Rapport från Neste Rally Finland 2-4/8
2012


Blå rubrik = wrc

Grön rubrik = Super 2000

Svart rubrik = GrN
Orange rubrik = WRC Academy

Tider och info
SWRC VM följer jag på www.pgandersson.se


12-08-06 Volkswagen-föraren Ogier tog klasseger i finska VM-rallyt
Volkswagens fabriksteam tog i helgen en ny klasseger i rally-VM (WRC), då föraren Sébastien Ogier och kartläsaren Julien Ingrassia vann S2000-klassen i Rally Finland i sin Skoda Fabia. Den franska duon, som från och med 2013 kommer att delta i WRC:s toppklass i den nyutvecklade rallybilen Polo R WRC, kom på tionde plats totalt bakom vinnaren Sébastien Loeb. Klassegern var den sjunde för Ogier/Ingrassia i årets upplaga av FIA World Rally Championship.
– Jag är nöjd med tionde plats totalt. På de snabba grusvägarna tog vi ut absolut allt som var möjligt ur vår Skoda i konkurrens med de betydligt mer kraftfulla WRC-bilarna. Självklart siktar vi nästa år på att vara högre upp med Polo R WRC, säger Sébastien Ogier.

I Rally Finland för exakt ett år sedan gjorde Volkswagen Motorsport sin första VM-rallytävling sedan 1991. Under det senaste året har man deltagit i S2000-klassen med två 270 hästkrafter starka Fabia från koncernmärket Skoda. Detta för att förbereda sig inför deltagandet i WRC nästa år med den nyutvecklade rallybilen Polo R WRC.

Årets upplaga av Rally Finland bjöd på hastigheter upp till 200 km/h och hopp på nästan 50 meter, vilket ställde stora krav på både människa och maskin. Nära 300 000 personer följde rallyt längs de 18 specialsträckorna över 303 kilometer.
– Det är mitt första besök i ett rally och jag måste säga att jag är imponerad! Det är fascinerande att se när fansen entusiastiskt hejar på sina hjältar längs med specialsträckorna. Jag är naturligtvis mycket nöjd med vad våra förarpar har presterat under det krävande rallyt. Vi har samlat på oss viktiga erfarenheterna inför nästa år, säger Ulrich Hackenberg, Volkswagens utvecklingschef.

Teamkamraterna Andreas Mikkelsen och Ola Fløene från Norge slutade tia i S2000-klassen, efter att ha drabbats av en del tekniska problem och punktering på sista specialsträckan.
– Med sina hårda och snabba grusvägar hör Rally Finland till de mest utmanande och spektakulära rallytävlingarna. Hela teamet förtjänar stort beröm för deras jobb att snabbt lösa de små problem som uppstått. Förarparen var i god form och vi har fått många värdefulla erfarenheter att ta med oss i vårt WRC-program nästa år, instämmer Jost Capito, chef Volkswagen Motorsport.
12-08-06 Pontus Tidemand tvåa i Rally Finland
Efter en trevande start på torsdagen för en febersjuk Pontus så avslutande han Rally Finland på bästa möjliga vis och vann alla av lördagens specialsträckor och slutade på en andra plats totalt i tredje deltävlingen av WRC Academy.
- Lördagen var klart bästa dagen för mig, jag har slitit hårt med koncentrationen hela helgen på grund av att jag har en kraftig förkylning. Men det kändes som jag kom upp i mitt “vanliga” tempo sista dagen, berättar Pontus

Under lördagen så kördes de avslutande sex sträckorna och sista sträckan var den legendariska Ounienpohja, där Pontus vann sin femte sträckvinst i rad.
Just sträckvinster är en viktig del i WRC Academy på grund av att man får en poäng för varje sträckvinst utöver poängen man får för placeringen.
- Jag överladdade inte alls för jaga sträcksegrar utan sträcktiderna kom automatisk när jag börja känna mig bättre och orkade ladda på som jag brukar göra, berättar Pontus

Med sex sträckvinster som ger en poäng styck och 18 poäng för andra platsen så gick Pontus upp till en total fjärdeplats i sammandraget för 2012-års Junior-VM
- Nästa tävling är Rally Tyskland och det blir min första VM-deltävlig på asfalt och det kommer bli ännu hårdare att vara med i topp då, då det är flera av de andra som är asfalts-specialister, avslutar Pontus

12-08-05 Våldsam krasch för Åhlin, andraplats för Tidemand i WRC Academy - Finland
I helgen avgjordes det finska VM-rallyt Neste Oil Rally i trakterna kring Jyväskylä. I JVM-klassen WRC Academy skulle de båda svenska landslagsförarna Fredrik Åhlin och Pontus Tidemand försvara de svenska färgerna. För Fredriks del slutade rallyt abrupt redan på den tredje sträckan då han rullade våldsamt fem och ett halvt varv i full fart. För Pontus del blev det en stor framgång då han körde sig till en andra plats i JVM-rallyt.

Fredrik Åhlin som haft en tung säsong fram till det finska VM-rallyt hade förberett sig väl inför starten, och han var ordentligt revanschsugen efter att han tvingats bryta i Akropolisrallyt senast. Men det blev ett riktigt antiklimax för honom och hans norske kartläsare Morten Abrahamsen. Rallyt tog slut med en våldsam krasch redan på den tredje sträckan.
- ”Det var det absolut värsta som någonsin hänt i hela mitt liv” berättar Fredrik för Sportbladet.
- ”Vi körde väl i 155-160 km/timmen mot ett krön, och gick fullt på femmans växel. Vi gick ner till fyran och jag körde på noterna, men när vi kom ner efter krönet så kände jag hur bakdelen av bilen vandrade ut och jag trodde att vi skulle ta maxbredd på vägen, inte mer” berättar Fredrik vidare.

Men i stället slog det i ordentligt i diket och bilen slog runt med våldsam kraft. Varv efter varv tills bilen slutligen stannade, upp och ner.
- ”När man hänger i bältet upp och ner efter en sån här våldsam smäll, och kroppen är fullproppad med adrenalin, så känner man inte om man har ont eller om man är skadad på något sätt. Det gäller bara att få ut mig och Morten så snabbt som möjligt från bilen, sen får man kolla om man är skadad” säger Fredrik som trots den våldsamma kraschen klarade sig bra, och likaså hans kartläsare.
- ”Efter ett tag så kände jag att jag hade ordentligt ont i högerarmen och även om bilen gått att köra vidare med så hade det nog inte funkat eftersom armen blivit rejält mörbultad” säger en bedrövad Fredrik. ”Men jag är glad att både jag och Morten står upp efter det här” avslutar Fredrik som räknar med att vara tillbaka igen till Tysklands VM-rally som startar i slutet av augusti.

Pontus Tidemand och hans norske kartläsare Stig Rune Skjaermoen var också revanschsugna efter deras drivaxelbrott under Akropolisrallyt.
- ”Jag kände mig förberedd trots att vi har haft lite otur med tävlingarna senaste tiden, så jag har inte fått så mycket SS-kilometer i mig som jag hade velat. Vi var och körde test här i Finland för en månad sedan och då tyckte jag det funkade riktigt bra” berättar Pontus.

Och funkade riktigt bra, det gjorde det! Efter en lite trevande inledning på torsdagen, som resulterade i en sjätteplats, blev det ordentlig fart på ekipaget under fredagen. Det var en mycket mer fokuserad Pontus som var med i topp direkt på första sträckan där han presterade tredje bästa tid. Under dagen fortsatte han i det höga tempot vilket resulterade i en sträckvinst och tre andraplatser. Detta gjorde att han avancerade till en andraplats i rallyt inför lördagens avslutande sträckor.
- ”Fredagen gick riktigt bra, körningen stämde mycket bättre även fast jag var lite sliten och inte kände att jag presterade på topp” berättar Pontus som hade startat rallyt med en ordentlig förkylning i kroppen. ”Dessutom hade jag tre förare som flåsade mig i nacken så det gällde att försöka behålla koncentrationen och farten under lördagen” fortsätter Pontus.

Och visst gjorde han det. Under lördagen vann Pontus alla fem sträckor och det resulterade i en total andraplats i WRC Academy-klassen. Just sträckvinster är en viktig del i WRC Academy eftersom man får en poäng för varje sträckvinst utöver poängen man får för placeringen.
- ”Lördagen var klart bästa dagen för mig, jag har slitit hårt med koncentrationen hela helgen på grund av den kraftiga förkylningen. Jag överladdade inte alls för jaga sträcksegrar utan sträcktiderna kom automatisk när jag började känna mig bättre och orkade ladda på som jag brukar göra” avslutar Pontus.

Rallylandslagets förbundskapten Anders Dawidson lider med Fredrik och gläds med Pontus. ”Det blir lite kluvet när det blir så här” säger Anders. ”Jag gläds med Pontus och jag lider enormt med Fredrik” fortsätter han.
- ”Först och främst är jag glad för att både Fredrik och hans kartläsare Morten klarade sig bra från den vådliga vurpan” säger Anders. ”Det är otroligt tråkigt för Fredrik med det som hände. Han är inne i ett motlut som heter duga, med sprängda motorer och rullningar under tävling. Så det är klart att det är tufft. Men han har rätt inställning och är av det rätta virket, och han har tidigare tagit tuffa smällar på ett bra sätt. Dessutom har han bra folk kring sig så även om det är tungt nu så är jag övertygad om att han kommer igen” säger Anders.
”Vad gäller Pontus så kan jag inte säga annat än att jag är imponerad över det han gjort i Finland. Han körde upp sig från en sjätteplats på torsdagen, till en andraplats på fredagen, och andraplatsen behöll han sedan hela vägen in till mål. Dessutom tog han alla sträcksegrar på lördagen. Mycket starkt jobbat” säger Anders som nu blickar fram mot det Tyska VM-rallyt i slutet av augusti.
- ”Det ska bli spännande att följa grabbarnas fortsatta kamp i WRC Academy i Tyskland. Pontus kommer att vara ordentligt laddad efter framgången här i Finland och Fredrik kommer garanterat att stånga sig blodig för att nå framgång igen” avslutar Anders.

WRC Academy-klassen vanns av den brittiske föraren Elfyn Evans, en dryg minut före den svenska landslagsföraren Pontus Tidemand, som i sin tur tog målflagg åtta sekunder före australiensaren Brendan Reeves.

I JVM-tabellen parkerar Pontus på en sammanlagd fjärde plats med sina 41 poäng, och Fredrik befinner sig på en nionde plats med sina 11 poäng.

Nästa VM-rally avgörs i Tyskland den 24-26 augusti.

Poängställning WRC Academy 2012– Junior VM, efter tre av sex VM-rallyn:
Pos. Driver / Points
1. Elfyn Evans / 70
2. Brendan Reeves / 52
3. Alastair Fisher / 49
4. Pontus Tidemand / 41
5. Jose Suarez / 34
6. John MacCrone / 25
7. Timo van der Marel / 18
8. Christopher Duplessis / 16
9. Fredrik Ahlin / 11
10. Joao Silva / 10
11. Ashley Haigh-Smith / 4
12-08-04 Feaarless in Finland: Evans makes it two
As one of the most eagerly awaited rounds on the FIA WRC Academy calendar, every driver dreams of lifting the trophy at rallying’s spiritual home in Finland. But as the 2012 Neste Oil Rally Finland came to a close in Jyväskylä this evening, there could be only one winner.

In another dominant performance, Elfyn Evans added the ‘Gravel Grand Prix’ to his tally of victories – with seven stage wins – and assumed control at the head of the WRC Academy standings. Rounding off the top-three, Pontus Tidemand claimed second with Brendan Reeves third.

Day 1 saw the crews travel south for three stages around the picturesque harbour city of Lahti where a real battle emerged between Evans, Tidemand and Alastair Fisher -each claiming a provisional stage win on the opening tests.

Unfortunately, the three-way battle was cut short after Tidemand was awarded a 10 second time penalty for jumping the start on SS2, demoting the Swede to sixth place and awarding the stage victory to an ever improving Jose Suárez on the Spaniard’s least preferred surface.

Elsewhere, there was misfortune for Ashley Haigh-Smith 5km into SS1 when the South African incurred damage to the gear lever of his Ford Fiesta R2. Despite forfeiting more than 12 minutes to the leaders, the 19-year-old put his ‘bush mechanics’ training to good use to get his Fiesta back to service where the M-Sport team were able to return the car to full working order.

More heartache followed for Sweden’s Fredrik Åhlin whose birthday celebrations were cut short with an accident on SS3. Carrying too much speed into a tight left-hander, the 22-year old rolled his Fiesta R2. Both crew members avoided serious injury in the spectacular incident, but too much damage to the rollcage put an untimely end to the youngster’s charge.

Day 2, and as the competition moved closer to the rally base in Jyväskylä, the dominance Evans showcased at the Acropolis Rally shone through once more with six out of a possible nine stage wins. What is more, with Fisher forced to Rally 2 after a puncture caused electrical damage to the wiring for the fly by wire throttle of his Fiesta, Evans extended his lead to more than a minute over his nearest rivals.

Despite Evans’ control of the event, the battle for the final podium positions was one of the closest and most thrilling in WRC Academy history with four drivers separated by just 12.3 seconds heading into the final five tests.

Recovering well from his earlier penalty and having been suffering from flu earlier in the rally, Tidemand secured a stage victory on SS6 – and was rarely out of the top three on individual stage times – to hold the runner-up spot going into the final day. Claiming the final two stage wins over Lankamaa 2 [SS11] and the second pass of the Killeri Super Special [SS12], Reeves was just a further 8.3 seconds adrift in third. Just 3.9 seconds behind the Australian, Van der Marel continued his strong performance on what had been a good event for the KNAF supported driver with Suárez’s ever improving technique on gravel bringing the youngster into contention for his first WRC Academy podium a mere 0.3 seconds behind in fifth.

Day 3 saw the crews embark on what is arguably the most challenging day of competitive driving the WRC Academy crews have ever faced in their rallying careers – featuring some of Finland’s classic tests with wide roads, fast jumps and the infamously demanding Ouninpohja stage.

Rising to the challenge, a composed drive from Evans saw the 23-year-old maintain his lead whilst a clean-sweep of fastest stage times from Tidemand - including glory on the legendary Ouninpohja stage – saw the Swede consolidate his second place. But it was not enough to topple Evans whose faultless drive saw the Welshman claim his second successive win in as many events to assume the lead of the championship.

Elsewhere, the battle for the final podium position played host to some thrilling driving – Reeves, Van der Marel and Suárez separated by just 1.8 seconds at the end of SS13. The battle was so intense, that SS14, SS15 and SS16 each saw the final podium place occupied by a different driver – Reeves on SS14, Van der Marel on SS15 and back to Reeves at the end of SS16.

The final podium position was settled on the classic Ouninpohja stage when Van der Marel went off the road 3km into the final test, thus handing third place to Reeves. Suárez decided to settle for fourth when he encountered Van der Marel’s stricken Fiesta, but with a strong improvement on gravel the 21-year-old will be well placed ahead of the upcoming asphalt events.

A solid drive from Scotland’s John MacCrone saw the youngster secure a strong fifth place with Chris Duplessis enjoying the stages and bringing his Fiesta home in sixth. Portugal’s João Silva secured seventh, with a recovering Haigh-Smith and Fisher claiming the final points in eighth and ninth respectively.

1st Elfyn Evans said:
“I am very happy to take the victory and make it to the finish on such a prestigious rally, it is such a good feeling. We held it together throughout the event and got the reward. We take away vital points towards the championship, especially after our pace yesterday, and I am very pleased to take seven stage wins.

“We had to look after the car today so I did not push for more points. But it was a great haul of points over the event and our championship attack is back on track, brilliant!”

2nd Pontus Tidemand said:
“I am really happy with second place and six stage wins throughout the rally. I was not feeling well on Day 1 and struggled to find a good rhythm, but my pace and consistency has improved over the past two days. I am very happy to take away so many points towards the championship and I will take away some confidence in my pace from this event.”

3rd Brendan Reeves said:
“We are very happy to be on the podium at the finish. It has been a great battle right from the start, so it was a real shame that Timo [Van der Marel] went out like that, but we managed to keep Jose [Suarez] at bay and kept pushing on.

“Our outright time was really good it the last stage [SS17], which was a great way to finish. We have consistently improved over the course of the event and have gained some great experience. We will go away very happy and confident ahead of the change to Tarmac in Germany.”

4th Jose Suárez said:
“I am happy with our progress over the event and with fourth position. It is an incredible feeling to get to the finish of such a famous event. I have learnt a lot over the event and found a good pace. We have collected good points towards the championship, which I am also very happy about. I go to the next round on Tarmac with a big smile on my face.”

5th John MacCrone said:
“We said before the start of the rally that we would be happy with a top five finish and we take away fifth place. We were in the mix pretty much all of today, apart from two stages. I do not really understand where we lost the time, maybe our pace notes where a little cautious.

“We always knew this would be a difficult event, and are delighted that we can take away strong points towards the championship. It was all about learning and gaining experience on this event and we certainly did that. The stages where exceptionally fast, but great fun. We will come back here next year and hopefully be able to challenge for a podium finish. This result was a great confidence boost ahead of Germany in a few weeks time.”

6th Christopher Duplessis said:
“This event has been so much fun and it is great to be here at the end of such a challenging event, especially after the hard work which went into making sure we could compete here! There were some stages where we pushed hard and had some good times, but we need some practice to match the pace of the front runners, it is an honour to race against them.

“Unfortunately this is my last event in the [FIA] WRC Academy as I am out of budget. I have had an absolute blast and for sure I have learnt a lot and gained invaluable experience. I have loved every minute of it, what better way to finish than on Rally Finland!”

7th João Silva said:
“This has been a really tough event, but I guess without any kind of experience on a surface with the characteristics of Rally Finland, we managed to pass through all of the stages without any major problems, which is a great achievement for us. OK the pace in the last stage [SS17] was not so great for us, but we just wanted to take our car to the finish safely.

“I have learnt the most from of all rallies to date from this event and we take away some great experience and driving confidence. I have really enjoyed the stages and leave here happy. Hopefully we will be in Germany to make good use of what we have learnt here.”

8th Ashley Haigh-Smith said:
“This has been a really challenging event for us, which I have learnt a lot from. It really has been a character building rally. We have suffered some issues over the rally, but have really enjoyed the stages and I am happy to still be here at the finish.

“The stages were fantastic today, although a little rough on the second pass, but we expected this when we started. Otherwise, we found a good rhythm this morning and were going well, but unfortunately we had a gearbox issue on the second pass which resulted in us loosing time to the others.

“Craig deserves a lot of praise on this event, I am so glad he was sat next to me, he has helped me to get the car to the finish that is for sure.

“We have a lot of work to do in preparation for Germany in just over two weeks time, but I will use the experience from here to build confidence.”

9th Alastair Fisher said:
”I have mixed feelings at the end of this rally. We started very well lying second going into Day 2, with a very strong pace and rhythm shown on Day 1 leaving us just 5 seconds behind the lead. Then we got a puncture and decided to continue, but unfortunately encountered issues with the throttle and had to retire from the rest of the day two stages.

“Today we returned under Super Rally regulations and found it a little difficult to push on the limit, but we are here at the end and I really enjoyed the stages. They certainly live up to their reputation!

“I am obviously disappointed to finish at the back of the field on this event after such a competitive start, but we will take away some good experience from the event in preparation for Germany, where we will be looking for maximum points towards the championship.”
12-08-04 Elsewhere, End of Day quotes, Rally Finland Day 3
Mads Østberg, Adapta World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (5th) said:
“The rally has been quite good. I am not so pleased with what we have done, but it was OK. We had too many small problems and haven’t been able to fight where we wanted to fight throughout the entire event.

