Esapekka Lappi feels like he has “butterflies from the stomach” leading his first Rally Finland in the top WRC category, standing only four stages away from a maiden victory.
Jari Huttunen continued his domination of the WRC2 category in Finland, focusing his attentions on beating non-points scoring rival Eric Camilli instead.
Esapekka Lappi holds a 50 second lead on his senior Rally Finland debut with only one day left, while fellow rookie Teemu Suninen climbed to second place.
Jari-Matti Latvala has retired from the lead of Rally Finland, his Toyota Yaris succumbing to an electrical failure in the Ouninpohja test.
Mercedes-AMG customer racing chief Stefan Wendl was forced to admit they could not do much better than Franck Perera’s seventh place grid position for the 24 Hours of Spa.
Audi Sport are happy with their qualifying efforts at the 24 Hours of Spa despite failing to make the front row of the grid, with their best car lining up third thanks to Frédéric Vervisch.
Jari-Matti Latvala snatched the lead back from rookie team-mate Esapekka Lappi, while Juho Hänninen took advantage of a Teemu Suninen mistake to go third.
Sébastien Ogier may not return to action in Rally Finland until Sunday, dependent on the condition of his co-driver Julien Ingrassia after their Friday crash.
Nicolas Ciamin took a surprise lead in the JWRC class of Rally Finland, easing away from compatriot Terry Folb and early leader Dennis Rådström.
Jari Huttunen established a lead of nearly one minute after nearest rivals Gus Greensmith and Pierre-Louis Loubet both crashed out.
Esapekka Lappi won eight stages in Rally Finland’s first full day of action, handing him a narrow lead over team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala.
Jari-Matti Latvala holds a slim lead over team-mate Esapekka Lappi after Friday morning’s Rally Finland stages, while Sébastien Ogier crashed out.
Sébastien Loeb has been given the chance to test a new spec Citroën C3 WRC, forcing team principal Yves Matton to quell talk of a competitive return to the sport.
Ott Tänak reigned supreme around the streets of Jyväskylä, establishing a 1.1 second lead over Thierry Neuville for the lead of Rally Finland after SS1.
Kris Meeke has blasted the “stupid” design of temporary chicanes on the Rally Finland route, following multiple incidents during shakedown.
Sauber have terminated their planned engine supply deal with Honda for next year, citing ‘strategic reasons’ as the rationale behind their decision.
Kris Meeke set the pace in the shakedown stage for Rally Finland on his WRC return, with Thierry Neuville a tenth off the Citroën driver’s pace.
