Tänak solid leader in Finland, Latvala threatens Ostberg

Ott Tänak is well on his way to winning the Rally from Finland. The Estonian returns to service with a lead of 39 seconds over Mads Ostberg (Citroën) even if he let his teammates win the scratch points.

If the Norwegian remains the leader's closest rival, the Scandinavian is focused on the comeback of Jari-Matti Latvala who hopes to win a double for Toyota. The local star came back to within six seconds of the C3 WRC which struggled with difficulty against the Yaris WRC which was able to evolve this afternoon with a single spare wheel (except for Ott Tänak) compared to two for the Citroën.

Esapekka Lappi was the fastest in the second passage, signing three stage wins in the four stages covered, the last stage victory going to his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala. The Finn took 4th place at the expense of Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) which clocks in at 9 seconds. The Toyotas remained undefeated today.

Teemu Suninen still leads the trio M-Sport by getting ahead Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans. Craig Breen (Citroen) and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) complete the Top 10, while Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) moved up to 11th place.

The WRC 2 rankings have seen quite a few upheavals. It is now Eerik Pietarinen (Skoda) who occupies the lead ahead of his compatriot Jari Huttunen (Hyundai), while Gus Greensmith (Ford) completes the provisional podium. Kalle Rovanperä saw his left-front suspension go through the hood. After announcing his retirement, the 17-year-old Finn got back behind the wheel to finish 4th in the category.

F*** front left damper broke and we have to retire for the day…
There was something in the ruts which damaged the damper which finally came through the bonnet… pic.twitter.com/jb6tbpzTXD

— Kalle Rovanpera (@KalleRovanpera) July 28, 2018

The final stage of Rally Finland will feature two stages completed twice. The day will start at 7:38 a.m. with the 11,74km from Laukaa.