“We stayed in touch with the top guys for a while, but we lost some time with the brake problems and after that it was a little bit disappointing. Then again we had the fight with Thierry [Neuville], but then he rolled, so there was a gap again.

“It wasn’t the way we hoped it would be. I am happy with the result, but I wanted to be closer to the top.”

Matti Rantanen, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (7th) said:
“The rally was quite OK. Not what I was looking for, as I wanted to compete against Ott [Tänak] and Mads [Østberg], but I think I had too little experience because this was my first rally of the year! They are going so fast that it was really difficult [to match their speed].
“I really enjoyed the last stages. But then on the first pass of Ouninpohja, the first four or five kilometres were really slippery and we went off a little. Apart from that, it was a really fun rally.”

Jari Ketomaa, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (8th) said:
“This was for sure our best rally of the whole season so I am very satisfied with that. The team did a very good job. We
had a two day test beforehand and I was very happy with the car’s set-up.
“Ouninpohja was a bit difficult, but we learnt something new and next time on this stage we will be better.”

Martin Prokop, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (9th) said:
“The rally was not as good as we wanted it to be, but every stage was better and on Ouninpohja we had a really good feeling. We had a good fight with Jari [Ketomaa], but in the end we are losing 2.4 seconds to him, so I was a bit unhappy with that. But we spent some time in the car and got some good data and information for next year.

“The last stage was crazy. Ouninpohja is the hardest stage in the world and the speed there is something else! But we enjoyed driving it, and it was not so bad.”

Karl Kruuda, Ford Fiesta S2000 (12th) said:
“I think the rally was great. We achieved a good result after a long period of not being in the car. OK, we could have been a little bit faster in the beginning, but at least we were on the road. If you go at high speeds there is a good chance that you won’t finish, so we are quite happy.

“Ouninpohja was the most difficult stage I have ever driven – it took all of my knowledge of driving. It is very hard to drive the stage if you have never experienced it before. But I think that with a couple of years experience, you can drive it with more speed and a lot more confidence.”

Sebastian Lindholm, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (14th) said:
“It was a pleasure to do this rally once more. We were driving at a steady pace all the time and our main goal was to finish – it wouldn’t be very nice if you were to go off the road when you are just doing it for fun!

“Ouninpohja is so incredible and so fast. For sure it is so difficult that it is so easy to make a mistake – as we saw this year – because the margins are so small. But I had a lot of fun and I really enjoyed my time here.”

Yazeed Al Rajhi, Ford Fiesta RRC (17th) said:
“The rally was really nice and I finished in a good position with a good time. We had no mistakes and I really enjoyed my first time on this event. Ouninpohja was too difficult! You must keep a clean line and make no mistakes which is not easy on such a hard stage.”

Edoardo Bresolin, Ford Fiesta RRC (20th) said:
“I am happy, but in the last stage [SS18] I felt a puncture in the front and I had to slow towards the end of the stage. But for me, the rally has been fantastic. M-Sport are a fantastic team and my Italian support is so good – I am very happy and have a big smile.”

Maciej Oleksowicz, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (23rd) said:
“The rally for me was maybe not perfect, but for the team I think it was great because we got a lot of points and we are actually now leading the [S-WRC] championship. I am not so happy with my driving, because for me it was far too slow. I think there is still in my head some memories from New Zealand where we crashed three times. But I hope in GB it will be OK.”

Eskapekka Lappi, Ford Fiesta S2000 (25th) said:
“The rally was very nice, very unbelievable actually. OK, we had a few problems but still it was very good and I got a lot of self confidence because I know now that we have the speed and I know where we are [compared to the other drivers on the event].”

Kari Hämäläinen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (28th) said:
“The rally has been very nice and it is very good to be here. I enjoyed it a lot and hope to be here again next year. Ouninpohja was unbelievable, but a lot of fun!”

12-08-04 Speed and Maturity pays dividends in Finland as Tänak takes sixth
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Ott Tänak showcased a blend of speed and maturity over the final day of competition at Neste Oil Rally Finland today to claim vital points and sixth place overall.

Encompassing six stages and 139.8 competitive kilometres south-west of the rally base in Jyväskylä, Day 3 of Rally Finland was arguably the most challenging yet. Featuring some of Finland’s classic stages with wide roads and fast jumps, the crews then tackled two passes of one of the most daunting stages in the championship – the legendary Ouninpohja which, run in its entirety for the first time since 2007, made up 20 per cent of the rally’s total distance.

With a better road position going into the morning stages, Tänak showed his pace behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC with two top-four stage times. Challenging the front runners, the Estonian was 3.2 seconds faster than Ford World Rally Team’s Petter Solberg on the opening test [SS13] and split the two factory Ford’s through Leustu 1 [SS14].

The top-five times continued for Tänak and co-driver Kuldar Sikk over the second pass as the 24-year-old built his speed throughout the course of each stage. Following a loss of rear-wheel drive for Mads Østberg on SS16, Tänak’s speed paid dividends as the Estonian climbed to fifth place – 2.1 seconds up on the Norwegian going into the final two tests.

Despite losing out to a resurgent Østberg on the penultimate test, Tänak showed his maturity with a composed drive through the two passes of Ouninpohja – securing sixth place and valuable championship points.

Elsewhere, disadvantaged running his Ford Fiesta RS WRC first on the road, Novikov concentrated on maintaining yesterday’s speed and making it to the end of the challenging event. After overshooting some junctions in search of a clean line through the lose gravel on the opening test [SS13], the Russian was back in the top-ten stage times through SS14.

Not giving the stages their usual dose of ‘maximum attack’ so as not to risk further injury to co-driver Denis Giraudet’s back, Novikov’s composure continued over the afternoon loop. Setting the ninth fastest time through SS15 – 4.6 seconds up on Thierry Neuville who was also recovering from a roll on Friday’s stages – the 21-year-old climbed another four places in the overall standings.

Taking the two passes of Ouninpohja in his stride, Novikov climbed another 17 places for 36th place overall and gained valuable experience of one of the most challenging tests on the WRC calendar.

Ott Tänak (6th) said:
“The rally was quite OK. It was a bit frustrating in the beginning but I think that had a lot to do with our starting position. This morning we just decided we had to push a bit harder – and we did and everything was going well. The first stages went well, but for sure Ouninpohja is a very difficult stage and I have never been there before so we took it a bit easier just to make sure that everything is OK in the pacenotes.

“At the moment, sixth place was the maximum we could have achieved, so I am happy with that.”

Evgeny Novikov (36th) said:
“The rally was OK. Not so great but I am satisfied and we are at the finish. We got some good experience from all the stages and I feel much more confident and ready for next year.”

12-08-04 A Finnish Finish
Hi everyone,
'Once again - and for the last time - Max and Marco live from Neste Oil Rally Finland reporting you about the third and last day of the WRC Team MINI Portugal squad's MINI adventure here.

'Armindo, Miguel, Paulo and Edu already left the last ten minute service and they're waiting to go over the ramp. It's always a good feeling when a car successfully leaves service - especially the last one in a rally. When everyone's has been totally focused and working flat out and then the car starts up, pulls away and everything's gone OK. Here in Finland it was even better because we had some blaring music over the tanoy next to our service area. We're now listening to Finnish rock while we pack our big structure and wait for the cars to be released from Parc Fermé.

'After a full week of hard work we're really pleased that both crews finished such a difficult rally! Here's a bit more about our last day here in Finland.'

Max
'Today was a pretty straightforward day. The aim for Armindo was to finish the rally without major delays and get as much experience at Rally Finland as possible.

'The only hiccough in an otherwise positive day happened on SS16 when Armindo was pushing to try and catch Sebastian Lindholm - who was just in front of him in the overall standings - when he damaged a tyre on his MINI after skidding over to the opposite side of the road and sliding into a ditch. He had to run the rest of the stage with a puncture and lost some time. It's a shame because he was doing a good job on the first half of the stage and he was pulling back some seconds.

'I'm really proud of Armindo this weekend. He doesn't find Rally Finland easy but he got through the whole event without making any major mistakes! Finland's always a tough rally, because you have to take jumps you've recced at under 18kmph at over 180kmph! This means you have no idea how far you'll fly or where you land. We really hoped that coming back to Rally Finland this year in the same car would make it easier for Armindo, but still with the 'flying Finns' careering through the stages, he had to keep to his own pace. It's a huge challenge here and the terrain is really alien for a Portuguese driver, so it was an event of endurance and survival for us and we did it! Germany is one of Armindo's strongest events, so we now can hope to be back inside the top 10 as we his Trier - can't wait! ;-)

'The rally is now finished but the team still has the big job of packing everything up to be ready to leave tomorrow. When we go back to in Italy we have a couple of busy weeks waiting for us. We have to prepare the new MINI for Rallye Deutschland and before that we have a four day test with Armindo to make sure everything is spot on for the first Tarmac rally of the season and his first event in an 01B.

'Some of my Portuguese colleagues will join us in the workshop to help out as there's a lot of work to do. It's nice for me to work in a mixed nationality team - I have the maximum respect for all my colleagues. I try to get along with everyone as long as they work properly. We have to stay together for 10 days per event on 13 rallies a year, that plus tests means almost half the year - we almost see each other more than we see our families!

'I'm quite satisfied with what I have achieved so far in my career but there are still a few dreams that I would like to realize before I retire (I know I still have many years ahead). I would love to have worked on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, because that's one of the most important races in the world. Interms of rallying, I'd like to win Rallye Monte-Carlo. There are three or four races which are the most prestigious in the world and those are among them!

'Even if we'll be pretty busy I'll try to take some time to relax as well - I like to go out on my motorbike, go cycling or taking a boat tour. I also love old cars, especially I have a passion for Lancias. I built an old Lancia Fulvia and I'm very proud of it.'

Marco
'Ha, the first time I saw Max's Lancia, the only thing I could say was, "Wow!" It's seriously impressive - the boys and I reckon it's better now than it would have been when it was new!!

'That said, back to Rally Finland. Last night we - the other mechanics on Paulo's car and I - had our hands pretty full. After our trip to retrieve him, we took the MINI back to service and started working to get it fixed and ready to go this morning. After three hours it was as good as new. :-)

'When Paulo set off this morning he was smiling again and I love it when my driver is happy and in a good mood - it keeps the morale of the team high. He loved the stages and he even said he was going to try and be a bit more aggressive as he had a good feeling about today's stages. However, he was very careful on the second passes through the stages as the roads were more worn away and stones were coming to the surface. Meanwhile he says the Ouninpohja stage is like doing the Col de Turini in Monte-Carlo - you have to respect the stage otherwise you won't see the end of it. However, on the second pass in Ouninpohja he really went at his limit, the fastest he could ever imagine going and he says it was 'amazing, amazing, amazing!!!!'

'Seeing Paulo reach the end of the rally is always great, for him each rally completed is a big achievement and boy does he know how to celebrate. ;-) For us, as we pack up the trucks to go back home our heads are already on the next round ADAC Rallye Deutschland, where we head later this month. We have to prepare Paulo's car for Tarmac - surely it's not his favourite surface but I hope he'll enjoy it.

'Tomorrow I go back to Portugal to spend a few days with my kids and beloved wife. I really want to spend more time with them but I have a pretty busy life and it's not always easy. I don't think too much about the future. I live day-to-day, 'carpe diem' is what I say. I don't make long-term plans often, but I'd like to start! One plan of course is to be at home (or away!) with my family more. For the rest, I do what I like and I like what I do. :-)'

'Well we'd better get back to work now, we still have a lot of work to finish and our colleagues will start complaining soon.

'Thank you for following us throughout the weekend, it was a pleasure to be your hosts and to tell you all the behind-the-scenes live from the WRC Team MINI Portugal service area. I hope you enjoyed our columns.
'WRC Team MINI Portugal will be back later this month when we compete in ADAC Rallye Deutschland and your host there will be a special guest - watch this space...

'Stay tuned and thank you for the support,'
Max & Marco

Final Overall Classification – Rally Finland
1.S. Loeb (FRA)/ D. Elena (MCO) Citroen 2:28:11.4
2.Hirvonen (FIN)/ J. Lehtinen (FIN) Citroen +6.1
3.J.M Latvala (FIN)/ M. Anttila (FIN) Ford +35.0
?4.P. Solberg (NOR)/ C. Patterson (GBR) Ford +56.1
5.M. Ostberg (NOR)/ J. Andersson (SWE) Ford +2:32.1
6.O. Tanak (EST)/ K. Sikk (EST) Ford +2:47.6
7.M. Rantanen (FIN)/ M. Lukka (FIN) Ford +4:51.7
8.J. Ketomaa (FIN)/ M. Stenberg (FIN) +6:01.9
9.M. Prokop (CZE)/ Z. Hruza (CZE) Ford +6:04.3
10.S. Ogier (FRA)/ J. Ingrassia (FRA) Skoda +8:46.0

15.A. Araújo (PRT)/ M. Ramalho (PRT) MINI +12:43.7

38.P. Nobre (BRA)/ E.Paula (BRA) MINI +36:28.6

2012 FIA Drivers' Championship Standings
S. Loeb 171/ M. Hirvonen 128/ P. Solberg 104/ M. Ostberg 90/ J.M. Latvala 69/ E. Novikov 55 / M. Prokop 38/ T.Neuville 32/ D. Sordo 29/ O.Tanak 26/ N. Al-Attyiah 23/ S. Ogier 23/ … A. Araújo 11...M. Stohl 1
12-08-04 Latvala claims Rally Finland podium for Ford on home ground
Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila claimed a podium finish for Ford World Rally Team on their home round of the FIA World Rally Championship in Finland today. They crewed a Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car to third in Rally Finland, while team-mates Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson finished fourth in a similar car.

Fiesta RS WRCs packed the leaderboard with seven finishing this eighth and fastest round of the season inside the top 10 as a fleet of privately-entered cars followed the official Ford entries.

Rally Finland is one of the jewels in the WRC crown. Based in picturesque forests near Jyväskylä, 270km north of Helsinki, the three-day rally was the equivalent of athletics’ 100 metres sprint, with just 303.52km of competition over 18 speed tests. It was one of the shortest rounds in the WRC’s history and was fought at a furious pace, with average speeds nearing 130kph.

Huge crowds packed the forests, especially at the classic Ouninpohja special stage which closed the event tonight. Blisteringly fast roads and stomach-churning jumps over blind crests make this the toughest challenge in the sport and two passes over the 33.01km test provided a fitting finale.

Latvala ended Thursday’s short opening leg tied in second, but the 27-year-old was unable to match the pace of the leaders yesterday. He was initially frustrated at being unable to perfect the set-up on his Fiesta RS WRC. However, once he achieved that, he grew in confidence and pulled away from his team-mate during the final leg to secure third.

“As a Finn competing in Finland, a win is always the target, but I said before the rally that if I finished on the podium I would be happy,” said Latvala. “I enjoyed a clean weekend with no mistakes and no mechanical issues and I can’t say that about many other rallies this year, so that’s a good feeling.

“I wasn’t at my best in the early part of the event, but I battled hard to get the set-up right and that paid off as I found a feeling with which I was happy. Our pace was strong, but not quite strong enough, so we must all go away and work hard to put that right. We’re not far away,” he added.

Solberg set a fastest time during each of the opening two legs and started the final day just 1.1sec behind his team-mate. A set-up change to his Fiesta RS WRC to try to further improve performance failed to pay off and he reverted to his original settings as he settled for fourth, finishing 21.1sec behind Latvala.

“I pushed very hard for the first two days,” said Solberg. “This morning we agreed that I would try some different settings to see if it would allow us to close on the guys ahead. I was looking for the ‘magic’ set-up, but it didn’t work. The car was too low and the sump guard was hitting the road so I reverted back to my original settings.

“Jari-Matti and I had exactly the same speed for the first two days but unfortunately it wasn’t fast enough to win. I tried really hard on the final Power Stage to try to take maximum bonus points, but I missed out by half a second. That seems to be the story of the weekend!” he added.

Ford World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson was pleased with a podium, but admitted he had hoped for more. “We lost ground during Thursday’s short leg and given the pace of Rally Finland we knew it would be difficult to pull time back. That proved to be the case and we weren’t able to claw back the seconds we lost. However, we had no problems with either car and it was also encouraging to have seven Fiesta RS WRCs in the top 10,” he said.

Ford Racing’s European motorsport manager Gerard Quinn said: “I have huge respect for Jari-Matti and Petter for the tremendous effort they put in this weekend. It’s not the result we wanted but they faced a difficult challenge to regain time, and did a great job over the fastest roads in the WRC. We now look forward to Germany, where I hope we can claim a good result on asphalt.”

News from other Ford teams
Adapta World Rally Team’s Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson finished fifth in a Fiesta RS WRC, regaining the place in the penultimate test after losing time with a broken propshaft in the previous stage. They edged out M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Ott Tänak / Kuldar Sikk, who enjoyed a troublefree rally en route to sixth. Matti Rantanen / Mikko Lukka claimed seventh, moving ahead of fellow Finns Jari Ketomaa / Mika Stenberg when they lost time with a puncture. Czech Ford National Team drivers Martin Prokop / Zdenek Hruza were ninth and Evgeny Novikov / Denis Giraudet recovered to 36th after rolling yesterday. Ken Block / Alex Gelsomino went off the road in the opening stage today and retired on the following test when broken suspension pitched them off the road after a heavy landing over a jump. The rally was also the third round of the Ford Racing-supported FIA WRC Academy and Britons Elfyn Evans / Phil Pugh claimed their second straight win in a Fiesta RS to move to the head of the championship.

Next round
The series heads to Germany later this month for the first traditional asphalt encounter of the season. Rallye Deutschland is based in Trier on 23 - 26 August.

Final positions
1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen DS3 2hr 28min 11.4sec
2. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Citroen DS3 2hr 28min 17.5sec
3. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 28min 46.4sec
4. P Solberg/C Patterson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 29min 07.5sec
5. M Østberg/J Andersson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 30min 43.5sec
6. O Tänak/K Sikk EST Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 30min 59.0sec
7. M Rantanen/M Lukka FIN Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 33min 03.1sec
8. J Ketomaa/M Stenberg FIN Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 34min 13.3sec
9. M Prokop/Z Hruza CZE Ford Fiesta RS 2hr 34min 15.7sec
10 S Ogier/J Ingrassia FRA Skoda Fabia S2000 2hr 36min 57.4sec

Drivers
1. S Loeb 171pts
2. M Hirvonen 128pts
3. P Solberg 104pts
4. M Østberg 90pts
5. J-M Latvala 69pts
6. E Novikov 55pts

Manufacturers
1. Citroen Total WRT 280pts
2. Ford WRT 171pts
3. M-Sport Ford WRT 115pts
4. Qatar WRT 49pts
5. Citroen Junior WRT 48pts
6. Adapta WRT 37pts

Stage Times
Stage 13: 1. Loeb 8min 05.7sec; 2. Latvala + 1.2; 3. Hirvonen + 3.9; 4. Tänak + 9.0; 5. Østberg + 11.0; 6. P Solberg + 12.2.
Overall: 1. Loeb 1hr 28min 36.1sec; 2. Hirvonen + 8.9; 3. Latvala + 21.5; 4. P Solberg + 33.6; 5. Østberg + 58.7; 6. Tänak + 1:45.4.

Stage 14: 1. Hirvonen 10min 25.8sec; 2. Loeb + 1.5; 3. Latvala + 4.9; 4. Tänak + 7.8; 5. P Solberg + 7.9; 6. Østberg + 9.2.
Overall: 1. Loeb 1hr 39min 03.4sec; 2. Hirvonen + 7.4; 3. Latvala + 24.9; 4. P Solberg + 40.0; 5. Østberg + 1:06.4; 6. Tänak + 1:51.7.

