Neuville, who was the first car on the route, set the fastest time with a 1.3-second lead over Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier. Rally leader Kalle Rovanperä of Toyota was 3.7 seconds slower than Neuville’s top time.
I don´t know if the rain makes a big difference. I had a really good stage and I was pushing also. The condition was not optimal. It was a really good stage but the time is not so good,” Rovanperä commented.
In the overall standings, Rovanperä’s lead is 6.5 seconds ahead of his teammate Elfyn Evans. Ogier is third, 9.6 seconds behind the Finn. Neuville remains in fourth place, 24.8 seconds off the lead.
“There is no other option but to stay on line and hope for the best. We lost a bit of ground, but we are doing our best. Confidence needs to be at 100%, and it’s not easy when you haven’t driven here in two years,” Ogier said.
“The pace was good. There were a lot of puddles and water-filled ruts. We couldn’t do more,” Neuville remarked.
Adrien Fourmaux of M-Sport Ford is in fifth place, 46.2 seconds behind the leader. Toyota’s Sami Pajari, making his debut in a Rally1 car, is in sixth place, ahead of another Ford driver, Gregoire Munster.
Oliver Solberg, leading the WRC2 class, is in eighth place overall. After the previous special stage, Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala was second in the class, ahead of Citroën’s Nikolai Grjazin and Skoda’s Lauri Joona.
There are still two more special stages to be driven on Friday in the Rally Finland. The competition concludes on Sunday.
Rally Finland standings after SS8/20:
| POS. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 52:50.8 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +6.5 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +9.6 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +24.8 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +46.2 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:29.5 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:41.5 |
| 8. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +3:01.6 |
Rally Finland Itinerary:
Thursday 1.8. 09.01 Shakedown: Ruuhimäki (4.12 km) 18.05 SS1: Harju 1 (3.48 km) Friday 2.8. 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 3.8. 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 4.8. 07.55 SS17: Sahloinen-Moksi 1 (14.27 km) 09.05 SS18: Laajavuori 1 (4.35 km) 10.17 SS19: Sahloinen-Moksi 2 (24.27 km) 12.15 SS20: Laajavuori 2 (8.77 km)
