Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä has kicked off Friday in excellent form, finding an impressive rhythm. Rovanperä clocked the fastest time on the Saarikas special stage, which vaulted him into the overall rally lead.
Rovanperä beat Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux by 1.6 seconds.
“I’m driving as fast as I possibly can. This was a fun stage, with new pace notes, and you could really make a difference here. The next one is quite similar,” Rovanperä said at the stage finish.
Sami Pajari also kept up a strong pace. After setting a stunning fastest time on the previous stage, Pajari was third quickest here, just 3.7 seconds off Rovanperä’s pace.
“It wasn’t bad, but there were a few spots where I backed off a bit too much. There’s still room to improve and be faster,” Pajari said.
Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville set the fourth fastest time in Saarikas but was visibly disappointed to lose 3.1 seconds to Rovanperä.
“This wasn’t to my liking at all, so I just took it cautiously. The average speed is incredibly high. This isn’t what rallying should be,” Neuville complained.
Sébastien Ogier was only eighth fastest in Saarikas. The Frenchman has dropped to seventh overall, though he is still just 7.3 seconds off the lead.
“I lost a couple of seconds, so it wasn’t a good stage. I was flat out, so I don’t really know,” Ogier admitted.
Surprisingly, Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is down in eighth place, trailing the leader by 8.5 seconds.
“I’m trying as hard as I can, but I just can’t keep up the speed,” Tänak said with frustration.
Rally Finland standings after SS3/20:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 17:53.1 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +2.9 |
| 3. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +3.2 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3.7 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +3.8 |
| 6. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +6.8 |
| 7. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +7.3 |
| 8. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +8.5 |
| 9. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +11.4 |
| 10. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +16.9 |
| 11. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +29.5 |
Rally Finland itinerary (CET):
Thursday, 31 July
08.01 Shakedown: Ruuhimäki (4.12 km)
18.05 SS1: Harju 1 (2.58 km)
Friday, 1 August
07.03 SS2: Laukaa 1 (17.96 km)
08.03 SS3: Saarikas 1 (15.78 km)
09.23 SS4: Myhinpää 1 (14.47 km)
10.51 SS5: Ruuhimäki 1 (7.76 km)
12.01 Service (40 min)
13.44 SS6: Laukaa 2 (17.96 km)
14.44 SS7: Saarikas 2 (15.78 km)
16.04 SS8: Myhinpää 2 (14.47 km)
17.35 SS9: Ruuhimäki 2 (7.76 km)
18.30 SS10: Harju 2 (2.58 km)
Saturday, 2 August
07.01 SS11: Parkkola 1 (15.51 km)
08.42 SS12: Västilä 1 (18.94 km)
09.36 SS13: Päijälä 1 (20.19 km)
11.05 SS14: Leustu 1 (16.44 km)
12.35 Service (40 min)
14.01 SS15: Parkkola 2 (15.51 km)
15.42 SS16: Västilä 2 (18.94 km)
16.36 SS17: Päijälä 2 (20.19 km)
18.05 SS18: Leustu 2 (16.44 km)
Sunday, 3 August
09.35 SS19: Ouninpohja 1 (23.98 km)
12.15 SS20: Ouninpohja 2 (23.98 km)