Stage 15: 1. Loeb 8min 00.3sec; 2. Latvala + 0.5; 3. Hirvonen + 1.9; 4. P Solberg + 5.1; 5. Tänak + 5.8; 6. Østberg + 8.2.
Overall: 1. Loeb 1hr 47min 03.7sec; 2. Hirvonen + 9.3; 3. Latvala + 25.4; 4. P Solberg + 45.1; 5. Østberg + 1:14.6; 6. Tänak + 1:57.5.

Stage 16: 1= Latvala, Loeb 10min 20.2sec; 3. Hirvonen + 0.1; 4. P Solberg + 0.3; 5. Tänak + 4.2; 6. Neuville + 11.1.
Overall: 1. Loeb 1hr 57min 23.9sec; 2. Hirvonen + 9.4; 3. Latvala + 25.4; 4. P Solberg + 45.4; 5. Tänak + 2:01.7; 6. Østberg + 2:03.8.

Stage 17: 1. Hirvonen 15min 26.9sec; 2. Loeb + 2.2; 3. Latvala + 5.8; 4. P Solberg + 13.4; 5. Østberg + 16.3; 6. Rantanen + 30.0.
Overall: 1. Loeb 2hr 12min 53.0sec; 2. Hirvonen + 7.2; 3. Latvala + 29.0; 4. P Solberg + 56.6; 5. Østberg + 2:17.9; 6. Tänak + 2:30.1.

Stage 18: 1. Hirvonen 15min 17.3sec; 2. P Solberg + 0.6; 3. Loeb + 1.0; 4. Latvala + 7.0; 5. Østberg + 15.3; 6. Tänak + 18.5.
Overall: 1. Loeb 2hr 28min 11.4sec; 2. Hirvonen + 6.1; 3. Latvala + 35.0; 4. P Solberg + 56.1; 5. Østberg + 2:32.1; 6. Tänak + 2:47.6.
12-08-04 P-G Andersson upp i ledning i Rally-VM för Super 2000 efter segern i Finland!
Per-Gunnar "P-G" Andersson och hans co-driver Emil Axelsson kammade hem segern i Rally-VM i Finland för Super 2000-bilar tillsammans med Protons Fabriksteam. På dagens andra sträcka övertog P-G och Emil ledningen i rallyt och körde sedan sekundjämnt med Craig Breen. På sextonde sträckan fick P-G och Emil problem problem och tappade sin ledning:
- "Drivaxeln gick av höger fram" säger P-G.

De sista två avgörande sträckorna var den klassiska 33,01 km långa Ouninpohja. Inför den sträckan ledde Breen med 13,3 sekunder:
- "Det är ingen omöjlighet att ta in den tiden på den här sträckan" säger P-G "Ouninpohja är verkligen spektakulär. Det är en klassisk sträcka med hopp och sprätt i varenda kurva. Den är mycket speciell och svårkörd, speciellt om man inte kört här förut".

Där hade P-G och Emil en klar fördel. P-G har kört flera gånger under sin Junior VM-tid. För Craig Breen var det första gången. Och dessvärre rullade engelsmannen där inne och tvingades bryta
- "Jag är verligen ledsen för Craigs del. Han gjorde en riktigt stark insats i rallyt. Mycket tråkigt för deras del" säger P-G.

Därmed var segern ett faktum för svenskarnas del som vann rallyt med drygt tre minuter före Yazeed Al Rajhi och drygt fem minuter före teamkollegan Juho Salo. I och med segern klättrar de upp i ledning i SWRC, som är Rally-VM för Super 2000-bilar.
- "Det känna otroligt skönt att vinna igen. Vi har haft en lite problemfylld säsong, så det här känns j-kligt skönt" skrattar P-G "Vi har verkligen kämpat hårt i helgen och det gav resultat".

WRC-klassen vanns av Sebastien Loeb, före Mikko Hirvonen och Jari-Matti Latvala slutade trea. P-G och Emil slutade på en hedervärd elfte plats totalt.

Nästa tävling för P-G´s del blir VM i England 13-16 september.

Mer info, hittar du på www.pgandersson.se. Där vi följt rallyt, sträcka för sträcka.

Rally-VM Finland, SWRC
1. P-G Andersson 2:39:01.2
2 Yazeed Al Rajhi (KZ) 2:42:19.0 +3:17.8
3. Juho Salo (Fin) 2:44:47.9 +5:46.7
4. Maciej Oleksowicz (PL) 2:50:34.6 +11:33.4
5 Esapekka Lappi (Fin) 2:51:19.0 +12:17.8
-. Hayden Paddon (NZ), Bröt
-. Craig Breen (GB), Bröt
Komplett resultat: http://www.wrc.com/results/2012/neste-oil-rally-finland/stage-times/?stageno=3&category=swrc

VM-tabellen efter Rally Finland/SWRC
1. P-G Andersson 68 poäng
2. Hayden Paddon (NZ) 62 poäng
3. Majicej Oleksowicz (PL) 53 poäng
4. Craig Breen (GB) 243 poäng
5. Yazeed Al Rahji (Sau) 40 poäng


12-08-03 SS18; Loeb vann i Finland
Mikko Hirvonen försökte in i det sista. Han kammade dock hem sista sträcksegern och satte nytt sträckrekord, men tyvärr räkte det inte till seger.

Förarkommentarer:
- "So kul att köra, även om det inte var på gränsen" Atkinson
- "Bra att vi avslutade rallyt. Vi har fått erfarenhet inför framtiden" Novikov
- "Vi är i mål, så vi är glada" Lindholm
- "Det har varit en bra helg för oss. Bra för framtiden" Neuville
- "Sista sträckan var mycket bra. Rallyt var inte så bra, vi har inte kunnat matcha de andras fart" Prokop
- "Jag lyckades hålla Prokop bakom, det var nära. Det var en riktigt bra helg" Ketoma
- "Vägarna är väldigt snabba här och jag hade inte självförtroende. Vi jobbade med setup och ändrade noterna på vissa ställen. Bra erfarenhet och possitivt" Tänak
- "Okej. Vi borde vara nöjda. Det har varit ett långt rally med många svåra sträckor. Femte plats är inte så dåligt. Bra erfarenhet" Østberg
- "Det var renare, men jag brosmade för tidligt i en kurva före start. Inga större misstag. Jari är på pallen, det är viktigt. Jag försökte ta rekordet på sträckan" Petter
- "Det är en liten besvikelse. Vi skulle gett mer. Problem från början av rallyt, när vi inte hade rätt inställningar" Latvala
- "Vi hade en fantastiskt fight. Har Seb en ren körning, slår man honom inte" Hirvonen
- "Väldigt tillfredställande att vinna i Finland. Det var väldigt svårt, vi hade en bra fight med MIkko. Vi körde för fullt hela tiden. Inga större misstag" Loeb

På SS18
1. Hirvonen, 15:17.3
2. Petter, +0,6
3. Loeb, +1,1
4. Latvala, +7,1
5. Østberg, +15,3
6. Tänak, +18,6
7. Rantanen, +22,8
8. Neuville, +25,5
9. Aktinson, +29,5
10. Prokop, +32,4

Efter SS18:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:28:11.4
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:28:17.5 +6,1
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 2:28:46.4
4. Petter Solberg (N), 2:29:07.5
5. Mads Østberg (N), 2:30:43.5
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 2:30:59.0
7. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 2:33:03.1
8. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 2:34:13.3
9. Martin Prokop (CZ), 2:34:15.7
10. Sebastien Ogier (F),
12-08-03 SS17; Hirvonen tog in 2,2 sekunder!
Sträckan stod still en stund sedan Tahku kört av så att hans bil hindrade efterföljande bilar. Besättningen okej. Sträckan vanns av Hirvonen, 2,2 sekunder före Loeb och 5,8 före Latvala.

En sträcka återstår nu av rallyt och det är den här sträckan som körs om en avslutande gång som Powerstage.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Jag kan inte säga hur svårt det var. Jag tappade krön och hopp i noternern som aldrig tidigare" Prokop.
- "Jag är nöjd med tiden, men vi hade ett "big moment" efter starten. Jag slog i något med bakdäcket" Rantanen
- "Bilen fungerar. Men en sträcka kvar. Vi försöker att göra lite ändringar på bilen" Østberg
- "En väldigt lös sträcka. Men okej, jag trodde vi skulle vara snabbare" Petter
- "Vi hade ett bra hopp, i diket. Jag var tvungen att rätta noterna" Latvala

På SS17
1. Hirvonen, 15:26.9
2. Loeb, +2,2
3. Latvala, +5,8
4. Petter, +13,4
5. Østberg, +16,3
6. Rantanen, +30,0
7. Tänak, +30,6
8. Prokop, +50,6

Efter SS17:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 2:12:53.0
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 2:13:00.2 +7.2
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 2:13:22.0 +29.0
4. Petter Solberg (N), 2:13:49.6 +56.6
5. Mads Østberg (N), 2:15:10.9 +2:17.9
6. Ott Tänak (EE),2:15:23.1 +2:30.1
7. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 2:17:23.0 +4:30.0
8. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 2:18:17.9 +5:24.9
9. Martin Prokop (CZ), 2:18:26.0 +5:33.0
10. Sebastien Ogier (F), 2:20:57.0 +8:04.0
12-08-04 Elsewhere, Midday quotes, Rally Finland day 3
Mads Østberg, Adapta World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (6th) said:
“The morning has been quite OK. We tried a few small adjustments on the car and have just been playing it safe really.

“But then about eight kilometres before the end of the last stage [SS16], the propshaft came lose on a fast section and we lost rear-wheel drive. But the worst thing was that the propshaft itself was banging around in the tunnel. I was getting very worried that it might come through so I look it very steady for a while. Then I tried to increase the speed a bit more – even though we only had front-wheel drive I didn’t want to loose too much. We came through, but we lost a lot of time so we need to gain that back now.”

Matti Rantanen, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (7th) said:
“The morning stages have been good. I really enjoyed the second loop and we had a lot of fun. The car is good and when there is a clean line it is much easier to drive. Now we just have Ouninpohja – I think there might be some excitement on the start line for this one!”

Jari Ketomaa, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (8th) said:
“We had a puncture in the last Surkee stage [SS15]. Surkee was not so good for us on both passes so we lost some time there. But the stages have been very enjoyable with some very fast roads and now I am looking forward to Ouninpohja which I am sure will be interesting!”

Martin Prokop, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (9th) said:
“Today has been much better than yesterday. It was a shame that I didn’t have the speed yesterday, but I can feel the improvement and the last two stages [SS15 and SS16] were very good. We enjoyed that [the last two stages] and the speed was much better so we are going in the right direction.”

Craig Breen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (11th) said:
“It was unfortunate what happened to P-G [Andersson, who lost time with a suspected broken driveshaft], but looking on the splits I think we were possibly going to overtake him in the stage anyway. I stepped my pace up a little bit, but I am still not taking any risks at all really – I am on about 90 per cent.

“We will see what happens. I need to be quite careful on Ouninpohja. It is obviously a very technical stage with lots of places to make a mistake. I’ll go for the first pass and see what time we can do. If we can stay ahead of P-G that would be great, but if not, it is still mission accomplished for us.”

Karl Kruuda, Ford Fiesta S2000 (13th) said:
“On the first stage [SS13] I made two mistakes – I missed two junctions so I lost the stage win there. Then on the second [SS14], it was quite good although it got quite scary in the middle.

“On the second loop I don’t know what happened on the first stage [SS15]. I was driving quite normally, but maybe too carefully in some places. Then on the last one [SS16], I had a really good feeling in the car but it is just impossible to match the pace of Ogier. But we are trying to do out best so we will just see how it goes.”

Sebastian Lindholm, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (15th) said:
“The stages have been quite OK. I thought that I had a puncture on the second stage this morning [SS14] so I slowed down for the rest of the stage, but in fact we didn’t. Then now we had a problem on the first stage [SS15] because we put new brake pads in the car and I didn’t warm them up enough – so for three kilometres we had no brakes really. Otherwise we had no problems.

“Now we can get to Ouninpohja which is the one I have been waiting for! I didn’t want to retire from the rally before this stage and I am really looking forward to it.”

Yazeed Al Rajhi, Ford Fiesta RRC (18th) said:
“The stages have all been really nice today and I am really enjoying it. On the second loop I pushed a little bit more and improved my time a lot. Everything with the car is perfect and everything is working well – I hope it continues for the last stages!”

Edoardo Bresolin, Ford Fiesta RRC (22nd) said:
“Today I am very happy. I am in still in the rally and taking everything stage by stage. The car is perfect and M-Sport’s engineers have been fantastic all weekend. Ouninpohja will be very difficult, as for me it will be the first time. We will use the first pass to judge the road, and then try and push a little more through the second.”

Maciej Oleksowicz, Ford Fiesta S2000 (24th) said:
“The stages have been a pleasure to drive. The second loop was a lot easier for me and I was starting to get some rhythm. Now that the rally is almost over, I think I know how to drive fast here in Finland! So when we come back, for sure we will be richer for the experience we have gained here.”

Eskapekka Lappi, Ford Fiesta S2000 (35th) said:
“The stages have been quite OK today. I dropped the speed a little bit from yesterday, but it has been quite a relaxed day really. I could push a little bit more, but we will see how we go. The car is working well. We changed quite a few parts after yesterday, and it feels really good. Of course I am looking forward to the final stages now. That was our main target for the day – to make it through to Ouninpohja.
12-08-04 M-Sport Ford WRT, Midday Quotes, Rally Finland Day 3
Ott Tänak (5th) said:

“The second pass was OK. It is quite a bit rougher now, and there are some quite nasty places with lots of lose gravel, but it is OK. It looks as though we have been a bit slow in the beginning of the stages, but we are improving during the stages so our pace is not so bad.

“I am looking forward to the next one [Ouninpohja] but it will be tricky because I have never been there before. For sure I want to get to the end of the stage and gain as much experience as I can.”

Evgeny Novikov (53rd) said:
“The second pass was OK: nothing special and no big moments. The stages are pretty much the same as they were this morning. It was maybe not so nice at the start of the first stage [SS15] for Denis [who is having some discomfort with his back], but the rest is fine.

“There is a little more grip, but there are also some lines which makes it a little trickier. But the car is good, everything is fine and it is just a case of making sure we get through all the stages and make it to the end of this rally.”
12-08-03 SS16; Loeb och Latvala snabbast
Sebastien Loeb och Latvala satte samma tid på den här sträckan. 0,1 sekund före Hirvonen och 0,3 före Petter. Østberg tappade sin femteplats.

Nu är det service och sedan avslutas dagen med den 33,01 km långa klassiska Ouninpohja. När den körs om andra gången, går den även som Powerstage.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Vi har skadat något. Det är kraftiga vibrationer från bilen" Østberg
- "Jag har en bra känsla, men det var en dålig sträcka" Latvala
- "Jag kommer att försöka till slutet. Jag vill vinna det här rallyt" Hirvonen
- "Vi får se, men vi vill behålla ledningen" Loeb

På SS16
1. Loeb, 10:20.2
1. Latvala, +0,0
3. Hirvonen, +0,1
4. Petter, +0,3
5. Tänak, +4,2
6. Atkinson, +11,1
7. Neuville, +16,9
8. Rantanen, +17,5
9. Ketomaa, +18,2
10. Prokop, +20,6

Efter SS16:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:57:23.9
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:57:33.3 +9.4
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:57:49.3 +25.4
4. Petter Solberg (N), 1:58:09.3 +45.4
5. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:59:25.6 +2:01.7
6. Mads Østberg (N), 1:59:27.7 +2:03.8
7. Matti Rantanen (Fin) 2:01:26.1 +4:02.2
8. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 2:01:56.7 +4:32.8
9. Martin Prokop (CZ), 2:02:08.5 +4:44.6
10. Sebastien Ogier (F), 2:04:28.8 +7:04.9
12-08-03 SS15; Loeb slår tillbaka
Sebastien Loeb slår tillbaka och kammar hem sträcksegern igen. Han var 0,5 före Latvala och 1,9 före Hirvonen.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Vi fick köra en mil med punktering" Ketomaa
- "Jag försöker verkligen. Men en del ställen är tuffa och där kör iv inte max" Tänak
- "Vi testar lite inställningar. Det går inte att köra ikapp de framför. Vi testar och får erfarenhet" Østberg
- "Det har blivit väldigt tufft" Petter
- "Vi föröker hålla upp pressen. Om det händer något. Men körmässigt når jag dem inte" Latvala
- "Vi tappar lite till Loeb här, men jag ska kämpa. Vi får se. Tre sträckor kvar" Hirvonen
- "Det var tufft på en del ställen. Men jag hade en bra sträcka. Mikko har inte gett upp" Loeb

På SS15:
1. Loeb, 8:00,3
2. Latvala, +0,5
3. Hirvonen, +1,9
4. Petter, +5,1
5. Tänak, +5,8
6. Østberg, +8,2
7. Rantanen, +12,5
8. Prokop, +14,7
9. Novikov, +16,5
10. Neuville, +21,1

Efter SS15:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:47:03.7
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:47:13.0 +9.3
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:47:29.1 +25,4
4. Petter Solberg (N), 1:47:48.8 +45.1
5. Mads Østberg (N), 1:48:18.3 +1:14.6
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:49:01.2 +1:57.5
7. Matti Rantanen (Fin) 1:50:48.4 +3:44.7
8. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 1:51:18.3 +4:14.6
9. Martin Prokop (CZ), 1:51:27.7 +4:24.0
10. Sebastien Ogier (F), 1:53:35.2 +6:31.5
12-08-04 M-Sport Ford WRT, Mid-morning quotes, Rally Finland Day 3
Ott Tänak (6th) said:

“The morning stages have been quite OK. We have a better starting position today and things are looking better for us so I am quite happy.

“We made some small changes on the car yesterday and it is feeling OK at the moment. I am a bit more confident today, and I am looking to push a bit more. For sure the gap in front of us is too big [to think about taking another position], so it is just about stage times for now.”

Evgeny Novikov (57th) said:
“The morning has not been so bad. Now we have experience of being [the] first car on the road so everything is fine. We are just going at the same speed as yesterday, hoping everything will be fine and we make it to the finish to get through all the stages.

“The car is working well, but of course it is difficult running first on the road. It is slippery, but we are in that position and I can’t complain, it is just the way it is.”
12-08-03 14; Hirvonen knappar in
Mikko Hirvonen vann sträckan och knappade in xx sekunder på Loeb.

Ken Block har åkt av och skadat bilen så det är färdigkört för deras del.

