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Stopwatch
WRC - Finland: Better still for Latvala, he's 4s up on Ogier at the next split. This could get his overall lead over 10s for the first time.
Stopwatch
WRC - Finland: Good start from Latvala, he's one second faster than Ogier at the first split.
Lights out
WRC - Finland: Back to business, Ogier is onto SS7, the 12.744 miles of Kakaristo.
Twitter
WRC - Finland: On an entirely different note, Mikko Hirvonen turned 34 yesterday.
"Because we have a bit of time, I want to thank you so, so much for all your very kind messages for my birthday #kiitos" he just tweeted.
"Because we have a bit of time, I want to thank you so, so much for all your very kind messages for my birthday #kiitos" he just tweeted.
Breaking news
WRC - Finland: If the best rally on the WRC calendar wasn't providing enough excitement, there's also major news breaking in the service park this week.
Toyota's potential return is a very hot topic, and yesterday AUTOSPORT's DAVID EVANS broke news of a second project involving four-time WRC champion Tommi Makinen, and with the blessing of Toyota's headquarters in Japan.
Toyota Japan starts new WRC project
Toyota's potential return is a very hot topic, and yesterday AUTOSPORT's DAVID EVANS broke news of a second project involving four-time WRC champion Tommi Makinen, and with the blessing of Toyota's headquarters in Japan.
Toyota Japan starts new WRC project
Harri Rovanpera, damage
WRC - Finland: Talking of Ouninpohja, AUTOSPORT bumped into Harri Rovanpera in a restaurant last night.
Finland's friendliest Finn is a big fan of that stage – never more so than in 2002, when he moved into the lead of the rally with fastest time in his Peugeot 206 WRC.
Unfortunately, he retired after the next stage in Moksi having removed the left-front wheel - as this picture from the LAT archive shows.
WRC - Finland: The third stage of the day is Kakaristo, which is the second half of the classic Ouninpohja stage, starting just back from the junction where Craig Breen rolled his Fiesta S2000 in 2012. This one gets under way in just over 10 minutes.
Breaking news
WRC - Finland - SS6 summary:
* Hanninen rolls and drops from fourth to ninth
* Latvala adds another four tenths to his lead over Ogier
* Neuville falls away from top five fight due to damage from SS5
* Paddon flies again with another fourth-fastest time
* Hanninen rolls and drops from fourth to ninth
* Latvala adds another four tenths to his lead over Ogier
* Neuville falls away from top five fight due to damage from SS5
* Paddon flies again with another fourth-fastest time
Checkered flag
WRC - Finland - SS6 results:
Stage times:
1 Latvala 10m52.3s
2 Ogier +0.4s
3 Meeke +2.1s
4 Paddon +4.7s
5 Ostberg +6.0s
6 Hirvonen +7.1s
Leaderboard:
1 Latvala
2 Ogier +6.1s
3 Meeke +14.2s
4 Hirvonen +37.6s
5 Mikkelsen +46.5s
6 Ostberg +48.5s
7 Neuville +1m05.9s
8 Paddon +1m13.3s
9 Hanninen +1m36.9s
10 Evans +1m37.5s
Stage times:
1 Latvala 10m52.3s
2 Ogier +0.4s
3 Meeke +2.1s
4 Paddon +4.7s
5 Ostberg +6.0s
6 Hirvonen +7.1s
Leaderboard:
1 Latvala
2 Ogier +6.1s
3 Meeke +14.2s
4 Hirvonen +37.6s
5 Mikkelsen +46.5s
6 Ostberg +48.5s
7 Neuville +1m05.9s
8 Paddon +1m13.3s
9 Hanninen +1m36.9s
10 Evans +1m37.5s
WRC - Finland: Paddon got a hint that team-mate Hanninen had a bit of a problem on that stage:
"I saw a few bits and pieces of Hyundai laying around."
"I saw a few bits and pieces of Hyundai laying around."
WRC - Finland: There's still a Hyundai going quickly on the stage though, Paddon is fourth fastest again - only beaten by Latvala, Ogier and Meeke.
Crash
WRC - Finland: That's going to drop Hanninen from that brilliant fourth place to the bottom of the top 10.
He explains what happened:
"I had a small puncture and then on a right I spun and had a roll."
The Hyundai is a bit of a mess in cosmetic terms, but he should be able to continue through the next two stages back to service.
He explains what happened:
"I had a small puncture and then on a right I spun and had a roll."
The Hyundai is a bit of a mess in cosmetic terms, but he should be able to continue through the next two stages back to service.
Crash
WRC - Finland: Hanninen has indeed had a drama, it looks like the Hyundai has rolled and he's lost over a minute.
WRC - Finland: Hanninen was fastest of all at the first split but he's 8.7s off the pace by the middle of the stage. Bit of a misadventure for the flyign i20?
WRC - Finland: Solberg is half a minute off the pace, no particular issues but that's our slowest time so far.
Evans is no longer in a close battle for 10th, he's now miles clear of his rivals there.
Evans is no longer in a close battle for 10th, he's now miles clear of his rivals there.
