Rally Finland 2018
19h
Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport) took advantage of the closing super special of the first stage of the Rally Finland to score his first scratch in the event. The five-time WRC champion completed the 2,31km of Harju in 1'48''7, 2 tenths ahead of Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Ott Tänak (Toyota) who took 1''5 from Mads Ostberg ( Citroën). The Norwegian feared encountering a fuel pressure problem similar to that which occurred on the C3 WRCs of his teammate Craig Breen and Khalid Al Qassimi. The Hyundais of Hayden Paddon and Andreas Mikkelsen as well as the Yaris WRC followed by just over a second. Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) is the last classified, less than 2 seconds from the reference.
Teemu Suninen (M-Sport) lost around ten seconds on the short course after losing his brakes.
Ott Tänak concludes the first stage of Rally Finland almost 6 seconds ahead of Mads Ostberg. Jari-Matti Latvala remains on the provisional podium ahead of Hayden Paddon who now has around ten seconds ahead of Teemu Suninen. Sébastien Ogier occupies 6th place with 2 seconds ahead of his teammate Elfyn Evans who maintains 3 tenths ahead of Esapekka Lappi. Craig Breen remains 9th but only has a 23-second lead over Thierry Neuville.
Kalle Rovanperä (Skoda), still the fastest in WRC 2, remains in control of the category where the top three is monopolized by the Finns with Eerik Pietarinen (Skoda) at 32 seconds and Jari Huttunen almost a minute just ahead Ole Christian Veiby (Skoda).
19h
Tänak failed just 2 tenths behind Ogier's scratch, who won his first special at the 2018 Rally Finland. The leader now has a 5″8 lead over Ostberg. “The conditions weren't very favorable and we had to work hard to be where we are. We know it won't be easy. »
19h
SS11 “We did everything we could but coming 2nd it wasn’t easy. Honestly, it's the driest Rally Finland I've ever seen, so it was tough. Hats off to Ott and Toyota: they were untouchable today, while starting right behind us”
- Sébastien Ogier (@SebOgier) July 27, 2018
19h
Ostberg settles for 7th time, 1″7 behind Ogier. The Citroën driver remains in the fight for the lead of the race against Tänak. “I was nervous that the same thing would happen to me (fuel pressure problem on the Citroëns of Al Qassimi and Breen), but it went well. »
19h
Latvala equalizes the time of Mikkelsen and Lappi 1″4 behind. The Toyota driver remains in 3rd place. “It was a great day. We will have a good position on the road tomorrow. I stay focused. »
19h
Paddon sets the 3rd time, 1”3 behind Ogier and now has around ten seconds on Suninen following the brake problems encountered by the M-Sport driver.
19h
Suninen was in difficulty in this SS and lost around ten seconds to his teammate Ogier. “I lost the brakes. I pressed and nothing happened. It was complicated in the end. » The five-time WRC champion is less than 13 seconds behind the local driver.
19h
Ogier takes the provisional scratch by 2 tenths ahead of Neuville. “I will have a better position on the road because starting 2nd is not really easy. »
19h
Pietarinen is closest to Rovanperä with 4 tenths behind. He is the main opponent of the WRC 2 leader with 32 seconds behind.
19h
Rovanperä again sets the pace in WRC 2 with a 2s lead over Veiby. The 17-year-old local star has about a half-minute lead.
19h
Huttunen drops 8 tenths to Veiby and retains 3rd place in WRC 2 for a 5″ lead over the Skoda driver. “It wasn't easy even if things were better this afternoon. »
19h
Veiby sets the 5th time on his Fabia R5, 4″3 behind Evans. The Skoda driver ended the day on 3 brakes. The Norwegian is a few seconds behind the top three in WRC 2.
19h
Evans ranks 1″7 from the provisional scratch. The M-Sport driver is playing just behind his teammate Ogier.
19h
Lappi is the closest to Neuville with 1″2 behind. The Toyota driver is fighting with Evans for 7th place but he is no longer worried by Breen following the fuel pressure problems on the Citroën. “The time is not very good. I made a mistake in this step. I was able to increase my pace this afternoon, even if I broke out in a cold sweat. »
19h
Breen maintains a lead of 23s over Neuville in the general classification. “I also had a problem with fuel pressure. We have the right fuel in the tank, that's not the problem. » The Irishman still lost 27s in the super special.
19h
Al Qassimi reached the finish line 2 minutes late.
19h
Breen could keep his 9th position since he had a 50s lead over Neuville. The Citroën driver was able to return to a high pace.
19h
Breen is also having problems with his C3 WRC! The Irishman is at reduced speed on the last course of the day. This might sound like a fuel problem!
19h
Breen sets off while his teammate is still in the special.
19h
Al Qassimi stopped in the super special. The Citroën driver occupied 20th position. He left briefly before stopping again and then resuming his walk at a reduced pace. The left rear window is missing.