Nu är det dags för service. 10:18 körs sedan morgonens sträckor om en gång.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Jag blev lite hindrad av Ken Block. Han hoppade lite för mycket, men är okej" Prokop
- "Vi hade ett ganska stort hopp, et var trevligt" Rantanen
- "Nu är det mycket bättre. Vi har gjort lite ändringar i setupen" Ketomaa
- "Inte så dåligt. Ganska bra sträcka. Vi försökte. Vi fick en stor överraskning över ett hopp. Men ganska bra" Østberg
- "Vi försökte. Trixig sträcka. Jag tog det verkligen lungt över hoppen. Okej sträcka" Petter
- "Jag försöker verkligen. Men jag vet inte var jag kan ta in mer tid" Latvala
- "Jag trodde jag hade en punktering bak. Men det försvann" Loeb

På SS14:
1. Hirvonen, 10:25.8
2. Loeb, +1,5
3. Latvala, +4,9
4. Tänak, +7,8
5. Petter, +7,9
6. Østberg, +9,2
7. Ketmomaa, +22,7
8. Neuville, +23,4
9. Rantanen, +24,5
10. Novikov, +30,3

Efter SS14:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:39:03.4
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:39:10.8 +7,4
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:39:28.3 +24,9
4. Petter Solberg (N), 1:39:43.4 +40.0
5. Mads Østberg (N), 1:40:09.8 +1:06.4
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:40:55.1 +1:51.7
7. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 1:42:21.0 +3:17.6
8. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 1:42:35.6 +3:32.2
9. Martin Prokop (CZ), 1:43:12.7 +4:09.3
10. Sebastien Ogier (F), 1:45:08.6 +6:05.2
12-08-03 13; Loeb snabbast ut idag
Loeb var snabbast ut på första sträckan idag och utökar därmed sin ledning en aning.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det är okej, men bilen fungerar inte som jag hoppades. Vi måste ändra lite på inställningarna inför nästa sträcka" Petter
- "Jag är nöjd. Jag är mer avslappnad idag och jag älskar den här sträckan" Latvala
- "Jag slog i en sten i början av sträckan och fick en punktering. Fick köra så resten av sträckan" Hirvonen (som hade hjulet fullt med trä...)
- "Jag försöker och är nöjd med starten idag. Jag är nöjd att slåss om ledningen" Loeb

På SS13:
1. Loeb, 8:05.7
2. Latvala, +1,2
3. Hirvonen, +3,9
4. Tänak, +9,0
5. Østberg, +11,0
6. Petter, +12,2
7. Prokop, +21,5
8. Rantanen, +21,8
9. Neuville, +28,9
10. Ketomaa, 28,9

Efter SS13:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:28:36.1
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:28:45.0 +8,9
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:28:57.6 +21,5
4. Petter Solberg (N), 1:29:09.7 +33,6
5. Mads Østberg (N), 1:29:34.8 +58,7
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:30:21.5 +1:45,4
7. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 1:31:32.5 +2:56.4
8. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 1:31:45.3 +3:09.2
9. Martin Prokop (CZ), 1:32:16.0 +3:39.9
10. Ken Block (USA), 1:33:52.9 +5:16.8
12-08-03 FIA WRC Academy, End of Day Quotex, Rally Finland Day 2
Elfyn Evans (1st) said:
“Today’s stages were good and I am really happy to hold onto the lead after Day 2. Obviously Alastair [Fisher] went out quite early on which was a big shame for him, and for me as I was really enjoying the battle. We were then left with the difficult task of balancing speed, looking after the car and being safe and I think we have managed to do that reasonably well.

“Generally things are working well, with only a few minor niggles throughout the day. We have learnt a lot, but we are definitely still learning. The big jumps do catch you by surprise out there – no matter how much we were prepared for them – and we had quite a heavy landing on one.

“It has been really good fun out there and I have really enjoyed it. I am really looking forward to tomorrow, but we must opt for the safe approach as we have it all to loose!”

Pontus Tidemand (2nd +1.10.1s) said:
“I am feeling much better today as I was suffering from the flu yesterday. We have had some really good stage times, but I feel we have yet to reach a consistent rhythm and it has been a little up and down today.

“It has been hard to keep concentration, but I have really enjoyed the stages and the battle with the other guys. Tomorrow I will look to push enough to keep the second place.”

Brendan Reeves (3rd +1.18.4s) said:
“I am really happy with today. We dropped some time on the lead in the first loop of stages after being handed the second spot as a result of Alistair’s [Fisher] misfortune, so we have been battling all afternoon to make up the time we lost to the other guys.

“I am absolutely over the moon to take the last stage from Elfyn [Evans]. We have managed to take third place overall at the end of Day 2, but I am very aware of how close Timo [Van der Marel] is behind me.

“It has been a cat and dog fight the whole way, but its really good fun. The best thing is that the strong competition makes you fight and be a better driver, consistently pushing hard – all of us our giving it our all out there!

”I was surprised at how rough the second to last stage [SS11] was in the forest, big rocks where pulled onto the road, but nothing compared to Greece last month. The second place is still very much within our reach so I will continue to push tomorrow and look to catch Pontus [Tidemand].”

Timo Van der Marel (4th +1.22.3s) said:
”I have had a good day. We have continued to push very hard throughout the day, but it is a really close battle for the podium spots – I think maybe even the closest battle in my rallying career! There is only 12.5 seconds between 2nd and 5th positions which is really incredible after two days.

“We will approach the final day the same. I am happy with my pace, but everyone is pushing very hard and the pace is incredible. An accident or a little mistake could change everything, we had a moment this afternoon and I actually do not know how we are still driving. But we managed somehow to keep it on the road. Everything is good and I am really looking forward to the final day of what has been a great rally for us.”

Jose Antonia Suárez (5th +1.22.6s) said:
”I am very happy with today. The competition is very close between us all, but I am happy with my pace and have really enjoyed the stages out there. I have a podium in my mind, but I am not sure if it is in my hand. I will continue to fight tomorrow and see what is possible at the end of the rally.”

John MacCrone (6th +2:09.6) said:
”Today was quite good and we are still attacking and mixing it up with those who competed here last year, which I am really happy about.

”We had two bad runs through Lankamaa – experiencing a heavy impact on the front left corner both times. We continued, but were cautious of a potential puncture losing over 40 seconds overall from the two runs.

”I was impressed with our consistent pace over the stages today, it is so fast out there and there are some very big jumps! The car has been great all day, standing up to the challenging conditions. It is really all about the experience we can gain from this event and getting the car to the finish, but a top 5 finish would be a massive bonus from this historic rally and anything higher would be a dream result!”

Christopher Duplessis (7th +4:16.5) said:
“I have had a really good day and I am enjoyed every minute of it. The roads just kept getting better and better and we got to run each stage twice giving us the perfect opportunity to learn from the first pass through the stage. This is such a fun rally!”

”We are getting used to the roads and learning all of the time. Where we are sitting at the end of today, there is not so much room to improve unfortunately. But we will continue to push with a cautious approach and take the car to the finish line. Maybe the guys in front will encounter issues as they battle for the podium, we will see.”

João Silva (8th +7:56.7) said:
“Today has been very difficult, but I am happy to be here at the end of Day 2 in Finland. Our pace was a little slow this morning, but we used the first pass to learn and improved considerably on the second loop this afternoon.

”Now I am starting to learn how to drive in Finland. Of course I would like to see more improvement in my pace, but I am here to gain experience. I am really happy with what I have achieved today and I have really enjoyed the challenge of the stages. For the final day, I will try to put into practice what I have learnt today.”

Ashley Haigh-Smith (9th +23:10.6) said:
”We had a good start to the morning with a confidence boosting stage. However, errors began to creep in on the next two stages and we lost considerable time in comparison to the guys ahead. We also encountered further problems in the second loop – loosing our front right brake pipe when a stone got caught in the brakes.

”Tomorrow we will try and overcome our issues and look towards building confidence in preparation for Rally Germany. This rally has definitely been a steep learning curve for me, but I have really enjoyed the stages so far and will hopefully close in on Chris [Duplessis] tomorrow.”

Alastair Fisher (10th +39:58.3)
Fisher suffered a puncture near the start of SS5. After deciding to continue, the Northern Irishman’s Ford Fiesta R2 suffered electrical damage which stopped the fly by wire throttle from working. Fisher will restart under Rally 2 regulations tomorrow.
12-08-03 Elsewhere, end of Day quotes, Rally Finland Day 2
Mads Østberg, Adapta World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (5th) said:
“The two first stages after service [SS9 and SS10] were really tricky. We struggled a lot because I think we ran the car a bit too low. I tried to run with the same ride-heights as Petter [Solberg], but it didn’t work that well for me so we lifted the car for the last stages which helped a lot.

“We have some small problems with the rear brakes, which we probably had before service and was why I was not 100 per cent happy with the car. We changed the set-up and it didn’t work out, so we changed it back again.

“It has just not been perfect, and everything needs to be perfect if you want to do well on this rally. Unfortunately there have been a few small things that have made things a bit difficult. OK, it is not hopeless, but it is not perfect either.”

Jari Ketomaa, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (7th) said:
“This evening’s stages have been much better than the other ones. The car is working fine and the set-up is much better so everything has improved a lot. Tomorrow we will just enjoy the stages and try as hard as we can to set some good times.”

Matti Rantanen, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (8th) said:
“The last real stage [SS11] was really good for us, but still we lost quite a lot of time there and I don’t really know why. The other two [SS9 and SS10] were OK stages, but nothing special. I still don’t have much confidence in the rear of the car, especially on the wide roads where you can find your own line – it is difficult to trust the grip levels. Tomorrow we will just try to enjoy the last day.”

Martin Prokop, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (9th) said:
“This evening has been a bit better again. We are improving with every stage so the last one [SS12] was quite good and we really enjoyed it. The speed was good and we’ve made up a bit of distance to the other guys – about a second per kilometre – so it is getting better, but still I am not happy with the speed.

“I am happy with the car and our lines, it is just the pace we need to work on. We’ll try a few things and see. The changes we made in service worked well so the car is working much better for me now. We will just try to be better tomorrow.”

Ken Block, Monster World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (10th) said:
“I was able to go a bit faster this evening. The grip was better and the stages were nice and swept so I had a lot more confidence. I really enjoyed it – they were some of the best stages I have ever driven in my life, and even one of the best Super Specials I have ever driven. So I can honestly say that it was one of the best days of my rallying career as far as enjoyment goes. There were lots of jumps and turns over crests – really enjoyable stages. I like going fast and these stages are definitely fast!”

Craig Breen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (12th) said:
“This evening went really well. Obviously Lappi fell into trouble which was a bit disappointing, but I am pleased with our position. I am just chuffed to get to the end of the day to be honest. We didn’t push the maximum, nowhere near the maximum anywhere really. The speed is coming OK, and I think if we can keep at this speed and keep ahead of P-G [Andersson] I’ll be happy. I don’t want to have to go any faster because I am very much inside my comfort zone right now.”
“We made some set-up changes on the car in service which has really helped. We were having a lot of trouble with tyre wear on the rears, so that has helped that out a lot.”

Karl Kruuda, Ford Fiesta S2000 (14th) said:
“The stages were very rough and I think I have a problem with the rear differential, but I am not quite sure. There are some loud noises when I accelerate and take right corners.

“The first couple of stages were OK. We almost got a stage win but in the end I spun, so I played that card out! The second one [SS10] was OK, but Lankamaa [SS11] I have never liked – that stage never really suited me. Tomorrow our main goal will be to get to the finish with the best time.”

Sebastian Lindholm, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (15th) said:
“This afternoon was OK and I was very surprised that the stages were in such good condition. I expected that they would be in a bad condition on the second run because normally that is the case, but this year, not at all. I think it must be because of all the rain we have had – it has made the roads very strong!

“The car is good, but tomorrow we have a long and difficult day. I know a little of the stages [tomorrow], but most are completely new to me and are driven in the opposite direction. They are really difficult stages with some really fast, narrow sections so a lot will still be happening!”

Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Ford Fiesta RRC (20th) said:
“For me this evening’s stages have been really nice. I am learning a lot and trying to push a little bit. OK, the car is a lot softer after we made some changes, but I am really enjoying it. Tomorrow we will just try to continue the way we have been going, but the last stage is 32 kilometres. I hope everything goes OK and I clear that stage with no problems – but I am really looking forward to it!”

Edoardo Bresolin, Ford Fiesta RRC (23rd) said:
“I really liked the stages. It is very difficult, but I am happy because the gaps [to the other competitors] are much smaller than they were yesterday. The car is fantastic. Our M-Sport engineer has been helping me with the set-up and today has been good.

“I prefer rallying on gravel, but the gravel here is very different to what I am used to. In Italy the gravel is not so fast and here in Finland there are lots of jumps and the straights are so fast. For me it is a fantastic experience.”

Maciej Oleksowicz, Ford Fiesta S2000 (26th) said:
“The last loop was very rough, but we are here and the car is ok. We just still can’t find the proper speed and we are just trying to find the problem. I hope tomorrow we will find the solution – the car looks OK, so maybe it is me!

“Tomorrow we will start comfortably. It is hard to say that we will push because there is quite a big gap to the guys ahead, so we will just try to keep the rhythm and see what happens.”

Kari Hämäläinen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (32nd) said:
“The car is much better now and this evening’s stages have been very nice and a lot of fun. The roads were not bad at all, and tomorrow we will be aiming for a good finish.”

Eskapekka Lappi, Ford Fiesta S2000 (50th)
After loosing power-steering on SS10, Lappi went off the road. Making it back to service where the team could fully repair his Fiesta for the final day, the Finn will restart under Rally 2 tomorrow.
12-08-03 Consistency and determination pays dividends for M-Sport´s young guns in Finland
In a dramatic day for the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team at Neste Oil Rally Finland, Ott Tänak’s consistency paid dividends as the Estonian claimed sixth place at the end of Day 2. Elsewhere, Evgeny Novikov demonstrated his own style of ‘sisu’ to effect an impressive recovery following a big roll on SS5.

As the rally reconvened for 133.82 competitive kilometres close to the rally base in Jyväskylä, the Estonian pairing of Tänak and co-driver Kuldar Sikk put in a strong performance despite their disadvantageous road position to climb three places in the overall standings.

In spite of their Ford Fiesta RS WRC riding too low and limiting the speed through the opening test [SS4], the 24-year-old was able to set the seventh fastest time – just 4.6 seconds adrift of pacesetter Sébastien Loeb – and close the gap to Qatar World Rally Team’s Chris Atkinson in eighth. Another seventh fastest time through SS5 was enough to see Tänak move ahead of the Australian to secure seventh position overall.

Disadvantaged playing sweeper running earlier on the road than his rivals, Tänak’s consistency continued over the afternoon loop. Never out of the top-ten, the youngster was able to stay in touch with those benefiting from running later in the order and was just 1.7 seconds adrift of Ford World Rally Team’s Petter Solberg through Mokkipera 1 [SS6].

With improved grip on the stages over the evening pass, Tänak’s consistency saw the Estonian able to match the times of the front runners – just 0.2 seconds adrift of Mads Østberg through SS9. Now, with a mature and composed drive granting the youngster sixth place at the end of Day 2, Tänak will be well placed for a strong haul of points when Rally Finland embarks on the final day of competition tomorrow.

The morning loop was a dramatic one for Novikov and co-driver Denis Giraudet. Setting the 6th fastest time over the opening test – encompassing one of the highest and most spectacular jumps in the field – the young Russian leapfrogged Atkinson to move up to seventh place; less than 10 seconds adrift of the battle for fifth.

Unfortunately, there was heartache for the 21-year-old on Jukojärvi [SS5] when his familiarity of the course saw him take a corner too quickly. Running out of room by a mere half metre, Novikov was unable to get his Ford Fiesta RS WRC straight and rolled off the stage.

Nevertheless, thanks to an heroic effort from the M-Sport mechanics, the car was back on the stages for the afternoon loop and the team avoided what would have been over 40 minutes worth of Rally 2 time penalties.

Backing off over the crests and jumps through the afternoon – so as not to risk co-driver Giraudet’s back which was causing the Frenchman some discomfort following their earlier excursion – Novikov impressed with a string of top-ten times.

Given the circumstances, the Russian continued his impressive performance through the evening stages. Never out of the top-ten on individual stage times, Novikov climbed 10 places; thus demonstrating the speed and determination which makes him one of the most exciting young drivers in the championship.

Ott Tänak (6th) said:
“The stages were quite OK. They were very rough in places and we clipped a rock and had a slow puncture on the first one [SS9] and we didn’t have a second spare so we tried to avoid all the rough places as best we could. But we made it through OK, so there were no major problems.

“We are up to sixth now, but positions are not so important right now, it is more about pace. We will just carry on and see how the feeling is.”

Evgeny Novikov (65th) said:
“This evening was OK – same as the earlier loop, nothing special. We are just keeping the same speed and taking it very carefully over the bumps and crests. The car is good and the mechanics did a very good job in service. Tomorrow we will just see how we go – get some more good experience of the stages and try to set some good times.”
12-08-03 Friendly Policemen and Mud Showers
'Hello,
'This is Max Pelucchi and Marco Moreiras again live from Jyväskylä, home of Neste Oil Rally Finland. Day Two just came to an end and it was a long day for the WRC Team MINI Portugal crews.

'Our alarms went off pretty early this morning at 5 o'clock and we set off for the Service Park to start another day of MINI adventures. Today's itinerary included eight Special Stages in the forest plus the traditional Killeri Super Special Stage in Jyväskylä's Trotting Track, totaling 133,82km.

'In the morning everything went smoothly. Armindo and Paulo completed the first five stages of the day with no problems and brought both their MINIs back to service twice without a scratch between them - what a relief! Paulo enjoyed the stages so much that he even said that he could feel the blood flowing through Porquinho Verde's pipes. ;-)

'Unfortunately Paulo hit a big rock and bent an arm on SS9 and when he was hurrying to make up time on the road section to SS10, he was stopped by the police... But low and behold, when he rolled down his window he recognized the policeman as being the same one who fined him back in 2010. It's a small world! The policeman recognized Paulo too and even though he had to stick to the law (of course!) and give him a fine for speeding they took a quick snap together (right).

'Paulo made it to SS10 on time, but his mind was elsewhere and unfortunately he then went off the road again getting stuck in 50 or 60cm of mud. It was a real effort to dig the MINI out and when Marco started the engine and put the car into reverse, Rui got covered from head-to-toe in mud! Finally though we recovered Porquinho Verde and now we have three hours to work and get her in top form for tomorrow to restart under Rally 2 regulations.

'Here's a little from our individual perspectives...'
12-08-03 Battling Ford duo hold third and fourth in Finnish speedfest
Ford World Rally Team’s drivers ended today’s second leg of Rally Finland separated by just 1.1sec in third and fourth. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila hold third in their Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car in their home round of the FIA World Rally Championship, while team-mates Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson are fourth in a similar car.

Finland is the fastest round of the 13-event series and such is the pace over the gravel roads in the forests near Jyväskylä, 270km north of Helsinki, that average speeds have neared 130kph. At such high speeds time differences are small and the leading four cars are covered by just 21.4sec going into tomorrow’s final leg.

Eight Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Cars are packed into the top 10 leaderboard, with a group of privately-entered cars following the official Ford team entries.

After yesterday’s short and sharp opening leg, today was a much longer and more demanding affair. Little more than seven hours after turning their engines off last night, competitors were back on the road at 06.30 this morning. They tackled eight speed tests in the countryside before the action ended with a short special stage at Killeri’s trotting track on the edge of Jyväskylä.

The nine tests covered 133.82km over a mix of narrow tracks and the fast, wide, roller-coaster roads for which this rally is so famous. While the day offered a mix of sunshine and clouds, the rain stayed away. It meant those starting further down the running order benefited from cleaner and faster conditions, as the early starters swept the road surface clear of slippery gravel.

Latvala was tied for second last night, with Solberg just 1.9sec behind. The gap between the Ford pairings never rose to more than 3.8sec today as they set a strong and consistent pace. However, Latvala and Solberg were unable to prevent their two rivals ahead from opening a narrow advantage as the day progressed.

Twenty-seven-year-old Latvala made modifications to his car’s set-up overnight but slipped behind Solberg during the opening two stages. Further changes improved his confidence and feeling with the Fiesta RS WRC. He moved back in front during the second group of stages, an advantage he held during the final four tests this evening, when conditions became rutted and rough.

“The morning was frustrating because I wasn’t happy with the car’s set-up,” said Latvala. “But once I got that right then my confidence increased and my driving improved. I’m still further behind the leaders than I want to be, but everything is still open and I’ll keep pushing tomorrow on roads that I know and enjoy. The trophies aren’t given out until the end so there’s still plenty to fight for.