WRC - Finland: Evans doesn't have to worry about Prokop for a bit now, the Czech driver lost 10s to the Welshman with a wild trip off the road.
"I thought I was going to roll," says Prokop, although he's only 24s off the pace on the stage despite exploring the foliage.
"I thought I was going to roll," says Prokop, although he's only 24s off the pace on the stage despite exploring the foliage.
WRC - Finland: The WRC's other Brit, Elfyn Evans, is next through, 14s off the lead pace.
He's now up to 10th after M-Sport team-mate Kubica's crash, but the Welshman is in a tight battle with fellow Fiesta runners Martin Prokop and Henning Solberg.
You'd expect Solberg to fly on a stage like this as he tends to thrive on the quick ones, but his splits aren't great so far.
He's now up to 10th after M-Sport team-mate Kubica's crash, but the Welshman is in a tight battle with fellow Fiesta runners Martin Prokop and Henning Solberg.
You'd expect Solberg to fly on a stage like this as he tends to thrive on the quick ones, but his splits aren't great so far.
WRC - Finland: No stage win for Meeke as he comes through third, 2s down on Latvala and Ogier, having made a small error.
"I just slid wide on a long right-hander. Got it gathered up, but that's the margin at this level.
"I'm delighted. What a beautiful stage. We dropped little on the last stage and we made a mistake here, so we're not perfect, but we'll continue."
That's going to keep Meeke solidly in third in perhaps his best drive of the year so far, but he also says what we're all thinking...
"This can't be a flash in the pan, I've got to keep this up all rally."
You have, Kris.
"I just slid wide on a long right-hander. Got it gathered up, but that's the margin at this level.
"I'm delighted. What a beautiful stage. We dropped little on the last stage and we made a mistake here, so we're not perfect, but we'll continue."
That's going to keep Meeke solidly in third in perhaps his best drive of the year so far, but he also says what we're all thinking...
"This can't be a flash in the pan, I've got to keep this up all rally."
You have, Kris.
WRC - Finland: Neuville is slowest through so far by a big margin, 19s down on Latvala.
The damage to the rear of his i20 from the last stage is really hurting.
"With no aerodynamics on the rear, I completely lose grip on the rear. Especially on the fast parts, I have to be very careful."
He also admits he's a bit "lost" with his pace notes.
The damage to the rear of his i20 from the last stage is really hurting.
"With no aerodynamics on the rear, I completely lose grip on the rear. Especially on the fast parts, I have to be very careful."
He also admits he's a bit "lost" with his pace notes.
Stopwatch
WRC - Finland: Meeke is flying on the splits - he's up on Latvala at the final one.
WRC - Finland: Hirvonen is fourth so far, a second slower than Ostberg but quicker than Mikkelsen - all of which is going to tighten the battle around fifth overall.
WRC - Finland: Ostberg comes through 6s down on Latvala and Ogier, but 3s quicker than Mikkelsen, who he's fighting with for sixth.
"I'm trying to rebuild my confidence after I destroyed it yesterday and then made it worse on the first stage this morning," says the very honest Ostberg, who couldn't understand his lack of pace on the opening stages. "I've forced myself to push."
"I'm trying to rebuild my confidence after I destroyed it yesterday and then made it worse on the first stage this morning," says the very honest Ostberg, who couldn't understand his lack of pace on the opening stages. "I've forced myself to push."
WRC - Finland: Mikkelsen loses another 9s to his rally-leading team-mates. He says that's "a comfortable pace."
Quote
WRC - Finland: Latvala is in confident, serene mode this morning rather than uncertain, despondent mode (see day one in Poland for an example of that) and it's good to hear.
"I was enjoying the stage. In some places the notes were not exactly right. I was a little bit scruffy with the recce notes, but now it's sorted out and we know what needs to be changed. You can always be a bit quicker."
Latvala also reckons the road is still damp enough that Ogier isn't losing out at all from being first in the order.
"At the moment Seb is not suffering at all because it is a bit damp and humid so it's giving more grip and it's not cleaning at all."
"I was enjoying the stage. In some places the notes were not exactly right. I was a little bit scruffy with the recce notes, but now it's sorted out and we know what needs to be changed. You can always be a bit quicker."
Latvala also reckons the road is still damp enough that Ogier isn't losing out at all from being first in the order.
"At the moment Seb is not suffering at all because it is a bit damp and humid so it's giving more grip and it's not cleaning at all."
Stopwatch
WRC - Finland: Latvala beats Ogier by four tenths of a second, bringing his overall lead up to 6.1s.
Stopwatch
WRC - Finland: Ogier sets the benchmark at 10m52.7s.
"A really fast stage, but really nice. A lot of fun to drive. The end is a new part so you always leave a small margin, but it was not a bad time, I think. I really enjoyed it."
"A really fast stage, but really nice. A lot of fun to drive. The end is a new part so you always leave a small margin, but it was not a bad time, I think. I really enjoyed it."
WRC - Finland: Ogier is not far from the end of SS6. Hard to compare pace as we're not getting any split times back from Latvala, who is still running fine.
WRC - Finland: If you're just joining us, the main news from this morning is that Robert Kubica has retired from Rally Finland after a crash a mile into the Friday opener.
