Kalle Rovanperä, who is leading the rally, once again set the fastest time, but he shared the top time with Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux on the Myhinpää special stage. On the fast stage, the third-best time was shared by Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier, who were 0.8 seconds off the lead.
In the overall standings, Rovanperä now holds a 6.5-second lead over Neuville. According to Rovanperä, he pushed as hard as he could in Myhinpää.
“There was nothing left to spare in there either. The driving isn’t entirely optimal, but we’re pushing absolutely flat out,” Rovanperä said.
Hyundai driver Fourmaux has been in good form on Friday’s stages. He moved up to share third place in the rally with Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta.
The time differences at the top are small, with Fourmaux and Katsuta just 7.2 seconds behind Rovanperä.
“We are working on the car between every stage because the weather is changing every time. This stage is full dry. This is rally, it’s normal for us. I was really enjoying, it was a shame we lost time in the last few corners, for the rest it was a really clean stage,” Fourmaux told.
Sami Pajari continues in fifth place in Rally Finland, 12.3 seconds behind Rovanperä. Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans are in sixth and seventh places respectively.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is enduring a truly painful rally on the gravel roads of Central Finland. Tänak had hit a tree on the previous special stage, which forced him to play it safe in Myhinpää.
The championship leader Tänak lost a full 17.5 seconds to Rovanperä’s stage-winning time and dropped to tenth overall, behind M-Sport Ford’s Josh McErlean. This means Tänak will also face a poor starting position for Saturday’s special stages.
Two more special stages will be run on Friday in Rally Finland. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Rally Finland standings after SS8/20:
| POS. | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 50:26.5 |
| 2. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +6.5 |
| 3. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +7.2 |
| 3. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +7.2 |
| 5. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +12.3 |
| 6. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +17.9 |
| 7. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +23.0 |
| 8. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +35.8 |
| 9. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +1:02.0 |
| 10. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +1:03.5 |
| 11. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:14.9 |
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) *Power Stage
