The first stage will end with the 2,31km Harju super special stage, run for the first time yesterday. Tänak took the scratch there in 1'44"1.

Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) scored his 8th scratch at the Rally Finland by completing the 11,76km of Laukaa in 5'44''9, more than a second ahead of his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala. Mads Ostberg (Ford) followed almost 3 seconds ahead of Ott Tänak (Ford) and Teemu Suninen (Ford). Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) set the 7th fastest time, 4''6 behind the benchmark, just behind Craig Breen (Citroën).

Esapekka Lappi now has a 4”6 lead over Jari-Matti Latvala. Teemu Suninen remains 3rd ahead of Craig Breen who took 4th place from Juho Hänninen (Toyota) for a 2”4 lead. Mads Ostberg also gained a position by taking 6th place from Elfyn Evans (Ford) by 6 tenths. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) remains 8th with 7 seconds ahead of Kris Meeke (Citroën).

Suninen sets the 5th time, 3″9 behind his compatriot Lappi. The Ford driver remains well established in 3rd place on the provisional podium which remains monopolized by the Finns. “I'm disappointed with my stage because I made a mistake when I wasn't pushing hard. »

Lappi improved the benchmark with a time of 5'44"9 where he was still ahead of his teammate Latvala by more than a second. The leader now has a 4″8 lead over the 2nd Finn. “I didn't expect to be at such a party. It's difficult to explain but our pace was enough to take the lead. I'm going to stay focused for the super special because I don't want to lose this place because of a stupid mistake. It gives a special feeling to be in the lead at home. »

Meeke signs the 6th provisional time at 7″2 from the provisional scratch, dropping almost 4s in Neuville. The Citroën driver remains 9th, 7s behind the Belgian. “We had a problem with management. »

Breen set the 3rd provisional time, 3″1 behind Latvala and remains in the fight for 4th place against Hänninen. “The day was rather positive. »

Evans sets the 4th provisional time, 4″5 behind Latvala. The Welshman is still looking to protect his 6th place from Ostberg. “We're not quite where we want to be but it's not a disaster either. »

Sordo leaves the top ten for half a second behind Tänak after failing to be almost 6s behind the Estonian. “We have no problems. We're just not fast enough. I tried to push more in this special but nothing happened. »

Tänak ranks 2″5 behind Latvala, gaining a second from Neuville. The Estonian could return to the top ten this evening.

Latvala improved the benchmark with a time of 5'46"0, 3"5 better than Neuville. “Lappi was impressive today. The 2nd stage will be very difficult tomorrow. Toyota shows that it is very competitive. »

Neuville set a time of 5'49″5, 1″5 better than Lappi in the first run. “There's not much we can do. We try to attack as hard as possible. We remain positive for the Championship. This day has been really long. Maybe we'll try other things tomorrow. A top five would be satisfactory. »