Rovanperä clocked his second consecutive fastest time, this time on the legendary Myhinpää stage. The high-speed stage produced small gaps, but Rovanperä topped the timesheets by 0.6 seconds ahead of his Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans.
“This one was a tougher stage. The road is so fast with a hard surface, and I haven’t felt very confident in these conditions this year. It’s not that enjoyable to drive. Feels a bit sh*t, but I’m just trying to push through,” Rovanperä summed up.
Behind Rovanperä, Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux holds second place overall, trailing the Finn by four seconds. On the Myhinpää stage, Fourmaux was the third fastest.
“I was missing a bit of commitment on this stage. I probably should’ve made some setup changes. It was much faster than the previous one. A challenging stage,” said Fourmaux.
In third place overall is Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville (+5.0s), followed by Toyota’s Sami Pajari (+5.6s), Takamoto Katsuta (+5.8s) and Elfyn Evans (+7.4s).
“This is a mega stage. It’s always a bit frustrating if you can’t do better. But everything’s pretty okay,” Evans commented.
“Didn’t go that well. I wasn’t able to drive this one properly last year. I hesitated too much in many places. But I’m still in the fight, and that’s a good thing,” Pajari said.
Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier hasn’t yet found top pace. He’s currently eighth, nine seconds off the lead. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak, who was the first car on the road, is ninth.
There are still six more stages to run on Friday in Rally Finland. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Finland standings after SS4/20:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 24.24,5 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +4,0 |
| 3. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +5,0 |
| 4. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +5,6 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +5,8 |
| 6. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +7,4 |
| 7. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +9,0 |
| 8. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +11,5 |
| 9. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +20,0 |
| 10. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +27,1 |
| 11. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +44,5 |
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)