But though you'll be missing him on the stages today, there will be some rather special Kubica content elsewhere on AUTOSPORT later on...
But though you'll be missing him on the stages today, there will be some rather special Kubica content elsewhere on AUTOSPORT later on...
Scott McLaughlin
V8 Supercars - Queensland: Among the huge array of international motorsport taking place this weekend is a V8 Supercars triple-header at Queensland Raceway.
Three practice sessions took place today and it was the Volvo of Scott McLaughlin that emerged fastest (even quicker than that helicopter behind him).
The V8s have two races tomorrow then a longer finale on Sunday.
WRC - Finland: Five minutes to go until SS6, Paijala, which is our longest of the day at 14.528 miles, and is the second of this morning's four-stage loop.
Breaking news
WRC - Finland - SS5 summary:
* Latvala brings his lead back to 5.7s over Ogier with a stage win
* Flying Hanninen is second quickest in the Hyundai and passes Hirvonen for fourth
* Kubica crashes out of ninth
* Paddon sets fourth-fastest time for Hyundai
* Latvala brings his lead back to 5.7s over Ogier with a stage win
* Flying Hanninen is second quickest in the Hyundai and passes Hirvonen for fourth
* Kubica crashes out of ninth
* Paddon sets fourth-fastest time for Hyundai
Checkered flag
WRC - Finland - SS5 results:
Stage times:
1 Latvala 6m45.9s
2 Hanninen +0.4s
3 Ogier +1.2s
4 Paddon +2.6s
5 Meeke +2.9s
6 Hirvonen +4.1s
7 Neuville +7.8s
8 Evans +8.7s
9 Mikkelsen +9.7s
10 Ostberg +11.6s
Leaderboard:
1 Latvala
2 Ogier +5.7s
3 Meeke +12.1s
4 Hanninen +27.5s
5 Hirvonen +30.5s
6 Mikkelsen +36.9s
7 Ostberg +42.5s
8 Neuville +46.6s
9 Paddon +1m08.6s
10 Evans +1m23.5s
Stage times:
1 Latvala 6m45.9s
2 Hanninen +0.4s
3 Ogier +1.2s
4 Paddon +2.6s
5 Meeke +2.9s
6 Hirvonen +4.1s
7 Neuville +7.8s
8 Evans +8.7s
9 Mikkelsen +9.7s
10 Ostberg +11.6s
Leaderboard:
1 Latvala
2 Ogier +5.7s
3 Meeke +12.1s
4 Hanninen +27.5s
5 Hirvonen +30.5s
6 Mikkelsen +36.9s
7 Ostberg +42.5s
8 Neuville +46.6s
9 Paddon +1m08.6s
10 Evans +1m23.5s
WRC - Finland: Craig Breen and Michal Solowow make it through smoothly to complete the World Rally Car field for this stage.
WRC - Finland: Hanninen and Paddon are obviously driving well this morning, but their road position is also going to be in their favour.
Yesterday's rain let those starting first off the hook as it helped compact the loose gravel down.
Today is going to be tougher for the VWs as they sweep the roads clean for the opposition, and drivers like Hanninen and Paddon in 11th and 13th on the startlist will definitely get better roads on their first pass.
Yesterday's rain let those starting first off the hook as it helped compact the loose gravel down.
Today is going to be tougher for the VWs as they sweep the roads clean for the opposition, and drivers like Hanninen and Paddon in 11th and 13th on the startlist will definitely get better roads on their first pass.
Hayden Paddon
WRC - Finland: Despite those worries, Paddon is a very impressive fourth fastest on that stage, only 2.6s slower than Latvala. Great time.
WRC - Finland: Hayden Paddon will move up to ninth in the third Hyundai with Kubica's crash. Slight concern for the Kiwi as he has oil on both his windscreen and his brakes...
Crash
WRC - Finland: M-Sport confirms that Kubica has gone off the road. He's going to retire the car for the day.
WRC - Finland: Kubica remains static on the tracking system. He'd been running ninth yesterday after a careful and consistent start to this most daunting of WRC events.
WRC - Finland: Hanninen's time is just 0.4s slower than rally leader Latvala.
The i20 man was flying on yesterday's first two stages then lost ground in the SS3 ruts and fell from fourth to fifth.
This time will pull him back past Hirvonen into fourth, and back into range of Meeke's third place.
"OK, that's quite good," says Hanninen. "Jari-Matti was a bit better, but OK, no problem."
Is this the strongest performance from the Hyundai so far? Possibly...
The i20 man was flying on yesterday's first two stages then lost ground in the SS3 ruts and fell from fourth to fifth.
This time will pull him back past Hirvonen into fourth, and back into range of Meeke's third place.
"OK, that's quite good," says Hanninen. "Jari-Matti was a bit better, but OK, no problem."
Is this the strongest performance from the Hyundai so far? Possibly...
WRC - Finland: Juho Hanninen comes through second fastest in the Hyundai!
By: Matt Beer, David Evans, Marcus Simmons, Mark Glendenning, Dan Cross, Andrew van Leeuwen, Kevin Turner, Peter Mills
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