Juuso Nordgren continued his effort in the Junior WRC by setting the best time in 7'19″9. The Finn is ahead of Martin Koci by 1″2 and Ole Christian Veiby by 3″. The general classification is not yet final after the special interruptions this morning.

.@EsapekkaLappi holds on to his # WRC2 lead this morning at #RallyFinland. @TeemuSuninenRac defend P2. #SKODA pic.twitter.com/5ITTmtVStL

— ŠKODA Motorsport (@MotorsportSkoda) July 30, 2016

The next special, Saalahti (4,23 km) will start at 10:52 a.m.

SS8 #RallyFinland: Going quick and having fun! Hopefully we can be even faster on the second loop! # WRC2 pic.twitter.com/7fPaEWEA5j

— Pontus Tidemand (@PontusTidemand) July 30, 2016

Elfyn Evans (Ford Fiesta R5) topped everyone on this SS15 in WRC-2 by setting the best time in 6'46″2, 2″ faster than Esapekka Lappi (Skoda), who nevertheless remains at the head of the category.

Karl Kruuda (Ford Fiesta R5) fails 2″1 behind Lappi and takes 2nd provisional position in the ES.

The first WRC-2 cars arrive at the stop point. Lappi (Skoda) is currently the fastest in 6'48"2 ahead of Teemu Suninen (Skoda) at 4"5 and Pontus Tidemand (Skoda) at 4"6.

Khalid Al-Qassimi places his DS3 40″7 behind Meeke in this 15th timed sector. Marcos Ligato (DS3), who started again after his problems yesterday, is also finished.

#RallyFinland SS14 Camilli Crash pic.twitter.com/NcOAYXUaDP

— Valmar Viisel (@paddocknews) July 30, 2016

Valeriy Gorban (Mini) and Kevin Abbring (Hyundai) completed the SS at 33″2 and 24″8 from Meeke.

Kris Meeke continues his solo lead in the Rally Finland. The Abu Dhabi Racing DS3 WRC driver set the best time on SS15, beating Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen) by half a second. The Frenchman finally seems to have gotten rid of his brake problems.

Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen) takes third place, 2″4 behind Meeke and ahead of Craig Breen (DS3) by 1″5. The Hyundais of Thierry Neuville and Hayden Paddon follow in the standings at 5″8 and 6″9 behind the winner of the ES. Mads Ostberg (Ford) ranks seventh at 8″7, while Andreas Mikkelsen (Volkswagen) loses 9″8. Victim of a puncture, Ott Tänak (Ford) lost 18″8 to Meeke.

Overall, Meeke remains in the lead, now 37″1 ahead of Latvala. Third position currently held by Hayden Paddon, 1'35"9 behind the leader, remains provisional because Craig Breen was slowed down in SS14 after Eric Camilli's accident and should see his ranking re-evaluated by the officials. The fight for the last step of the podium remains tight since Paddon 3rd and Tänak 7th are separated by only 12″4.

Craig Breen (DS3) climbs into fourth position, 3″9 behind Meeke, but above all regains almost six seconds on Mikkelsen. The Irishman could return to third place once his SS14 time is definitively confirmed.

“The pace is really good,” Meeke emphasizes. I love this stage and the car works great. Everything seems to be working fine. I will not forget this morning. We still have work to do. »

Kris Meeke is at the finish of the special with his DS3 WRC. The Briton set the best time in 6'35″6, 0″5 ahead of Ogier, but above all 2″4 ahead of Latvala. The gap between the two drivers overall rises to 37″1 before the last SS of the morning.

“We managed to correct the problem with the brakes before the start,” said the three-time world champion. This was my first problem-free stage of the day. »

Sébastien Ogier sets the provisional best time in 6'36″1. The Frenchman benefits from a better position on the road after his brake problems before SS14, and no longer opens the road.

Bad luck once again strikes Ott Tänak, victim of a puncture on the left rear, and who loses 16″4 on this SS15, while the Estonian could return to the provisional podium of the event.  

“Something is missing compared to yesterday. I don't have enough lateral grip and I slide too much,” says Neuville.

Thierry Neuville places his Hyundai i20 in provisional second position, 3″4 behind Latvala