Kris Meeke sets the pace in Finland

The partial program of Chris Meeke does not seem to disturb the Briton when it comes to playing the leading roles in the events on his program. Benefiting from a favorable road position, the driver of the DS3 WRC of Abu Dhabi Racing had an almost perfect day this Friday to finish in the lead after the first twelve SS.

Meeke is ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala, an unfortunate time with a puncture in SS4, who did not give up during the following specials to climb into second position, 18″1 behind the leading DS3. The Finn was rid of the threat from his teammate Sébastien Ogier, long third today.

The Frenchman lost big, after an error in SS10, his Volkswagen Polo R getting stuck in a ditch at a hairpin on the right. Despite the help of a few spectators, the driver of the car flanked by No. 1 lost more than sixteen minutes in this mishap.

The last step of the podium for the moment goes to Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) qui reste sous la menace de Andreas Mikkelsen (Volkswagen), meilleur temps dans la dernière spéciale du jour, et qui pointe à 1″1 du Belge.

Craig Breen (DS3) put in a very solid performance and placed fifth, 53″8 behind his teammate Kris Meeke. The Irishman is ahead of Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) and Mads Ostberg, best representative of the Ford clan in seventh position.

Ott Tänak who had started the day perfectly by launching into a duel with Kris Meeke before losing contact due to a suspension problem, then a puncture in the afternoon is eighth and ahead of Eric Camilli (Ford) and Esapekka Lappi (Skoda), solid leader in WRC-2.

The Finn from the official Skoda team is ahead of the sister cars of Teemu Suninen by 42″5 and Pontus Tidemand by 43″8 in the category. Once in contention for the podium, Elfyn Evans (Ford Fiesta R5) lost a lot of time in the second pass of the day's SS, following a power steering problem. The Briton is in sixth place, 2'16" behind Lappi and ahead of Frenchman Pierre-Louis Loubet (DS3 R5). Quentin Gilbert (DS3 R5) and Yoann Bonato (DS3 R5) climb into the top 11.

In the Junior WRC, Ole Christian Veiby has a 15″ lead over Simone Tempestini and 1’36″3 over Andrea Crugnola. Terry Folb held third place for a long time before making a mistake in SS10. Vincent Dubert is the best Frenchman in sixth position, despite a puncture which caused him to lose time.

The first special of the third stage is scheduled tomorrow at 7:08 a.m., with the first passage over the legendary kilometers of Ouninpohja, which will be followed live on our website.

Ranking Rally Finland