norway and Berner took his only victory in a dramatic final race at Anderstorp. Korpiaho had a comfortable lead in both the standings and the race, when he was caught out by a rain shower and crashed out of contention. The conditions precipitated a red flag, but several laps after Korpiaho had fallen; he was not allowed to take part in the re-start, and all Hållinder needed to do was complete the final four laps ahead of Harri Maikola to become a two-time Scandinavian Open champion.