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WRC - Finland: Mads Ostberg is first Citroen in, he slots into third place, 1.5s ahead of Mikkelsen and admits it was hard to figure out grip levels with the colour of the gravel varying in the rain.
WRC - Finland: Andreas Mikkelsen sounds perky enough at the end of that stage, but he's surprisingly 13s behind rally-leading VW team-mate Latvala already.
Rain
Awnings
WRC - Finland: Meanwhile, back at HQ, the service park is busy tying itself down as the storm moves in. Bit late for these fellas though...
Stopwatch
WRC - Finland: A very decent start for Latvala, he's 3.1s faster than team-mate Ogier.
"In the first two corners it was a bit slippery, but after that it was good. In many places I think I was able to go a little bit faster, but you never know when it's raining like that."
"In the first two corners it was a bit slippery, but after that it was good. In many places I think I was able to go a little bit faster, but you never know when it's raining like that."
Quote
WRC - Finland: Ogier completes the stage in 11m20.4s.
"For sure I didn't take full risks and I could've been faster, but when it's raining like that in some places there is standing water. So I was not flat-out," he says.
But he admits that standing water is preferable to loose, dry gravel, so he's happy enough with the rain.
"For sure I didn't take full risks and I could've been faster, but when it's raining like that in some places there is standing water. So I was not flat-out," he says.
But he admits that standing water is preferable to loose, dry gravel, so he's happy enough with the rain.
Rain
WRC - Finland: There's now plenty of rain both on the stage and on the service park. That's going to take away some of the loose gravel problem for first-man-in Ogier, but he's also going to be the first to discover how slippery and wet the stage is.
Jari-Matti Latvala - who was fastest on this morning's shakedown - is topping the splits on the stage so far, although information from Ogier's VW has been sporadic.
Jari-Matti Latvala - who was fastest on this morning's shakedown - is topping the splits on the stage so far, although information from Ogier's VW has been sporadic.
Breaking news
Tommi Makinen and Akyo Toyoda
WRC - Finland: Speaking of Tommi Makinen a moment ago, he's involved in a very, very big news story that AUTOSPORT's rally ace DAVID EVANS has just revealed:
Toyota Japan starts new WRC project
The picture features Makinen showing Toyota president Akio Toyoda around the Finland service park.
Lights out
WRC - Finland: The 23km of SS1 has begun as championship leader Sebastien Ogier starts the first stage of the second half of WRC 2014.
WRC - Finland: The opening Rally Finland stage – Lankamaa – is one of the absolute classic 1000 Lakes tests.
It's also the one that made Tommi Makinen. In 1994, Makinen was handed a one-off drive with the factory Ford squad and he won Lankamaa and went on to win the event.
Makinen's cause was helped in no small amount when two of his main rivals – Juha Kankkunen and Ari Vatanen – crashed on Lankamaa that year.
It's also the one that made Tommi Makinen. In 1994, Makinen was handed a one-off drive with the factory Ford squad and he won Lankamaa and went on to win the event.
Makinen's cause was helped in no small amount when two of his main rivals – Juha Kankkunen and Ari Vatanen – crashed on Lankamaa that year.
Rain
Clouds
WRC - Finland: The weather here in Jyvaskyla is ready to go properly mental.
AUTOSPORT arrived in Finland on Helsinki's hottest day of the year, with the city baking in 35 degrees. And it's not much cooler a couple of hundred miles north in Jyvaskyla.
The sunshine has disappeared for the moment, with thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon. The thunder went for a dress rehearsal at two o'clock this morning and was in fine voice...
And now the first spots of rain have arrived in service.
Hello and welcome to AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live as we begin a weekend of high-flying World Rally Championship drama, globe-trotting tin-top racing and American motorsport action.
Coming up between now and Sunday night will be as-it-happens coverage and paddock insight from Rally Finland, Mid-Ohio IndyCar, Red Bull Ring DTM and European Formula 3, Snetterton BTCC, Termas de Rio Hondo WTCC, and Pocono NASCAR.
The focus this afternoon is what we used to call the 1000 Lakes, and sometimes still call the Finnish Grand Prix: it's Finland's round of the 2014 World Rally Championship, and the first of today's opening four stages is 10 minutes away.
Coming up between now and Sunday night will be as-it-happens coverage and paddock insight from Rally Finland, Mid-Ohio IndyCar, Red Bull Ring DTM and European Formula 3, Snetterton BTCC, Termas de Rio Hondo WTCC, and Pocono NASCAR.
The focus this afternoon is what we used to call the 1000 Lakes, and sometimes still call the Finnish Grand Prix: it's Finland's round of the 2014 World Rally Championship, and the first of today's opening four stages is 10 minutes away.
By: Matt Beer, David Evans, Marcus Simmons, Mark Glendenning, Dan Cross, Andrew van Leeuwen, Kevin Turner, Peter Mills
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