Kris Meeke controls in Finland

As a warm-up, we probably couldn't find better than the famous special of Ouninpohja. The legendary Finnish sector opened the debates of the third stage of the Rally of Finland 2016 and allowed Chris Meeke to confirm that he was indeed the man to beat in this event.

The DS3 driver WRC of Abu Dhabi Racing achieved an impressive time in this special, pushing his closest pursuer Jari-Matti Latvala to more than 13 seconds, almost doubling his lead in the general classification.

From then on, the Briton controlled his rivals, placing second in SS14 four tenths behind Ott Tänak, again suffering a puncture in the next sector, then winning SS15 with almost two and a half seconds ahead of Latvala.

Overall, Kris Meeke has a 36″4 margin over Jari-Matti Latvala. Craig Breen, who had cut his effort after Eric Camilli's accident in SS14, (and was given a time of 10'53″4) is now in third place at 1'22″7. The fight for the podium remains tight since between Breen, 3rd and Ott Tänak, 8th, there are only 25″2 with in order Neuville at 1'35"4, Paddon at 1'36"3, Ostberg at 1'33"2, Mikkelsen at 1'46" and Tänak at 1'47"9.

Sébastien Ogier, who lost more than a quarter of an hour yesterday by getting stuck in a ditch, won SS16 tied with Mads Ostberg, but experienced brake problems between SS13 and SS14, forcing him to depart from the fourteenth sector late to carry out repairs. The Frenchman received a 2'10 penalty.

The morning was marked by two road trips, including one of Eric Camilli (Ford) in SS14. The Frenchman and his teammate Benjamin Veillas were able to get out of their car, and are fine, as confirmed by the WRC a few minutes after the accident.

Another road exit for Lorenzo Bertelli (Ford) in Ouninpohja, leading to the neutralization of the special, covered in liaison mode by the following competitors. Co-driver Simone Scattolin was treated by doctors after losing consciousness for a few moments. Examinations at the hospital revealed nothing worrying and the Italian should be released in a few hours.

In WRC-2, Esapekka Lappi (Skoda) continues its domination by finishing at midday with a 42″6 lead over Teemu Suninen (Skoda) and 48″7 over Pontus Tidemand (Skoda). Karl Kruuda (Ford Fiesta R5) and Elfyn Evans (Ford Fiesta R5) complete the top 5 in the category at 1'23″2 and 2'04″7. Henning Solberg (Ford Fiesta R5) is sixth and precedes the first DS3 R5 of Pierre-Louis Loubet, clocked in at 3'26″4. Quentin Gilbert (DS3 R5) is classified in eighth provisional position, 28″8 behind Loubet, while Yoann Bonato hoists his DS3 R5 into 11th position at 4’56″.

In Junior WRC, Ole Christian Veiby remains leader of the category with 27″6 ahead of Simone Tempestini. Juuso Nordgren gets back on the podium, ahead of Andrea Crugnola by 14″4.

The second passage of the day's specials will begin at 13:48 p.m. and will again be followed live on our website.

Ranking Rally Finland