“Because the set-up wasn’t perfect, I couldn’t settle into a good rhythm. I wasn’t relaxed and I perhaps pushed too hard to try to force the times. My driving wasn’t clean enough and that cost fractions of a second, which all added up,” explained Latvala.

Solberg relished the close battle at the head of the leaderboard during a relatively untroubled day. The 37-year-old Norwegian, who won a stage during yesterday’s leg, added a second fastest time on the final country test this afternoon and ended the leg with a 26.3sec advantage over his closest pursuer. His only issue was an overshoot after a crest in the final loop.

“I settled into a good rhythm and set good times,” said Solberg. “I was happy to win the penultimate stage but it’s incredible that after more than 23km of competition, the difference between the first two drivers was just one-tenth of a second.

“I would like to be closer to our rivals ahead but we weren’t able to match them for outright speed. The gaps were close though, and there is still another long day tomorrow. The final two stages comprise such a large proportion of the rally that nothing is going to be certain until we are through both those tests,” added Solberg.

Ford World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson said the team was still in the victory fight. “The most difficult day of the rally lies in wait and we remain in the battle at the top of the leaderboard. I would have liked our cars to be closer to the front to really put the pressure on, but there remains plenty to drive for. There are eight Fords inside the top 10 and that’s something we can be proud of tonight,” he said.

News from other Ford teams
Adapta World Rally Team’s Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson duelled with Belgian Thierry Neuville for fifth and overcame handling and brake issues to claim the spot in their Fiesta RS WRC when Neuville rolled in the penultimate test. His demise promoted M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Ott Tänak / Kuldar Sikk to sixth, having started in ninth. Team-mates Evgeny Novikov / Denis Giraudet rolled in the second stage, but the damage to the car was mainly cosmetic and they continued, despite losing almost half an hour. Jari Ketomaa / Mika Stenberg are seventh, despite a morning-long misfire, ahead of fellow Finns Matti Rantanen / Mikko Lukka and Czech Ford National Team drivers Martin Prokop / Zdenek Hruza. The leaderboard is rounded off by Ken Block / Alex Gelsomino in 10th on their first visit to Finland.

Tomorrow’s Route
The final leg features classic Rally Finland stages, encompassing wide roads and big jumps. After a 07.00 restart, competitors face two identical loops of two tests south-west of Jyväskylä. The route then heads to the Ouninpohja stage, near Jämsä, regarded as the most challenging in the sport. Two passes over the 33.01km test cover more than 20 per cent of the rally’s distance and provide a tough finale. The second pass comprises the Power Stage, with bonus points on offer to the fastest three drivers. The finish is in Jyväskylä after six tests covering 139.80km.

Leaderboard after Day 2
1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen DS3 1hr 20min 30.4sec
2. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Citroen DS3 1hr 20min 35.4sec
3. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 20min 50.7sec
4. P Solberg/C Patterson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 20min 51.8sec
5. M Østberg/J Andersson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 21min 18.1sec
6. O Tänak/K Sikk EST Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 22min 06.8sec
7. J Ketomaa/M Stenberg FIN Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 22min 58.7sec
8. M Rantanen/M Lukka FIN Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 23min 17.8sec
9. M Prokop/Z Hruza CZE Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 23min 48.8sec
10 K Block/A Gelsomino USA Ford Fiesta RS 1hr 25min 17.4sec

Stage Times
Stage 4: 1. Loeb 5min 59.5sec; 2. Hirvonen + 0.3; 3. Latvala + 0.9; 4. P Solberg + 1.4; 5. Neuville + 4.1; 6. Novikov + 4.3.
Overall: 1. Loeb 21min 06.6sec; 2. Hirvonen + 7.6; 3. Latvala + 8.2; 4. P Solberg + 10.6; 5. Østberg + 12.1; 6. Neuville + 13.1.

Stage 5: 1. Hirvonen 10min 34.0sec; 2. Loeb + 3.2; 3. P Solberg + 4.9; 4. Østberg + 6.9; 5. Latvala + 7.4; 6. Neuville + 9.5.
Overall: 1. Loeb 31min 43.8sec; 2. Hirvonen + 4.4; 3. P Solberg + 12.3; 4. Latvala + 12.4; 5. Østberg + 15.8; 6. Neuville + 19.4.

Stage 6: 1. Hirvonen 5min 29.6sec; 2. Loeb + 0.6; 3. Latvala + 2.4; 4. P Solberg + 4.7; 5. Østberg + 5.1; 6. Neuville + 6.3.
Overall: 1. Loeb 37min 14.0sec; 2. Hirvonen + 3.8; 3. Latvala + 14.2; 4. P Solberg + 16.4; 5. Østberg + 20.8; 6. Neuville + 25.1.

Stage 7: 1. Loeb 7min 08.8sec; 2. Latvala + 1.9; 3. P Solberg + 2.2; 5. Østberg + 3.8; 6. Neuville + 5.1.
Overall: 1. Loeb 44min 20.8sec; 2. Hirvonen + 6.2; 3. Latvala + 16.1; 4. P Solberg + 18.6; 5. Østberg + 24.1; 6. Neuville + 30.2.

Stage 8: 1. Hirvonen 11min 11.4sec; 2. Latvala + 0.2; 3. P Solberg + 0.5; 4. Loeb + 1.2; 5. Østberg + 6.8; 6. Neuville + 7.5.
Overall: 1. Loeb 55min 33.4sec; 2. Hirvonen + 5.0; 3. Latvala + 15.1; 4. P Solberg + 17.9; 5. Østberg + 29.7; 6. Neuville + 36.5.

Stage 9: 1. Hirvonen 5min 26.8sec; 2. Loeb + 1.7; 3. Latvala + 3.5; 4. P Solberg + 3.7; 5. Neuville + 5.2; 6. Østberg + 7.2.
Overall: 1. Loeb 1hr 01min 01.9sec; 2. Hirvonen + 3.3; 3. Latvala + 16.9; 4. P Solberg + 19.9; 5. Østberg + 35.2; 6. Neuville + 40.0.

Stage 10: 1. Loeb 7min 01.7sec; 2. Hirvonen + 0.4; 3. Latvala + 1.0; 4. P Solberg + 1.8; 5. Neuville + 2.5; 6. Østberg + 5.2.
Overall: 1. Loeb 1hr 08min 03.6sec; 2. Hirvonen + 3.7; 3. Latvala + 17.9; 4. P Solberg + 21.7; 5. Østberg + 40.4; 6. Neuville + 42.5.

Stage 11: 1. P Solberg 11min 03.2sec; 2. Hirvonen + 0.1; 3. Loeb + 0.8; 4. Latvala + 2.9; 5. Østberg + 5.8; 6. Ketomaa + 11.6.
Overall: 1. Loeb 1hr 19min 07.6sec; 2. Hirvonen + 3.0; 3. Latvala + 20.0; 4. P Solberg + 20.9; 5. Østberg + 45.4; 6. Tänak + 1:34.8.

Stage 12: 1. Loeb 1min 22.8sec; 2. Latvala + 0.3; 3. P Solberg + 0.5; 4. Novikov + 1.3; 5. Tänak + 1.6; 6. Hirvonen + 2.0.
Overall: 1. Loeb 1hr 20min 30.4sec; 2. Hirvonen + 5.0; 3. Latvala + 20.3; 4. P Solberg + 21.4; 5. Østberg + 47.7; 6. Tänak + 1:36.4.
12-08-03 P-G Andersson avancerar i Rally-VM i Finland - Tvåa med bara 3,7 sekunder upp till första platsen!
Redan under rekogonseringen innan rallyt, förutspådde Per-Gunnar "P-G" Andersson och hans co-driver Emil Axelsson att dagen sträckor skulle bli utslagsgivande.
- "Det just det här som vi förutspådde. Eftersom vägarna var rätt mjuka insåg vi att det skulle bli tufft med stenar somskulle komma fram. peciellt på de sträckor som kördes två gånger. Vi bestämde därför redan inför rallyt att försöka köra smart och använda huvudet lite, eftersom bilen inte riktigt har rätt fart än" skrattar P-G.

Svenskarna höll upp ett högt och stabilt tempo och såg till att undvika stenarna. Rallyts tvåa, Hayden Paddon, tvingades bryta efter sträcka fem.När sedan rallyt ledare Eskapekka Lappi tvingades bryta efter att ha slagit sönder bilen efter ett hopp på tionde sträckan, var de åter med på allvar i tätstriden. Inför morgondagens rally ligger de tvåa, bara 3,7 sekunder upp till ledaren Craig Breen.

I morgon körs sex avgörande sträckor med start 06:56 svensk tid. Rallyt avslutas med att den klassiska Ouninpohja, som är 33,01 km, körs två gånger.
- "Sista sträckorna är verkligen spektakulära" berättar P-G "Det är en klassisk sträcka med hopp och sprätt i varenda kurva".

I morgon kommer rallyt att gå på lite blandat underlag:
- "Vi kommer att gå för fullt i morgon och försöka ta full pott här. Men eftersom Hayden Paddon inte startar om i morgon, är det nu väldigt jämnt i VM-tabellen, så vi kommer inte att ta alltför stora risker".

Mer info, hittar du på www.pgandersson.se. Där kommer vi att följa rallyt, sträcka för sträcka.

Rally-VM Finland, SWRC efter dag 2
1. Craig Breen (GB) 1:26:03.5
2. P-G Andersson 1:26:07.2 +3,7
3. Juho Salo (Fin) 1:27:14.4 +1:10.9
4. Yazeed Al Rajhi (KZ) 1:28:03.2 +1:59.7
5. Maciej Oleksowicz (PL) 1:32:10.7 +6:07.2
6 Esapekka Lappi (Fin) * 1:39:44.4 +13:42.2
* = Superrallytid
12-08-03 SS12; Loeb vann sista sträckan
Loeb vann sista sträckan, 0,3 sekunder före Latvala och 0,5 före Petter.

Det var allt för idag. I morgon återstår sex sträckor, med start 06:56 svensk tid.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det har varit en svår dag, men lite olika problem. När allt fungerar kör vi fort. Men jag tror vi tog det lite för lugnt. Men det har varit en okej dag så får vi ta i mer imorgon" Østberg
- "Vi har ett bra rally. Kul fight med Hirvonen. Vi får se i morgon" Loeb
- "Det var en bra superspecial för mig. Jag tappade lite i en kurva. Men jag är närmare än nånsin på en superspecial" Latvala


På SS12:
1. Loeb, 1:22.8
2. Latvala, +0,3
3. Petter, +0,5
4. Novikov, +1,3
5. Tänak, +1,6
6. Hirvonen, +2,0
7. Østberg, 2,3
8. Prokop, +2,6
9. Ketomaa, +2,6
10. Araujo, +2,6

Efter SS12:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:20:30.4
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:20:35.4 +5,0
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:20:50.7 +20,3
4. Petter Solberg (N), 1:20:51.8 +21,4
5. Mads Østberg (N), 1:21:18.1 +47,7
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:22:06.8+1:36.4
7. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 1:22:58.7 +2:28.3
8. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 1:23:17.8 +2:47.4
9. Martin Prokop (CZ), 1:23:48.8 +3:18.4
10. Ken Block (USA), 1:25:17.4 +4:47.0
12-08-03 SS11; Petter vann sin första sträckseger
Petter Solberg vann sin första sträckseger i årets Finlands-tävling och var 0,1 sekund före Hirvonen och 0,8 före Loeb.

Neuville har rullat och är kvar på sträckan

En superspecial som startar 19:00 är allt som återstår av dagens rally.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Jag körde hårt. Jag missade lite i en kurva, men jag kunde annars inte gå så mycket fortare. Är Mikko snabbare, är han snabbare. Det blir en hård kamp även i morgon" Loeb
- "Allt kan hända, men jag hittar ingen mer fart någonstans. Men förhoppningsvis kommer vi på något i natt" Latvala
- "Vi har en dag kvar att ta sekunder. Det här är verkligen rally. Jag tar lite tid och det blir en stor fight i morgon" Hirvonen
- "Jag är nöjd, men jag hade lite problem med växeln på sträckan. Vi hade kanske kunnat gå fortare, får se vad vi kan göra" Petter

På SS11:
1. Petter, +11:03,2
2. Hirvonen, +0,1
3. Loeb, +0,8
4. Latvala, +2,9
5. Østberg, +5,8
6. Ketomaa, +11,6
7. Tänak, +13,2
8. Novikov, +16,0
9. Rantanen, +20,2
10. Prokop, +22,6

Efter SS11:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:19:07.6
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 01:19:28.5 +3,0
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:19:27.6 +20,0
4. Petter Solberg (N), 1:19:28.5 +20,9
5. Mads Østberg (N), 1:19:53.0 +45,4
6. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:20:42.4 +1:34,8
7. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 1:21:33.3 +2:25,7
8. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 1:21:51.6 +2:44,0
9. Martin Prokop (CZ), 1:22:23.4 +3:15,8
10. Ken Block (USA), 1:23:51.9 +4:44,3

12-08-03 SS10; Loeb snabbast
Sebastien Loeb drog längsta strået på den här tuffa sträckan och var 0,4 sekunder före Hirvonen och 1,0 före Latvala.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Vi hade en smygpunktering på förra och är utan reservdäck nu" Tänak
- "Greppet är okej, men bitvis är det stora stenar och trixigt. Jag var lite försiktig på vissa partier. Jag hade en bra sträcka, men vi får se. Förhoppningsvis blir nästa mindre tuff" Loeb
- "Jag är nöjd med bilen. Vi har testat med inställningen. Vi tappade en sekund igen. Det är svårt. Loeb är stark nu" Latvala
- "Vi tappade lite, men inte som i morse, så jag är nöjd. Jag ska komma nära till i morgon. Alla sträckor och alla sekunder räknas" Hirvonen
- "Jag gillade sträckan men tappade lite tid. Jag hade hoppats ta lite. Vi hade inga problem, men det är detaljer" Petter
- "Vi har ett oljud bak. Jag vet inte vad det är och handbrosmen fungerade inte" Østberg

På SS10:
1. Loeb, 7:01.7
2. Hirvonen, 0,4
3. Latvala, +1,0
4. Petter, +1,8
5. Neuville, +2,5
6. Østberg, +5,2
7. Tänak, +8,4
8. Ketomaa, +10,2
9. Rantanen, +16,2
10. Novikov, +16,7

Efter SS10:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:08:03.6
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:08:07.3 +3,7
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:08:21.5 +17,9
4. Petter Solberg (N), 1:08:25.3 +21,7
5. Mads Østberg (N), 1:08:44.0 +40,4
6. Therrie Neuville (B), 1:08:46.1 +42,5
7. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:09:26.0 +1:22,4
8. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 1:10:18.5 +2:14,8
9. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 1:10:28.2 +2:24,6
10. Martin Prokop (CZ), 1:10:57.6 +2:54,0
12-08-03 Elsewhere , Midday Quotes, Rally Finland Day 2
Mads Østberg, Adapta World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (5th) said:
“We are struggling a bit with the set-up. I felt on the second stage that the car was understeering a lot so I couldn’t push so much. Then on the last stage [SS8] we tried to change the car a bit, but it just oversteered so much that I was not able to push at all and I was not able to go on the throttle. It was definitely a tricky last stage and I understand why we lost time.”

Jari Ketomaa, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (8th) said:
“Everything has been OK. The morning was very good but then we had a small misfire through the afternoon which lasted the whole loop. We will have a look and see what we can do.”

Matti Rantanen, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (9th) said:
“Today has been a little bit better than yesterday, but still I am struggling with the driving because it is really hard to find the right rhythm. Sometimes I go too slowly into the corners and sometimes I go too fast.

“We will make some small changes in service, but there isn’t really a lot we can do. This afternoon should be better though as there should be some better grip on the stages.”

Martin Prokop, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (10th) said:
“Things have been better today. We changed a few things on the car this morning and the feeling has been much better. We just had a small problem on the middle stage [SS7] with the pacenotes so I did a few mistakes on the high-speed sections. But we are OK and we will continue. I enjoyed the last stage [SS8] a lot and we will amend the pacenotes for the second pass.”

Eskapekka Lappi, Ford Fiesta S2000 (12th) said:
“I am so happy! The result is so good at the moment, and to be on the pace of [Sebastian] Ogier is super! I don’t know these stages all that well – these last three [SS6, SS7 and SS8] are quite unknown to me – but we have some really good pacenotes.”

Ken Block, Monster World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (14th) said:
“I really like these stages and I think they are a lot of fun. I just want to finish this rally and learn as much as I can here but it is a bit frustrating that I am loosing the amount of time that I am – especially to the [Fiesta] S2000s. But it is what it is and I’m here to learn and get as many miles under my belt as I possibly can.
“It is fun though, these stages really are awesome and the last one [SS8] was one of the most fun stages I have ever driven.”

Craig Breen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (16th) said:
“The back end of the car is a little bit loose and the pacenotes for the last stage [SS8] were maybe a little overly cautious. But we’ll have a look and hopefully get it sorted for the second pass.”

Kark Kruuda, Ford Fiesta S2000 (17th) said:
“The first and second stages on the second loop [SS7 and SS8] were quite ok, but I don’t know what happened on the last one [SS8] really. For me the driving was OK, the speed was good, but the time was bad. I don’t know where to find the other 0.6 seconds per kilometre.

“Maybe I’ll try a different driving style this afternoon and see if that helps. I’m not going to change anything on the car. In the last service I adjusted the differentials a little. It was a little bit better for the first couple of stages. But like I say, everything seems OK, it is just the speed that isn’t.”

Sebastian Lindholm, Ford Fiesta RS WRC, (20th) said:
“The stages have been very slippery today, especially the last one [SS8] which was incredibly slippery. There is no problem with the car, just the driver – but it is a lot of fun.

“This weekend has been more difficult that I had expected, but of course that is due to not being so well prepared with only a 40km test and no rallies for many years. It would have been easier had I had a proper test and maybe one small rally beforehand to understand again what it is all about.
“This afternoon we will just continue the way we have been going. Enjoy our time here and run our own race.”

Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Ford Fiesta RRC (22nd) said:
“The stages have been very nice. On the second stage after service [SS7] I lost a little concentration on one corner, and then the last one [SS8] was a little too fast for me. But I am learning a lot on this rally and will just try and do the same this afternoon.”

Maciej Oleksowicz, Ford Fiesta S2000 (28th) said:
“The roads are a little bit rougher today, like everyone was expecting. But it is fine and the car is working perfectly – except for a small problem on the last stage [SS8] when the shift lights started to flash constantly, but it is not a big problem.

“We need to work a bit on our speed, because the times are not what I want them to be just yet. We will lift the car a little in service because the stages will for sure be even rougher. And then just try to continue and improve a little bit”

Kari Hämäläinen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (35th) said:
“The stages have been very good, but there is something not quite right with the car. I’m not quite sure what is wrong. In the morning everything was great, but this afternoon it has not been so good. We will just have to check it in service and see what we can do for the afternoon.”
12-08-03 M-Sport Ford WRT, Midday Quotes, Rally Finland Day 2
Ott Tänak (7th) said:
“The stages have been quite nice – very Finnish stages – but there was a lot more loose gravel on the stages than there has been previously so it was quite tricky in places. I hope it will be raining on the second loop and that we can go a bit quicker because we didn’t do too well with our starting position. We were hoping for lots of rain, but it was completely dry. So for sure sixteenth would have been the better option. But OK, we will see what this afternoon brings.”

