Lappi was off to a good start on the Laukaa special stage, but towards the end, he made a mistake. His Hyundai lost control on a narrow section with deep ruts, eventually crashing front-first into a pine tree.
Lappi tried to limp along but eventually pulled off to the side of the road and retired. Before the crash, Lappi was running fourth and close to the leaders.
Rally Finland has seen a significant attrition rate on Friday’s stages. Among the main class drivers, Lappi, Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, and Hyundai’s Ott Tänak have all had to retire.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä, however, extended his lead on the Laukaa stage. Rovanperä set the fastest time, 2.4 seconds ahead of Sami Pajari, who is competing in his first rally with Toyota’s Rally1 car.
Crucially for Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans, who is in second place overall, was 4.5 seconds behind the Finn’s fastest time. The gap between Evans and Rovanperä in the overall standings is now 4.7 seconds.
“Really difficult condition this afternoon, there must’ve been quite a lot of rain before us. Really slippery on the muddy places. At least now with the setup we are not fighting the car, so I can enjoy,” Rovanperä reported.
Toyota holds a solid top three positions after six special stages. Sebastien Ogier is in third place, 7.6 seconds behind Rovanperä.
Ogier lamented the same section of the Laukaa stage that proved to be Lappi’s downfall.
“There is a bad part in the forest with 40cm deep ruts. I hate this section,” Ogier complained.
Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville, who leads the WRC standings, moved up to fourth place, but he is already 24.2 seconds behind the leader. M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux and Pajari are next in the standings.
Rally Finland will have four more special stages on Friday. The competition ends on Sunday.
Rally Finland standings after SS6/20:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 38:16.8 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +4.7 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +7.6 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +24.2 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +37.4 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:19.2 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:21.9 |
| 8. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +2:13.8 |
Rally Finland Itinerary:
Thursday 1 August 09:01 Shakedown: Ruuhimäki (4.12 km) 18:05 SS1: Harju 1 (3.48 km) Friday 2 August 07:13 SS2: Laukaa 1 (17.96 km) 08:20 SS3: Saarikas 1 (15.93 km) 09:35 SS4: Myhinpää 1 (15.51 km) 11:05 SS5: Ruuhimäki 1 (7.76 km) 14:10 SS6: Laukaa 2 (17.96 km) 15:17 SS7: Saarikas 2 (15.93 km) 16:32 SS8: Myhinpää 2 (15.51 km) 18:05 SS9: Ruuhimäki 2 (7.76 km) 19:05 SS10: Harju 2 (3.48 km) Saturday 3 August 08:05 SS11: Västilä 1 (18.94 km) 09:05 SS12: Päijälä 1 (20.19 km) 10:05 SS13: Ouninpohja 1 (32.98 km) 14:35 SS14: Västilä 2 (18.94 km) 15:35 SS15: Päijälä 2 (20.19 km) 16:35 SS16: Ouninpohja 2 (32.98 km) Sunday 4 August 07:55 SS17: Sahloinen-Moksi 1 (14.27 km) 09:05 SS18: Laajavuori 1 (4.35 km) 10:17 SS19: Sahloinen-Moksi 2 (14.27 km) 12:15 SS20: Laajavuori 2 (8.77 km)
