WRC – Mikko Hirvonen on pole at Rally Finland

Sébastien Ogier did not have the best position since he was the first to cover the 4,62km of Ruuhimäki which served as a qualifying special for the Rally from Finland. But the slightly damp conditions nevertheless limited his handicap and allowed him to set the second time, two tenths behind Mikko Hirvonen. The local driver established the reference time by completing the course in 2'15"516 and will thus be able to choose his position on the road first at 21 p.m. (20 p.m. in France). However, the risk of showers for the first two stages complicates the teams' strategy and surprises could well come this evening in the choice of crews.

Thierry Neuville set the third fastest time of the session, four tenths behind the first DS3 WRC having started from the same position. Evgeny Novikov followed half a second from the scratch, ahead of the Polo R WRC of Jari-Matti Latvala, who is almost five tenths behind his teammate at the head of the Championship. Andreas Mikkelsen placed the third Volkswagen in sixth place ahead of the Ford Fiesta RS WRCs of Mads Ostberg and Juho Hänninen. Kris Meeke set the ninth fastest time ahead of Dani Sordo. The Mini JCW WRC of Jarkko Nikara is 11th ahead of PG Andersson, Martin Prokop and Riku Tahko.