Evgeny Novikov (74th) said:
“The car is fine – no problems – but it is quite difficult to drive at the maximum speed and to concentrate because I have to slow down over the crests so as not to risk Denis’ [Giraudet] back. But it is better to do the stages than not to do them at all.”
12-08-03 SS9; Mikko fortsätter ta hem sträcksegrar
Mikko Hirvonen forstätter knappa in på Loeb och tog hem en ny sträckseger. Han var 1,7 sekunder före Loeb och 3,5 före Latvala. Det skiljer nu bara 3,3 sekunder mellan Hirvonen och Loeb.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Bilen är bra, men vägen börjar bli dålig. Det är mycket stora stenar på vägen. Lätt att få punktering. Inte lätt" Loeb
- "Jag är nöjd med bilen. Men vägen var inte alls bra. Jag hade kunnat köra bättre, men vägen var så dålig" Latvala
- "Jag fick ta i. Men det är mycket stenar" Hirvonen
- " Jag gjorde ett misstag bland stenarna. En del ställen är rätt dåliga" Petter

På SS9:
1. Hirvonen, 5:26,8
2. Loeb, +1,7
3. Latvala, +3,5
4. Petter, +3,7
5. Neuville, +5,2
6. Østberg, +7,2
7. Tänak, +7,4
8. Ketomaa, +10,9
9. Rantanen, +11,2
10. Prokop, +11,2

Efter SS9:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 1:01:01.9
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 1:01:05.2 +3,3
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 1:01:18.8 +16,9
4. Petter Solberg (N), 1:01:21.8 +19,9
5. Mads Østberg (N), 1:01:37.1 +35,2
6. Therrie Neuville (B), 1:01:41.9 +40,0
7. Ott Tänak (EE), 1:02:15.9 +1:14,0
8. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 1:03:06.6 +2:04,7
9. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 1:03:10.3 +2:08,4
10. Martin Prokop (CZ), 1:03:36.6 +2:34,7
12-08-03 SS8; Hirvonen snabbast igen
Mikko Hirvonen vann sin tredje sträckseger. Han var 0,2 sekunder före Petter och 0,5 före Loeb.

Chris Atkinson har åkt av vägen på sträckan och föröker starta igen och kom sent om sider i mål.

Nu är det dags för service och SS9 startar 15:08 svensk tid.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Jag har problem med bakdiffen. Hög temperatur, vi förlorar olja. Bilen sladdar överallt" Loeb
- "Äntligen. Skönt att vi i mitten av rallyt inte tappar mer. Jag har en bra Sisu-känsla nu" Latvala
- "Slog i en sten i en kurva. Jag trodde jag fick en punktering. Men det vara bara halt" Hirvonen
- "Väldigt nära. Jag försöker allt jag kan" Petter
- "Det är svårt. Vi förökte göra lite förändringar innan, men det fungerade inte. Bilen understyr. Bakändan glider ut i varje varje kurva" Østberg

På SS8:
1. Hirvonen, 11:11,4
2. Latvala, +0,2
3. Petter, +0,5
4. Loeb, +1,2
5. Østberg, +6,8
6. Neuville, +7,5
7. Tänak, +16,3
8. Rantanen, +20,3
9. Ketomaa, +28,2
10. Prokop, +28,2

Efter SS8:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 55:33.4
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 55:38.4 +5,0
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 55:48.5 +15,1
4. Petter Solberg (N), 55:51.3 +17,9
5. Mads Østberg (N), 56:03.1 +29,7
6. Therrie Neuville (B), 56:09.9 +36,5
7. Ott Tänak (EE), 56:41.7 +1:08,3
8. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 57:28.9 +1:55,5
9. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 57:32.3 +1:58,9
10. Martin Prokop (CZ), 57:56.1 2:22,7
12-08-03 SS7; Loeb snabbast igen
Sebastien Loeb vann åter sträckan, 1,9 sekunder före Latvala och 2,2 före Petter.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Vi får försöka. Jag försökte igen. Mikko har hittat en snabb rytm. Hade några misstag på förra, men den här kändes bättre" Loeb
- "Det är inte possitivt just nu, men vi närmar oss. Det är nu bara några sekunder." Latvala
- "Det var okej. Det var stenigt. Vi försöker igen på nästa" Hirvonen
- "Det verkar som Seb drar ifrån. Vi måste forsätta pressa, inge annat" Petter

På SS7:
1. Loeb, 7:06.8
2. Latvala, +1,9
3. Petter, +2,2
4. Hirvonen, +2,4
5. Østberg, +3,8
6. Neuville, +5,1
7. Atkinson, +9,8
8. Tänak, +10,1
9. Rantanen, +16,5
10. Ketomaa, +19,0

Efter SS7:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 44:20.8
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 44:27.0 +6,2
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 44:36.9 +16,1
4. Petter Solberg (N), 44:39.4 +18,6
5. Mads Østberg (N), 44:44.9 +24,1
6. Therrie Neuville (B), 44:51.0 +30,2
7. Ott Tänak (EE), 45:14.0 +53,2
8. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 45:16.3 +55,5
9. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 45:49.3 +1:28,5
10. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 46:00.6 +1:28,5
12-08-03 M-Sport Ford WRT, Mid-morning quotes, Rally Finland Day 2
Ott Tänak (7th) said:
“We were struggling a bit with the set-up on the first stage this morning [SS4]. The car was too low at the back and it was touching the road a lot and killing the speed. But we made some adjustments and made the car a bit higher for the second one [SS5] and it was OK.

“The second stage was very loose and for sure at the moment we are not in the perfect position. But maybe if we get some rain this afternoon it will get better for us.

“We are not pushing, but the feeling is OK so we will see how this afternoon goes.”

Evgeny Novikov (78th) said:
“On the first stage [SS4] there was nothing special. We had a big jump over the crest with a heavy landing and Denis [Giraudet] hurt his back a bit, but he is OK.

“Then on the second stage [SS5] we were driving at the same speed. We were pushing on a very fast corner – I remember it well from the recce – but I was too fast. I put the car sideways and at the end of the corner we were half a metre short and I couldn’t get the car straight.

“We rolled two times, but we will fight to keep going and I hope

12-08-03 SS6; Ny sträckseger för Hirvonen
Mikko Hirovnen kammade hem sin andra raka sträckseger. Han var 0,6 sekunder före teamkollegan Loeb och 1,8 sekunder före Latvala. Latvala klev åter förbi Petter och tog tillbaka tredje platsen.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Mikko var väldigt snabb på förra. Men jag körde hårt här. Några problem, körde lite för hårt, men inga större misstag" Loeb
- "Vi har ändrat lite i bilen. Det känns lite bättre. Men bilen var nog lite för låga för sträckan.
- "Jag trodde inte det gick så bra. Det var bra en bra tid" Hirvonen
- "Vi provade att ändra lite, men jag tappade. Jag vet inte vad. Vi hade lite rytmproblem i början på sträckan" Petter

På SS6:
1. Hirvonen, 5:29.6
2. Loeb, +0,6
3. Latvala +2,4
4. Petter, +4,7
5. Østberg, +7,4
6. Neuville, +6,3
7. Atkinson, +6,7
8. Tänak, +7,4
9. Rantanen, +9,9
10. Ketomaa, +13,7

Efter SS6:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 37:14.0
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 37:17.8 +3,8
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 37:28.2 +14,2
4. Petter Solberg (N), 37:30.4 +16,4
5. Mads Østberg (N), 37:34.3 +20,3
6. Therrie Neuville (B), 37:39.1 +25,1
7. Ott Tänak (EE), 37:57.1 +43,1
8. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 37:59.7 +45,7
9. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 38:23.5 +1:09,5
10. Matti Rantanen (Fin), 38:37.3 +1:23,3
12-08-03 SS5; Hirvonen slår tillbaka
Mikko Hirovnen har hittat rytmen och vann sträckan, 3,2 sekunder före Loeb och 4,9 sekunder före Petter. Petter klättrade förbi Latvala och ligger nu trea.

Novikov har åkt av och är kvar på sträckan. Besättningen mår bra, men bilen är för skadad för att fortsätta.

Nu är det dags för service. SS6 startar 10:38.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Jag gillar det verkligen. Men jag gjorde några mistag i en kurva, där det var mycket folk och jag fick motorstopp" Block
- "Det går bättre och bättre. Den här sträckan var bra" Prokop
- "Bra tid, men vi hade några problem med motorn på slutet. Den misstände" Ketomaa
- "Det känns bra i bilen. Jag är nöjd med min fart" Loeb
- "Jag försöker verkligen. Jag kan inte matcha Loeb, han är väldig snabb. Jag föröker köra renare, men inget hjälper nu" Latvala
- "Jag gjorde lite småjusteringar. Resten sitter mellan öronen. Vi hade en bra rytm" Hirvonen
- "Seb gör ett väldigt bra rally. Det är inte lätt" Petter
- "Nu funkar intercomen. Men tiden är inte bra. Det är synd att förlora så mycket tid. Vi får fundera på service" Atkinson

På SS5:
1. Hirvonen, 10:34.0
2. Loeb, +3,2
3. Petter, +4,9
4. Østberg, +6,9
5. Latvala, +7,4
6. Neuville, +9,5
7. Tänak, +13,8
8. Ketomaa, +16,8
9. Atkinson, +19,2
10. Rantanen, +20,8

Efter SS5:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 31:43.8
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 31:48.2 +4,4
3. Petter Solberg (N), 31:56.1 +12,3
4 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 31:56.2 +12,4
5. Mads Østberg (N), 31:59.6 +15,8
6. Therrie Neuville (B), 32:03.2 +19,4
7. Ott Tänak (EE), 32:20.1 +36,3
8. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 32:23.4 +39,6
9. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 32:40.2 +56,4
10. Martin Prokop (CZ), 32:58.6 +1:14,0
12-08-03 SS4; Loeb visar styrka i Finland
Sebastien Loeb visar att han minsann vill vinna även i Finland. Han vann första sträckan idag, 0,3 sekunder före Hirovnen och 0,9 före Latvala.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Jag körde inte så bra på sträckan. Några misstag. Ibland för sakta. Lite svårt att hitta rytmen, men okej" Loeb
- "Jag är förvånad över hur snabb Loeb är nu. Men det gick bättre den här gången" Latvala
- "Det är bättre nu. Vi sladdar lite för mycket" Hirvonen
- "Väldigt jämt. Jag tappade lite tid, men jag är nöjd. Det har varit en bra morgon" Petter
- "Jag är besviken. Jag försökte lite för mycket och tappade linjen. Det betalade sig inte, tvärtom." Østberg
- "Vi hade problem med intercomen. Jag hörde inte allt co-drivern sa" Atkinson

På SS4:
1. Loeb, 5:59,4
2. Hirvonen, +0,3
3. Latvala, +0,9
4. Petter, +1,4
5. Novikov, +4,3
6. Novikov, +4,3
7. Østberg +4,6
8. Tänak, +4,6
9. Aktinson, +8,0
10. Ketomaa, +9,7

Efter SS4:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 21:06.6
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 21:14.2 +7,6
3 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 21:14.8 +8,2
4. Petter Solberg (N), 21:17.2 +10,6
5. Mads Østberg (N), 21:18.7 +12,1
6. Therrie Neuville (B), 21:19.7 +13,1
7. Eyvind Novikov (Rus), 21:29.1 +22,5
8. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 21:30.2 +23,6
9. Ott Tänak (EE), 21:32.3 +25,7
10. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 21:49.4 +42,8
12-08-03 WRC Academy, End of Dya quotex, Rally Finland Day 1
Elfyn Evans (1st) said:
“We started off quite well today. We struggled to get a rhythm early on in the first stage [SS1], but we improved from there. I was happy with the Super Special [SS2], although I could see room for improvement. But then on the last stage [SS3], we found a good rhythm and pace.

“I am very happy to be on top after a long first day. The car was fantastic with no problems at all. It was a great start, I just need to maintain it tomorrow.”

Alastair Fisher (2nd +2.8s) said:
“The first stage [SS1] was OK, but I maybe didn’t attack it to its full potential as we were conscious that it was the stage we had an accident on last year. Again we were lacking slightly in confidence on the Super Special [SS2], but got into a really good rhythm right from the start on the last stage [SS3] and we were happy with the result. The car was perfect, well balanced and felt really good."

Brendan Reeves (3rd +17.5s) said:
“I am quite happy with today. We probably took the first stage [SS1] a little conservative and lost a little time there – it is really dry and we have experienced a lot of sideways action. Then we went into the Super Special [SS2] and had a good clean run there.

“This evening we had our lights on and had the confidence to attack the last stage [SS3] quite hard, but unfortunately we lost a little time with a spin in one of the last corners. Apart from that we showed good pace and rhythm in this stage which we will take into the stages tomorrow. We are into third place after a great day of competition and looking forward to the fight tomorrow.”

Timo Van der Marel (4th +17.6s) said:
“Today was a really good day with nice stages, although not so stereotypical of the Finnish roads with not so many jumps – but this actually worked to our advantage. Our pacenotes are working very well, with only a few minor changes compared to last year and the car is perfect. We will approach tomorrow the same as today. I am happy with our pace, and with our fourth position. It is a long rally and I predict the top four will not remain the same at the end of this rally!”

John MacCrone (5th +29.9s) said:
“We had a good run in the first stage [SS1] and were very happy with our pace. We made a few minor mistakes in the Super Special stage [SS2], but got to the end. The last stage [SS3] was very fast, I was maybe a little cautious and dropped some time there.

”But we are very happy to be the highest of those competing for the first time here and the car is spot on. We are having a great battle with Pontus [Tidemand] and looking forward to the stages tomorrow. Today has been a day of experience, which we will hopefully use to our advantage tomorrow.”

Pontus Tidemand (6th +34.8s) said:
“Today was quite OK, but we were not pushing to our maximum. The stages were as fast as I expected, and we are just finding the rhythm of the front runners. I am really looking forward to the stages tomorrow with some big jumps!”

Jose Antonia Suárez (7th +38.8s) said:
“It has been a good day overall. I have a really good feeling with the car and I am happy with our pacenotes and preparations. The stages were as we expected, very fast. I will take the experience of today into tomorrow and hopefully improve our times against the other guys with maximum attack!”

Christopher Duplessis (8th +1:07.4s) said:
“So far this rally has been awesome! The stages are really good and the Super Special [SS2] was a blast. I made a small mistake on the first stage [SS1] and lost some time [30 seconds], but brought the car to the finish.

“I am having a good time and the car is really good. Alex [Kihurani] is great and we are happy with our pacenote preparation. We are learning all of the time and really looking forward to the big jumps tomorrow. I hope we can close in on the front runners with our pace.”

João Silva (9th +1:48.3s) said:
“It has been a good day with no problems on my debut here in Finland. The first two stages were good. I made some changes to the set-up on the car on the final stage [SS3], but unfortunately lost some time and confidence so I will revert back to the original set-up for tomorrow. We are learning all the time and tomorrow is a long day, but we will approach it in the same way as today – keep calm and continue to learn step-by-step.”

Fredrik Åhlin (10th +10:05.0s)
Retired on SS3 with an accident..

Ashley Haigh-Smith (11th +13:13.6) said:
“The day started great but about 5km into the stage [SS1] the gear lever snapped. We had to stop on the stage to see if we could fix the problem, but in the end Craig [Parry] had to help by pulling the gear shift for me. We stopped on the road section to work on the car to make the gear shift work and arrived 4 minutes late at the next control.

“The stages were awesome. I was lacking in confidence early on, but Craig reassured me. We will start again from scratch tomorrow and take the experience from today to see how we can improve.”
12-08-03 Elseewhere, end of Day quotes, Rally Finland Day 1
Mads Østberg, Adapta World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (4th) said:
“Today has been a good day. We started off carefully on the first stage [SS1], then on the Super Special [SS2], we had a lot of spray on the windscreen from the car in front which totally destroyed it [the visibility] and we lost a bit of time there.

“We had a good run over the last stage [SS3] and we are still in contact with the top guys which is what we wanted. OK, Sébastien [Loeb] has pulled away a little bit but we are very close to Jari-Matti [Latvala] and Mikko [Hirvonen] so we are very pleased with that and we will try to fight with them tomorrow as well.”

Jari Ketomaa, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (10th) said:
“I am very happy at the moment. Compared to starts in other rallies this year, this has been a lot better. I am feeling better in the car and the car’s set-up is much better – basically everything is much better than any other rally. We did two days testing which is carrying us to the better results for sure. The car and the tyres are working very well and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Martin Prokop, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (11th) said:
“I have to say that the start was not so good for me because of our qualification. We have to clean the stages so we are losing a lot of time. But OK, we are trying to improve and work on the car. On our last rally in Estonia [auto24 Rally Estonia] we were losing a lot of speed in the car so we still have a lot to learn.

“I hope it will rain tomorrow. This will be good for us so maybe we won’t have to clean the roads so much!”

Esapekka Lappi, Ford Fiesta S2000 (13th) said:
“Today has been really good but still we have places to improve. I am not yet 100 per cent satisfied, but it was a good start to the rally. The car is fantastic – no problems at all – and the stages have been great. The last stage was really good because it hasn’t been driven for almost 30 years and it was good to have a fastest time there. I am looking forward to tomorrow and hoping to continue the same.”

Matti Rantanen, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (14th) said:
“This afternoon’s stages were not so good for me. On the first one [SS1] I stalled the engine on the start line – it was starting on Tarmac which I hadn’t practised at all, but what can you do. On the second one [SS2] I wanted to take it really carefully, then on the third [SS3], we were just looking for a clean drive because we have a long day tomorrow and I need to get my confidence back.”

Ken Block, Monster World Rally Team, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (17th) said:
“These were great stages, they were just really sandy and there was a lot of gravel so being fourth on the road I was doing a lot of sweeping today. I wish I had a better starting position, but it is what it is and I am really looking forward to tomorrow. The roads will be more of the traditional Finnish stages, whereas today they were a lot flatter – the same sort of roads you have all over the world – so I am really looking forward to tomorrow.”

Craig Breen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (18th) said:
“It has been an emotional day, but we are here. We survived and got round which was good and the speed wasn’t too bad so I am pleased with that. There’s a lot of room for improvement so I am looking forward to tomorrow and we will see how it goes.”

Karl Kruuda, Ford Fiesta S2000 (19th) said:
“This afternoon was quite ok. The first stage [SS1] wasn’t so good – I took it as Shakedown because I was unable to do the official one yesterday, so it was a bit sketchy. But the third one was good. There were a couple of mistakes but we are heading upwards and I am looking forward to tomorrow: bigger, faster, stronger.”

Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Ford Fiesta RRC (22nd) said:
“This was my first experience here in Finland so I tried not to push and make too many mistakes. The first stage [SS1] was really slippery but on the small stage [SS2] it was easy to see every corner so I pushed a little bit. The third stage [SS3] had a lot of crests and was really narrow – totally new to me – to we just took it really carefully.

“Everybody has competed here many times before, but for me it is the first time. All the corners and crests are a totally new experience. But I am learning all the time and really enjoying this rally.”

Sebastian Lindholm, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (26th) said:
“This is the first time I have competed here since 2005 and everything is new. You don’t remember the roads and you forget how to drive, how to make pacenotes and then at this age you are not so brave!”

“For two years I have been thinking that it would be nice to do this rally once more, but last year it was not possible for me, but then this opportunity came. The stages were very slippery and quite difficult this afternoon, but we are starting to have some fun and learning a little bit more all the time. If we have rain tomorrow, maybe we will be on a better position on the road which will make driving nicer.”

Maciej Oleksowicz, Ford Fiesta S2000 (28th) said:
“The stages have been beautiful today. I wasn’t expecting the conditions to be so good – so flat, so much grip, absolutely perfect stages. The car is working well and we are just trying to find the proper speed on these roads, The last stage [SS3] was good and I think now we know how to go faster for tomorrow.”

