Latvala on course for victory in Finland

At midday struggle in Finland, Jari-Matti Latvala and Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen) offered a fierce duel in the afternoon. But it was the Finn who took an advantage which should be decisive for victory tomorrow.

In SS16, Sébastien Ogier lost just over three seconds, seeing the gap with his teammate double to more than six seconds. The Frenchman hit a rock at the start of the special and at one point thought he had a puncture, slightly reducing the pace in the rest of the sector. From then on, the double world champion will be beaten each time by Latvala, who will widen the gap on the two following stages, to own 13″2 margin this Saturday evening.

The race for the podium was also turned upside down in the afternoon since Kris Meeke, firmly clinging to third position, made a mistake, damaging his DS3 WRC to the front left and giving up in stride. His teammate Mads Ostberg took over and is 1'28" behind the VW duo.

Despite engine problems, its i20 running on three cylinders for a while, Thierry Neuville maintains fourth place at a respectable distance from Ostberg (1'58"), but above all saw his teammate Dani Sordo let go in the internal struggle at Hyundai, after a deviation from the Spaniard's trajectory in SS15. Stuck in a ditch, the Spaniard lost more than 5′ in his misadventure before continuing on his way.

Ott Tänak is now the best representative of the Ford clan after having made a good comeback this Saturday, after his setbacks yesterday. Enough to give regret to the Estonian who regularly climbed into the top 5 of the day's specials. Fifth, he precedes the Fiesta of Juho Hänninen and Martin Prokop. The last ES of the day was fatal to Robert Kubica (Ford Fiesta), who made a mistake in the run-up to the finish.

In WRC-2, Esapekka Lappi (Skoda Fabia R5) continues his flawless performance and is 1'23"3 ahead of his teammate Pontus Tidemand. Stéphane Lefebvre (DS3 RRC) retains third place more than 3′ from Lappi. Note that the two Skodas climbed into the top 10, following the various retirements this Saturday.

In the Junior WRC, the Frenchman Quentin Gilbert still dominates the category but must face the great return of the Finnish Henri Happamaki, this evening at 22″8.

The last day of Rally of Finland will begin tomorrow morning at 9:43 a.m. for the rehearsal of a single special, 14,13 km long (Myhinpää), the second passage serving as a Power Stage. Photos et videos can be consulted on our website.