Edoardo Bresolin, Ford Fiesta RRC (31st) said:
“For me, it is very difficult because the car and the stages are so new to me. But we are working with our M-Sport engineer and improving our understanding all the time. I am enjoying being here in Finland and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Kari Hämäläinen, Ford Fiesta S2000 (35th) said:
“The stages were quite good this afternoon. OK, the last one was a little bit different because it was getting a little bit darker, but no problem. The car is very good and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
12-08-03 M-Sports Young guns take Lahti stage in their stride
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Evgeny Novikov and Ott Tänak completed a solid first day at the 2012 Neste Oil Rally Finland to lay 8th and 9th respectively at the end of Day 1.

The rally started in Lahti’s picturesque harbour, 170km south of the rally base in Jyväskylä, before taking in three stages on the return to service. Taking the challenging stages in their stride, and getting into the rhythm of Finland’s fast, flowing gravel roads, the M-Sport duo set consistent top-ten times to secure their position ahead of tomorrow's competitive stages and the return of some of Rally Finland’s most legendary roads.

With no testing in the lead up to the event, and admittedly not pushing to the maximum behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Novikov impressed over the opening stages with a 5th fastest time through the Jokimaa [SS2] super special – just 1.1 seconds adrift of pace-setter Petter Solberg. Elsewhere, Tänak did well to maintain his pace with gravel spray damaging the widescreen of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC on SS2 and hindering the Estonian’s charge throughout the evening.

Evgeny Novikov (8th) said:
“The stages were ok. It was a long day with the big road sections, but everything is fine. We didn’t push to the maximum today, but maybe tomorrow we will try and up our speed. I am happy with the result for the moment and we will see what happens tomorrow.”

Ott Tänak (9th) said:
“The first stage was ok. I am not in the best condition at the moment because I haven’t had any testing and the roads are really fast so it is a bit difficult.

“Then on the second stage [SS2] on the first corner, Sébastien [Loeb] was on the inside and I was on the outside and I got all the gravel in my windscreen which ruined it [the visibility] for the next stage. On the third stage [SS3] there was quite low sun and we lost a lot of time because the straights were in the sun and the corners were in the shadow and we couldn’t see anything [through the damaged windscreen]!

“But it is a long day tomorrow and for sure we will try to improve and set some good times.”
12-08-03 Let's Get Rallying (Safely!)
'Hi everyone,
'And we're back - Max and Marco again reporting to you about the first proper day of competition here at Neste Oil Rally Finland. The rally schedule kicks off a daily earlier than other WRC events so the action's already started with three stages completed.

'Although the competition only started this afternoon, this morning Armindo and Paulo were busy doing PR activities with the other WRC drivers. They both attended the 'WRC Drivers Meet the Kids' event where the stars of the WRC showed the children how important road safety is. The drivers endorsed two of the FIA Action for Road Safety's Golden Rules - Belt Up and Wear a Helmet - and showed the children the importance of those road safety rules and how to perform those two actions properly.

'The kid driving with Armindo was the next rally driver-to-be. He was taking shortcuts, shooting round and Armindo had to try to give tips and stay balanced on the back of the car as the kid rocketed away. Then he slammed the brakes on and Armindo nearly flew over the bonnet - fortunately he'd helped the kid to fasten his seatbelt properly! :-) Meanwhile the little boy paired with Paulo drove straight into the back of Chris 'Atko' Atkinson, which really highlighted the importance of him wearing his helmet!!

'Armindo and Paulo also signed autographs for the children and took photos with them. At the end of the event everyone gathered for a group photo. Oh and of course Armindo made sure his hair looked perfect in every photo. ;-)

'After a busy morning of PR activities and some time to relax it was back to business for Armindo and Paulo as they took off in their MINIs: direction Lahti - 170km from Jyväskylä - where the Ceremonial Start and Rally Show awaited them.
'What happened next is all to be revealed...

Max
'I don't really understand much about the PR things Armindo and Paulo did today, they're a bit alien to me but I'm really happy to take you into 'my world' and behind-the-scenes of our MINI family.

'We started the day quickly checking a few small things on the MINI after yesterday's Qualifying Stage, just to be sure everything was OK to start the rally. When Armindo and Miguel left for Lahti they had a positive attitude even though they knew it was going to be a tough task. Miguel is an excellent co-driver, he's very calm and good influence in the car and he and Armindo have a great relationship.

'Marco and I drove to Lahti too, to meet the drivers. It was a very nice trip - there were so many people on the street waiting for the rally cars, it was pretty emotional. And when we arrived in Lahti the atmosphere was crazy, thousands of fans came to the harbour to see the WRC - I had never seen so many people, not even in Argentina were the fans are also mega enthusiastic.

'We fitted the lamppod to the car before the last stage of the day even though it wasn't really necessary. Here in Finland during summer it's daylight until very late and it never gets completely dark even during the night like in South Europe that's why they call it 'the land of the midnight sun'.

'Armindo did a great job keeping his MINI in fine shape and didn't do any damage which is always good news. The roads here are like a motorway but on gravel ;-), which is very good for the cars. We didn't have much work to do in flexiservice and we can go back to the hotel now and relax (it's been a long time since I've been able to say that!!)

'That's all from my side, back to you Marco!'

Marco
'To relax a bit and take the tension of the rally away this morning the boys and I decided to give Olympic style scores to the very (very) attractive promo girls who were sashaying around the Service Park. They were all very pretty and to be fair we gave a ten to all of them!! ;-)

'After making the final touches to Paulo's MINI and after he and Armindo left for Lahti, Max and I took one of WRC Team MINI Portugal's road car MINIs and we started our journey to Lahti where we met the drivers before they set-off on the stages.

'Paulo did a good job on the stages. As always, he enjoyed himself a lot - and for him that's the most important thing. These stages are not at all what Paulo is used to, so I think that as he doesn't have much experience he is doing a pretty good job so far. I hope he won't fly too high in his MINI though - after all he is only a 'Flying Brazilian' not yet a 'Flying Finn'. ;-)

'Tonight we checked everything on Paulo's MINI during flexiservice, everything looked good and we're ready to get going again tomorrow, which will be a long, long day!

'One last thing - I mentioned before that last night Bruno and I went on the WRC stage with Paulo and he introduced us to the crowd. It was hilarious! Paulo called our Team Manager Bruno "Escorpião" - which means 'scorpion' in Portuguese - because he runs a very tight ship and he's always keeps a tight rein on the team and money to make sure everything runs according to plan. He'll always laugh and joke with the rest of us, but when we need to get down to business, nothing gets past him!

'Paulo then told the crowd that with my new haircut I look a little like a criminal (personally I liked it! ;-)) but in reality I'm a nice guy. That Paulo - always joking! I love working with him, I can't imagine working in a team where everyone wasn't friends and ready for a joke as well as 'hard yakka'.

'Anyway that's all from our side for today, let's hope the WRC Team MINI Portugal boys will make us proud tomorrow.

'Talk to you tomorrow.'
Max & Marco
12-08-02 Latvala tied in second after quickfire opening day in Finland
Ford World Rally Team duo Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila are tied for second place after a fast and furious opening to Rally Finland tonight. Driving a Ford Fiesta RS World Rally Car, the Finns are 7.3sec from the lead, with team-mates Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson less than two seconds behind in sixth.

This eighth round of the FIA World Rally Championship headed south towards Helsinki from its traditional Jyväskylä base this afternoon. After a regroup alongside the picturesque harbour in Lahti, competitors tackled just three gravel speed tests before returning to Jyväskylä late tonight for what will be a short night’s rest.

Two traditional forest special stages sandwiched a short test at Lahti’s trotting track, offering just 29.90km of competition ahead of two longer days on more familiar Rally Finland territory. After yesterday’s thunderstorms, today remained dry and the Ford drivers’ decision to start down the running order to avoid the worst of the slippery loose gravel proved correct.

It took 27-year-old Latvala a while to find his rhythm in the opening speed test. Third place around the trotting track calmed his nerves, but Latvala admitted he was surprised to drop five seconds in the final stage.

“I was a little too careful in the opening stage, but the second test was fine,” said Latvala. “I thought I drove well in the last stage, but the clock showed that I dropped five seconds. That was frustrating because I don’t understand where the time went.

“I tried a new suspension set-up so perhaps I need to think if that was the reason. I pushed hard, so I also need to consider whether I drove too sideways as a result and lost time. The gap is small but tomorrow is much longer and more demanding and I don’t want to concede more seconds in the morning,” he added.

Solberg was quickly into his stride, setting second fastest time in the opening stage before winning the trotting track test. The 37-year-old Norwegian also dropped some seconds in the final test, but such was the pace in this fastest round of the championship that just 9.2sec cover the top six drivers.

“The opening stage went well and the second test was even better, because I was fastest,” said Solberg. “I decided to make a small change to the car’s set-up before the final stage, making it slightly lower to try to improve the performance even further. Unfortunately it didn’t work and I lost a few seconds.

“Because today’s leg was so short, it was the right time to try something like that. If it didn’t work the time loss was always going to be small. Tomorrow I’ll go back to my previous settings and I’ll continue to push hard,” he added.

Ford World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson said: “I’m pleased we have completed these three stages without problems. They are of a different character to the rest of the rally and it was important not to get caught out. We didn’t and I’m looking forward to a full day’s driving tomorrow.”

News from other Ford teams
Adapta World Rally Team’s Mads Østberg / Jonas Andersson are fourth after a strong start in their Fiesta RS WRC. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team duo Evgeny Novikov / Denis Giraudet and Ott Tänak / Kuldar Sikk are eighth and ninth respectively, with the privately-entered car of Jari Ketomaa / Mika Stenberg rounding off the top 10. Martin Prokop / Zdenek Hruza are 11th in the Czech Ford National Team car, with Finns Matti Rantanen / Mikko Lukka in 14th.

Tomorrow’s Route
The second leg is based much closer to Jyväskylä. Competitors restart at 06.30 and tackle three loops of tests, mainly west of the city. The final two loops are identical and the day then ends with a short super special stage at the Killeri trotting track on the edge of Jyväskylä. The action finishes at 21.15 after nine stages covering 133.82km.

Leaderboard after Day 1
1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen DS3 15min 07.1sec
2= J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Fiesta RS 15min 14.4sec
2= M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Citroen DS3 15min 14.4sec
4. M Østberg/J Andersson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 15min 14.6sec
5. T Neuville/N Gilsoul BEL Citroen DS3 15min 16.1sec
6. P Solberg/C Patterson NOR Ford Fiesta RS 15min 16.3sec
7. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Citroen DS3 15min 22.7sec
8. E Novikov/D Giraudet RUS Ford Fiesta RS 15min 25.3sec
9. O Tänak/K Sikk EST Ford Fiesta RS 15min 28.2sec
10 J Ketomaa/M Stenberg FIN Ford Fiesta RS 15min 40.2sec

Stage Times
Stage 1: 1. Loeb 6min 59.8sec; 2. P Solberg + 1.6; 3. Neuville + 2.1; 4. Latvala + 2.2; 5. Østberg + 2.3; 6. Hirvonen + 2.4.

Stage 2: 1. P Solberg 1min 32.5sec; 2. Loeb + 0.1; 3. Latvala + 0.2; 4. Neuville + 0.6; 5. Novikov + 1.1; 6. Hirvonen + 1.5.
Overall: 1. Loeb 8min 32.4sec; 2. P Solberg + 1.5; 3. Latvala + 2.3; 4. Neuville + 2.6; 5. Hirvonen + 3.8; 6. Østberg + 4.3.

Stage 3: 1. Loeb 6min 34.7sec; 2. Østberg + 3.2; 3. Hirvonen + 3.5; 4. Latvala + 5.0; 5. Neuville + 6.4; 6. P Solberg + 7.7.
Overall: 1. Loeb 15min 07.1sec; 2= Latvala, Hirvonen + 7.3; 4. Østberg + 7.5; 5. Neuville + 9.0; 6. P Solberg + 9.2.
12-08-02 Tredje plats för P-G Andersson i Rally-VM i Finland efter första dagen
Rally VM i Finland har startat och idag har Rally-VM förarna hunnit avverka tre sträckor. Per-Gunnar "P-G" Andersson och hans co-driver Emil Axelsson startar tillsammans med Proton-teamet i SWRC, som är VM för Super 2000-bilar. Efter dagens tre sträckor, ligger dem på tredje plats.
- "Dagens sträckor har gått på hårt och mycket snabbt underlag och där hänger vi inte riktigt med effektmässigt än" säger P-G "Vi har kört i ett stabilt tempo och inte tagit några risker".

I morgon kommer sträckorna att vara lite mjukare och därmed långsammare, efter allt regnande i sommar:
- "Då har vi större chans att hänga med. Risken kommer säkert att bli stor för punkteringar, eftersom det säkert kommer att komma fram stenar i kanterna. Men vi får helt enkelt använda huvudet lite och försöka undvika stenar och punkteringar" skrattar P-G.

Inför VM i Finland ligger P-G och Emil tillsammans med Craig Breen på en delad andra plats i VM-tabellen för Super 2000-bilar (SWRC).
- "Målet är att plocka så många poäng som möjligt och vi ska göra allt för att få full pott" avslutar P-G.

Leder rallyt kör Esapekka Lappi, före Hayden Paddon och P-G och Emil ligger trea.

I morgon körs nio sträckor och på lördag körs ytterligare sex avslutande sträckor.

Mer info, hittar du på www.pgandersson.se. Där kommer vi att följa rallyt, sträcka för sträcka.

Rally-VM Finland, SWRC efter dag 1
1 Esapekka Lappi (Fin) 15:51.8
2. Hayden Paddon (NL) 15:53.3 +1,5
3. P-G Andersson 16:04.4 +12,6
4. Craig Breen (GB) 16:07.7 +15,9
5. Juho Salo (Fin) 16:15.3 +23,5
6. Yazeed Al Rajhi (KZ) 16:28.8 +37,0
7. Maciej Oleksowicz (PL) 16:59.2 +1:07,4
Komplett resultat: http://www.wrc.com/results/2012/neste-oil-rally-finland/stage-times/?stageno=3&category=swrc

VM-tabellen inför Rally Finland
1. Hayden Paddon (NZ) 62 poäng
2. P-G Andersson 43 poäng
2. Craig Breen (GB) 43 poäng
4. Majicej Oleksowicz (PL) 41 poäng
5. Yazeed Al Rahji (Sau) 22 poäng

12-08-02 Twenty nationalities and 39 entries for Ford in Finland
The Blue Oval’s ever growing ‘Ford family’ reaches new heights this weekend with no fewer than 39 drivers all taking to the wheel of a Fiesta at the 2012 Neste Oil Rally Finland.

More than 20 nationalities will contest the fastest event on the World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar, with each of the Fiestas from Ford’s ‘Ladder of Opportunity’ – the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Fiesta RRC, Fiesta S2000, Fiesta R2 and Fiesta ST – all present on the entry list.

The feat showcases Ford and M-Sport’s commitment to fostering the growth of national and international rallying from the grass routes to the top echelons of the WRC.

Fourteen Finns, three Norwegians, two Americans, two Estonians, two Spaniards, two Swedes, a Russian, Czech, Saudi Arabian, Italian, Irishman, Pole, Ukrainian, Northern Irishman, Australian, Dutchman, Scot, Welshman, South African and a Portuguese driver will all tackle Rally Finland’s legendary stages at the wheel of 10 Ford Fiesta RS WRCs, two Fiesta RRCs, seven Fiesta S2000s, 19 Fiesta R2s and one Fiesta ST.

Malcolm Wilson OBE said:
“It is great to see so many Ford’s on the entry list for Rally Finland. It is especially good to see the range of cars and nationalities which only goes to show the Fiesta’s popularity.

“Lewis Booth [head of Ford of Europe at the time] challenged us to increase the depth of entries in the WRC [World Rally Championship] back in 2006, and this weekend has seen us take a good step towards reaching that goal.”

Competing crews:
Jari-Matti Latvala - Ford Fiesta RS WRC - Finland
Petter Solbeg - Ford Fiesta RS WRC - Norway
Ken Block - Ford Fiesta RS WRC - USA
Ott Tänak - Ford Fiesta RS WRC - Estonia
Evgeny Novikov - Ford Fiesta RS WRC - Russia
Mads Østberg - Ford Fiesta RS WRC - Norway
Martin Prokop- Ford Fiesta RS WRC - Czech Prokop
Jari Ketomaa - Ford Fiesta RS WRC - Finland
Matti Rantanen - Ford Fiesta RS WRC - Finland
Sebastian Lindholm - Ford Fiesta RS WRC - Finland
Yazeed Al Rajhi - Ford Fiesta RRC - Saudi Arabia
Edoardo Bresolin - Ford Fiesta RRC - Italy
Craig Breen - Ford Fiesta S2000 - Ireland
Maciek Oleksowicz - Ford Fiesta S2000 - Poland
Esapekka Lappi - Ford Fiesta S2000 - Finland
Karl Kruuda - Ford Fiesta S2000 - Estonia
Mattias Therman - Ford Fiesta S2000 - Finland
Kari Hämäläinen - Ford Fiesta S2000 - Finland
Oleksii Tamrazov - Ford Fiesta S2000 - Ukraine
Jukka Korhonen - Ford Fiesta R2 - Finland
Andreas Amberg - Ford Fiesta R2 - Finland
Frank Tore Larsen - Ford Fiesta R2 - Norway
Niko-Pekka Nieminen - Ford Fiesta R2 - Finland
Sami Sarjula - Ford Fiesta R2 - Finland
Kari Hytönen - Ford Fiesta R2 - Finland
Ilkka Kariste - Ford Fiesta ST - Finland
Nil Solans - Ford Fiesta R2 - Spain
Raimo Kaisanlahti - Ford Fiesta R2 - Finland
Chris Duplessis - Ford Fiesta R2 - USA
Jose Suárez - Ford Fiesta R2 - Spain
Alastair Fisher - Ford Fiesta R2 - Northern Ireland
Pontus Tidemand - Ford Fiesta R2 - Sweden
Brendan Reeves - Ford Fiesta R2 - Australia
Timo Van der Marel - Ford Fiesta R2 - Holland
John MacCrone - Ford Fiesta R2 - Scotland
Elfyn Evans - Ford Fiesta R2 - Wales
João Silva - Ford Fiesta R2 - Portugal
Ashley Haigh-Smith - Ford Fiesta R2 -South Africa
Fredrik Åhlin - Ford Fiesta R2 - Sweden
12-08-02 SS3: Loeb avslutade med sträckseger
Sebastien Loeb hade en näst intill felfri sträcka och kammade hem segern på sista sträckan med 3,2 sekunder före Østberg och 3,5 sekunder före Hirvonen. Petter tappade andra platsen och ligger nu sexa.

Det var alla sträckor för idag. I morgon drar det hela igång 06:42 svensk tid och då är det nio sträckor som ska köras.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Bra känsla. Det är ett speciellt rally" Nobre
- "Sträckan var ganska lös. Det var kul. Jag försöker bygga upp lite mer fart" Block
- "Våra noter var lite långsamma. I morgon kan vi vara lite snabbare" Araujo
- "Vi kämpar lite med bakändan i hög föart. Vi hade några moments" Ketomaa
- "Vi hade problem med att se genom vindrutan. Solen var ibland så låg. Jag är inte nöjd" Tänak
- "Jag försöker. Jag kan inte köra fortare. Bra sträcka, körde för fullt överallt. Känslan var bra idag" Loeb
- "Det går inte bra för tillfället. Jag vet inte varför. Jag tyckte det kändes bra, men fick ingen bra tid. Jag har ingen ursäkt" Latvala
- "Min körning var inte så bra. Vi var nästan i diket några gånger. I morgon får vi hålla oss på vägen" Hirvonen
- "Det var väldigt trixigt i mitten. Men okej, inga problem" Petter
- "Det var en bra sträcka för oss. Vi var lite vida på ett ställe, men jag är nöjd med sträckan".

På SS3:
1. Loeb, 6:34,7
2. Østberg, +3,2
3. Hirvonen, +3,5
4. Latvala, +5,0
5. Neuville, +6,4
6. Petter, +7,7
7. Atkinson, +8,9
8. Novikov, +11,1
9. Tänak, +13,8
10. Ketomaa, +17,5

Efter SS3:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 15:07.1
2. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 15:14.4 +7,3
2. Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 15:14.4 +7,3
4. Mads Østberg (N), 15:14.6 +7,5
5. Therrie Neuville (B), 15:16.1 +9,0
6. Petter Solberg (N), 15:16.3 +9,2
7. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 15:22.7 +15,6
8. Eyvind Novikov (Rus), 15:25.3 +18,2
9. Ott Tänak (EE), 15:28.2 +21,1
10. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 15:40.2 +33,1
12-08-02 SS2: Petter snabbast
Rallyts andra sträcka var en 2 km superspecial. Där var det Petter Solberg som drog längsta strået och vann sträckan, 0,1 sekund före Loeb ohc 0,2 före Latvala.

Förarkommentarer:
- "Det gick ganska bra. Vi får se hur det går för de andra gör" Loeb
- "Jag var lite vid på några ställen, men jag är nöjd. Tappar man mycket, blir det tufft på de andra sträckorna" Latvala
- "På den här sträckan tappade jag lite för mycket, men den förra gick bra. Jag tog det lite för försiktigt" Hirvonen
- "Fantastiskt tid. Jag måste vara smart nu" Petter

På SS2:

1. Petter, 1:32,5
2. Loeb, +0,1
3. Latvala, +0,2
4. Neuville, +0,6
5. Novikov, +1,1
6. Hirvonen, +1,5
7. Østberg, +2,1
8. Atkinson, +2,2
9. Tänak, +2,3
10. Ketomaa, +2,5

Efter SS2:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 8:32.4
2. Petter Solberg (N), 8:33.9 +1,5
3. Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 8:34.7 +2,3
4. Therrie Neuville (B), 8:35.0 +2,6
5. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 8:36.2 +3,8
6. Mads Østberg (N), 8:36.7 +4,3
7. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 8:39.1 +6,7
8. Eyvind Novikov (Rus), 8:39.5 +7,1
9. Ott Tänak (EE), 8:39.7 +7,3
10. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 8:48.0 +15,6
12-08-02 SS1; Loeb snabbast ut i Finska VM-rallyt
Rally Finland är i full gång och WRC-bilarna har kört igenom den inledande 13,68 km långa sträckan. Sebastien Loeb vann sträckan, 1,6 sekunder före Petter och 2,2 före Latvala. Mads Östberg fick femte bästa tid.

Förarkommentarer:
- " Väldigt halt och lös grus på vägen. Fin sträcka, jag njöt" Lindholm
- "Fantastiskt" Nobre
- "Jag var för vid i några svängar och åkte genom ett dike med bakändan av bilen" Block
- "Inte dålig start. Men det var fortfarande väldigt väldigt halt. Jag är inte alls nöjd med några kurvor" Prokop
- "Det gick ganska bra men jag fick motorsport på startlinjen" Rantanen
- "Det var ganska okej. Men jag hade inte rätta självförtroendet och bromsade lite för mycket" Tänak
- "Det var okej. Greppet var bra. Jag hade en bra sträcka och inga misstag" Loeb
- "Jag hittade inte rytmen i mitten på sträckan. Det tog lite för lång tid att få självförtroendet och det förlorade jag tid på "Latvala
- "Han hade en bra början. Men jag tror inte rallyt avgörs på den här sträckan" Hirvonen
- "Jag är mycket nöjd. Jag bytte dämpare från igår och det fungerade bra. Bilen är helt fantastiskt" Petter
- "Det var en bra sträcka. Vi hade några missar i början och kunde inte ta igen tiden. En bra start på rallyt" Østberg
- "Jag vet inte vad de andra har för tid. Men jag hade inte alls självförtroende i bilen" Neuville
- "Fyra sekunder efter Loeb när jag inte kört på länge. Jag är nöjd" Atkinson

Efter SS1:
1. Sebastien Loeb (F), 6:59.8
2. Petter Solberg (N), 07:01.4 +1,6
3. Therrie Neuville (B), 7:01.9 +2,1
4. Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin), 07:02.0 +2,2
5. Mads Østberg (N), 7:02.1 +2,3
6. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin), 7:02.2 +2,4
7. Chris Atkinson (Aus), 07:04.4 +4,6
8. Ott Tänak (EE), 7:04.9 +5,1
9. Eyvind Novikov (Rus), 7:05.9 +6,1
10. Jari Ketomaa (Fin), 7:13.0 +13,2

12-08-02 Pontus Tidemand redo för sitt första Rally Finland
På torsdag startar VM-deltävlingen Rally Finland med tre sträckor i området runt Jyväskylä. På plats finns den 21-åriga landslagsföraren Pontus Tidemand som tillsammans med norska kartläsaren Stig Rune Skjaermoen skall köra den tredje deltävlingen av 2012-års Junior-VM i rally.

Totalt kör de 12 stycken Junior-VM ekipagen 17 specialsträckor på de finländska VM-vägarna under torsdagen, fredagen samt lördagen innan går i mål på lördag eftermiddag efter ha kört den legendariska Ouninpohja som sista sträcka . Totalt är det 270 km specialsträckor för Junior-VM förarna.
- Jag känner mig förberedd trots att vi har haft lite otur med tävlingarna senaste tiden så jag inte har fått så mycket ss-kilometer i mig som jag hade velat. Vi var och körde test här i Finland för en månad sedan och då tyckte jag det funkade riktigt bra, berättar Pontus

Alla WRC Academy-ekipagen kör likadana Ford Fiesta R2 och bakom Pontus satsning står Norska talangutvecklingsbolaget EVENrally. Vägarna i området runt Jyväskylä samt Lahti är kända för sina stora krön och snabbhet, Det är inte utan anledningen rallyt kallas Formel-1 på grus.
- Det är en vägkaraktär som vi sällan ser i Sverige så det gäller att ha perfekta noter så man kan åka rätt över krönen när det går upp emot 170 km/h, fortsätter Pontus

I den senaste WRC Academy-deltävlingen Acropolis-rallyt så såg Pontus ut att gå emot en andra plats då oturen grinade han i ansiktet och en drivaxel gick rätt av.
- Jag var så besviken i Grekland, vi hade en plan att i första två deltävlingar som var Portugal och Grekland att vi skulle åka stabilt utan göra misstag och plocka värdefulla poäng då det är lite av “överlevandsrallyn” båda två. I Portugal funkade taktiken perfekt med en tredjeplats och det såg även ut att funka i Grekland, men så hände det som hände med bara ett par sträckor kvar, förklarar Pontus

Med två av sex körda deltävlingar ligger Pontus på en sjätte plats i sammandraget, där man får räkna bort en deltävling. Leder gör Alistair Fisher före Elfyn Ewans.
- Detta är ett rally där man måste köra “flat-out” men marginalerna är minimala på tanke hur fort det går. Nu skall vi verkligen försöka att vara med i topp och även vinna sträckor då man får en poäng för varje sträcka man vinner, avslutar Pontus

Ni kan följa Pontus under helgen på www.gopontus.com och www.facebook.com/PontusTidemand där vi uppdaterar så fort vi kan.

Rallyts hemsida: http://www.nesteoilrallyfinland.fi/en/
Resultat: www.wrc.com/wrc-academy/results/2012/neste-oil-rally-finland/stage-times/

12-08-02 Block shares the secret to hiss sucess with the FIA WRC Academy Crews
The FIA WRC Academy crews met with the hoonigan himself, Monster World Rally Team’s Ken Block, earlier this week as the master of social media and PR gave the drivers and co-drivers his expert tips and advice ahead of this weekend’s Neste Oil Rally Finland where the American will compete behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

Fresh from the making of Gymkhana FIVE – the most successful video of the Gymkhana series, surpassing its own YouTube record with 5.1 million view in the first 24 hours of its release – Block has become a social media sensation and PR dream. Who better for the WRC Academy crews to learn the tricks of the PR trade?

Aside from his media savvy, Block is one of the most dynamic characters in the World Rally Championship, Rally America series and the Global Rallycross championship with an army of loyal fans and supporters around the globe. Speaking to the WRC Academy crews, the charismatic American detailed the secrets to his success covering everything from social media, self-promotion and how to obtain and maintain sponsors.

This may be Block’s first venture to the fastest rally in the World Rally Championship, but the knowledge he was able to share with the WRC Academy crews proved some of the most valuable to date.

The stars of tomorrow have already proved they have the pace to make it to the top of world rallying, now they have an insight into how best to build their fan-base, secure sponsorship and keep their place in the sport.

Ken Block said:
"I'm always stoked to be able to talk to the WRC Academy students. They're the future of our sport and any sort of knowledge I can help pass along to them in regards to bringing in sponsors and marketing themselves, the better.

“The more visible they become, the better they help not only themselves, but the entire rally community. They're also super enthusiastic about everything that I do – especially my recent Gymkhana FIVE video!"

Chris Duplessis said:
“It was good seeing Ken [Block] in the hot-seat. I’ve known him a long time so it was good to see everyone else have the opportunity to ask him questions and pick up all his awesome tips and advice.

“He talked a lot about marketing and how best to promote yourself which is something all of us [in the WRC Academy] could use more help with at this point in our careers.

“Some of the best advice he gave was to think outside the box. We are all here to go rallying, but sometimes you need to offer a little extra and branch out into all sorts of other areas – just like Ken.”
12-08-01 Test, Prep and Sharing Clothes
‘Hello everyone or 'Terve' as the Finnish say,
'Here we are - Max Pelucchi and Marco Moreiras reporting live and exclusively for you from Neste Oil Rally Finland, one of the most exciting rounds of the WRC calendar. It's great to be back in Jyväskylä. It's a city where you can feel the authentic 'rally spirit' - the Finns love rallying and the atmosphere around here is great.

'Rally Finland has a slightly different schedule compared to other events as the action finishes on Saturday - one day earlier compared to most of the other rounds. This means the whole team had to get here a day early to make sure we had everything ready for the Qualifying Stage today.

'We got here on Saturday and as Finland is the first round after the summer break in the WRC it was nice to catch up with other team members who you don't get the opportunity to see very often. We are a multi-cultural team, we come from different corners of Europe and normally we even have Cirillo - one of Paulo's mechanics - flying in all the way from Brazil, but who couldn't join us here in Finland. You can hear a lot of different languages spoken in the WRC Team MINI Portugal service area. Of course sometimes not speaking the same language makes thing more difficult, but we're a team so we always try to help each other and we've all learnt some words in each other's languages to make it as easy to communicate as possible.

'After unpacking the trucks and setting the Service Area up, the action immediately started as we ran a test with Paulo on Saturday. Marco will tell you all about it in his section of the blog. Recce started on Monday and while the crews were out on the stages we worked on the MINIs to make sure they were ready for the big jumps!

Max
'We arrived in Helsinki on Saturday and after getting our MINI road cars from the local dealer we started our journey on the road to Jyväskylä. It's a beautiful journey as the roads flow through the lakes. There are really a lot of lakes in this country - of course the rally used to be known as the 'Rally of 1000 Lakes'!

'As soon as we got to Jyväskylä we went straight to the Service Park to prepare the trucks and the car for Nobre's test the next day. We only tested with Paulo as Armindo had no testing planned for this event. However he will do a four day test before ADAC Rallye Deutschland - the first Tarmac event of the season - in a few weeks.

'Although I normally work on Armindo's MINI, I was on duty on Paulo's car for the test. He only did a few laps to make sure he was happy with the set-up for the event. We changed a few clicks and went for a slightly higher set-up for the second passage on the stages when the roads will be more worn.

'After the test we went straight back to the Service Park to set up our big structure - we need an 'army' to build it! After a few events we're now very efficient at this and it takes less and less time rally on rally. It's a big job but it looks very nice when it's done. It's something we're very proud of! :-)

'We then started to work on Armindo's MINI which only needed a few final touches - we did most of the work in the workshop back in Italy. We fitted new shock absorbers, which will hopefully work well on the big jumps. We went through technical scrutineering this morning which went well - we had no problems at all. The MINI passed her 'exam' with flying colors! :-)

'Armindo did Rally Finland last year so he has some experience on these tough roads, but it will still be a tough job for him. I talked to him after recce and he found it much easier than last year knowing most of the stages. As always we'll always do our best to provide his MINI with the best care possible and we'll help Armindo in any way we can.

'With this event being extremely difficult for our crews I think the aim is to 'survive' the fast and bumpy stages and bring the MINIs back home in one piece! We'll give 100% to try to get the best result possible.

'That's all from my side, it's Marco's turn now to tell you all his story.'

Marco
'My adventure at Rally Finland started with no luggage :-( My suitcase got lost somewhere on the way from Lisbon to Helsinki and I only got it back yesterday - I had no clothes for a few days but luckily we all wear the same kit so it was easy to borrow some stuff from my colleagues while I waited for my own to arrive!

'As mentioned before we got here on Saturday and as No.1 mechanic on Paulo's car I immediately started to work with my colleagues on the MINI to get it ready for the Sunday test. We had a few problems on the test due to a damaged intercooler on the MINI, but we replaced it in time for free practice today. We also encountered some trouble with fuel pressure that we solved over the last couple of days by undergoing a full check of the fuel cell. This morning we prepared the car with the usual settings for the event and now we're ready to go now :-)

'Rally Finland will be challenging for Paulo because these roads are very fast and tricky but I had a quick debrief with him after recce and he has a positive feeling. He likes the stages because they're breathtaking and feel a little like a rollercoaster ride. My personal favorite stage is the legendary Ounipohja - a very long stage with big jumps that'll take a really big effort and noone can afford to make any mistakes there.

'It's always fun working with Paulo - he's a great character! He might not be the fastest driver but his attitude is wonderful. He's always in a good mood and has a great sense of humor. We went to dinner together two nights ago and we talked a bit about the rally but also about our lives outside the rally. We're all good friends in our MINI family, so we laugh, joke and share stories. It's always nice to relax, talk about common friends experiences and reminisce. As we both did the Dakar in the past we have quite a lot to share.

'After a long day working on the cars last night we went out to try some local cuisine - typical Finnish food. When I'm in a foreign country I always like to understand how things work and what the cultural differences are compared to Portugal - my home country.

'I'm very excited, I'll be going on the WRC stage with Paulo tonight when he choses his starting position for tomorrow. Each driver will introduce a couple of team members to the crowds. I'm really looking forward to hearing what he'll say about me.and a little bit scared too! ;-)

'We're now finishing our work for today and then we'll go back to the hotel to get some sleep. The real action starts tomorrow and we're really looking forward to starting and telling you all about the first day of competition here in Finland. It'll be intense, but exciting!

'Max and Marco’

12-01-08 P-G Andersson snabbast av SWRC-förarna på shakedown - siktar på seger i Rally-VM i Finland
Per-Gunnar "P-G" Andersson och hans co-driver Emil Axelsson startar tillsammans med Protonteamet i VM i Finland. Inför den här deltävlingen ligger de på en delad andra plats i VM-tabellen för Super 2000, SWRC.
- "Målsättningen är helt klart att vinna och plocka hem full VM-poäng i helgen" säger en taggad P-G efter dagens shakedown. En shakedown som de förövrigt fick snabbaste tid bland de Super 2000-förarna som kör om VM-poäng.
- "Vi har varit på en tvådagars test i Estland inför den här VM-deltävlingen. Vi körde även det officiella VM-testet i söndags" berättar P-G "Testerna kändes possitivt. Bilen svarar mycket bättre på inställningarna med den nya bakvagnen och idag under shakedown justerade vi ytterligare lite. Det känns riktigt bra nu, tycker jag".

VM-rallyt i Finland är en av världens snabbaste grusrallyt, känt för sina många hopp. Rallyt består av 18 specialsträckor som tillsammans är 303,52 km. Räknar vi in transportsträckorna är rallyt totalt 1.625,69 km.
- "På torsdag kör vi en superspecial och två sträckor som går på hårda och snabba vägar" förklarar P-G "På fredag är vägarna lite mjukare efter allt regn. Där kommer det nog att komma fram stenar i kanterna, vilket kan orsaka många punkteringar. Speciellt på sträckorna som körs två gånger. Söndagens sträckor är helt okej och det hela avslutas med den långa klassiska Ouninpohja som körs två gånger. Det är en sträcka med hopp efter prinsip varje kurva".

Rallyt drar igång redan på torsdag klockan 16:23 svensk tid och målgången är klockan 20:00 på lördag kväll.

Mer info, hittar du på www.pgandersson.se. Där kommer vi att följa rallyt, sträcka för sträcka.

Startlista SWRC
31 Hayden Paddon Nya Zeeland
32. Craig Breen Irland
33. P-G Andersson Sverige
34. Juho Salo Finland
35. Maciej Oleksowicz Polen
36. Yazeed Al Rajhi Kazakstan
49. Esapekka Lappi Finland
50. Jarkko Nikara Finland

Tidsschema Neste Rally Finland
(Svensk tid)
Torsdag 2 augusti
16:23 SS1 Koukunmaa 13,68 km
18:00 SS2 SSS Jokimaa 2,00 km
19:50 SS3 Mynnilä 14,22 km
Service A

Fredag 3 augusti
Service B
06:42 SS4 Urria 12,75 km
07:39 SS5 Jukosjärvi 22,29 km
Service C
10:28 SS6 Mökkiperä 1 11,38 km
11:14 SS7 Palsankylä 1 13,92 km
12:32 SS8 Lankamaa 1 23,06 km
Service D
15:08 SS9 Mökkiperä 2 11,38 km
15:54 SS10 Palsankylä 2 13,92 km
17:12 SS11 Lankamaa 2 23,06 km
19:00 SS12 SSS Killeri 2,06 km
Service E

Lördag 4 augusti
Service F
06:56 SS13 Surkee 1 14,95 km
07:54 SS14 Leustu 1 21,94 km
Service G
10:18 SS15 Surkee 2 14,95 km
11:16 SS16 Leustu 2 21,94 km
Service H
14:37 SS17 Ouninpohja 1 33,01 km
17:00 SS18 Ouninpohja 2 (PS) 33,01 km
Service I
20:00 Målgång

Tider
Tidsschema Neste Rally Finland
(Svensk tid)
Torsdag 2 augusti
16:23 SS1 Koukunmaa 13,68 km
18:00 SS2 SSS Jokimaa 2,00 km
19:50 SS3 Mynnilä 14,22 km
Service A

Fredag 3 augusti
Service B
06:42 SS4 Urria 12,75 k
07:39 SS5 Jukosjärvi 22,29 k
Service C
10:28 SS6 Mökkiperä 1 11,38 km
11:14 SS7 Palsankylä 1 13,92 km
12:32 SS8 Lankamaa 1 23,06 km
Service D
15:08 SS9 Mökkiperä 2 11,38 km
15:54 SS10 Palsankylä 2 13,92 km
17:12 SS11 Lankamaa 2 23,06 km
19:00 SS12 SSS Killeri 2,06 km
Service E

Lördag 4 augusti
Service F
06:56 SS13 Surkee 1 14,95 km
07:54 SS14 Leustu 1 21,94 km
Service G
10:18 SS15 Surkee 2 14,95 km
11:16 SS16 Leustu 2 21,94 km
Service H
14:37 SS17 Ouninpohja 1 33,01 km
17:00 SS18 Ouninpohja 2 (PS) 33,01 km
Service I
20:00 Målgång


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