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WRC Rally Finland
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Paddon: "I struggled in the ruts, a lot of big rocks on the inside of the corner. I hit one hard and thought I had a puncture, it's more tricky than I thought it would be."
Stopwatch
Paddon's through and closed right up to Suninen thanks to his time of 5m52.5s, that means he now trails Suninen's fourth place by 1.3s.
All to play for.
All to play for.
Stopwatch
Suninen's 6.1s slower than Latvala at the end of the stage, giving Latvala 11.2s of a gap to look after.
He's not happy with the stage having looked after his tyres and sacrificed time.
He's not happy with the stage having looked after his tyres and sacrificed time.
Suninen and Paddon are in the stage still, so that'll inform the battle for third.
Quote
Ostberg: "Yeah, the risk is quite high and we had tyre wear. I cannot push, so I have to go at a decent speed and take no chances. I'm not happy with my speed, but I can't do anything else."
Stopwatch
Ostberg can't match Tanak!
His time is 5m49.9s and is not good enough to keep him in the rally stage.
Tanak leads by a second and it's the fourth lead change between the two now!
His time is 5m49.9s and is not good enough to keep him in the rally stage.
Tanak leads by a second and it's the fourth lead change between the two now!
Stopwatch
Breen sets a 5m51.5s for the sixth best and says he was knocked off the line repeatedly in the stage. Tricky stage this.
Stopwatch
Mikkelsen's 5m58.5s is the slowest time so far.
Considering a good stage puts him midtable of the stage times, he's really falling away from the top 10 overall as he came into the stage in 20th.
He went soft on the suspension and it's costing him grip. It's becoming a nightmare day for him.
Considering a good stage puts him midtable of the stage times, he's really falling away from the top 10 overall as he came into the stage in 20th.
He went soft on the suspension and it's costing him grip. It's becoming a nightmare day for him.
Stopwatch
Ostberg's slower than Tanak at the first split, but we know how close that battle is.
One to watch.
One to watch.
Quote
Latvala: "It's OK. Ott is going very very fast at the moment, it's amazing the speed he's taking, also Esapekka [Lappi].
"I tried to be cautious here with the rocks to avoid punctures and we lost more time than I expected."
He's still the second fastest in the stage so far, with a 5m49.6s time, so that's not to be sniffed at.
"I tried to be cautious here with the rocks to avoid punctures and we lost more time than I expected."
He's still the second fastest in the stage so far, with a 5m49.6s time, so that's not to be sniffed at.
Stopwatch
Latvala is in, he's a distant third overall but takes 2.6s out of Tanak's lead of almost 20s.
His battle is increasingly about the chasing pack behind him, with Suninen and Paddon yet to finish the stage.
His battle is increasingly about the chasing pack behind him, with Suninen and Paddon yet to finish the stage.
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Evans: "Really not great at all, the car was switching with the balance from one corner to the other. I really struggled."
Stopwatch
Evans is 2.7s slower than Ogier at the end of the stage, he's getting to within three seconds of the overall fifth-placed driver.
Quote
Lappi: "Everything's fine, it's pretty rough at the end with many rocks and one on the braking zone, which is hard on the right-hand side, I hope we don't have any slow punctures."
That prospect will send some nerves into the paddock, you would imagine.
That prospect will send some nerves into the paddock, you would imagine.
Stopwatch
Lappi is 2.2s slower than Ogier at the stage end, so the Frenchman is putting daylight between the two for the battle for sixth.
He can turn his eyes towards Evans's fifth place as the Welshman runs through the stage now.
He can turn his eyes towards Evans's fifth place as the Welshman runs through the stage now.
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Tanak has his say on his stage run: "This is not the competition obviously, tomorrow is a fair fight and it was important to get a good position for tomorrow. There were so many hard stones and it's nice to be through here."
He adds that running in a similar position to Ostberg - ninth on the road - will make a difference in their fight for the rally win.
He adds that running in a similar position to Ostberg - ninth on the road - will make a difference in their fight for the rally win.
Stopwatch
Tanak's in after a run of 5m47s, that's a strong 7.1s improvement on Neuville and 4s on Ogier.
Quote
"Yeah, it's really rutted. I didn't expect that," says Ogier. "It's still not so good to be second on the road in the afternoon."
Stopwatch
Ogier finishes the stage 3.1s quicker than Neuville, but will it be enough to chase down Evans and to hold off Lappi?
He'll have to wait and see.
He'll have to wait and see.
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Neuville: "No [I'm not concerned about being 10th], we can't be happy but we knew it would be tough and we've never been strong here.
"First on the road is a disaster."
Tell us what you really think Thierry.
"First on the road is a disaster."
Tell us what you really think Thierry.
Stopwatch
But he has finished the stage in 5m54.1s.
Stopwatch
And we're getting no splits for Neuville, annoyingly.
Tanak's into the stage and no doubt seeking some redemption for that engine stall in the last stage.
Ogier's 2.8s quicker than Neuville, and he's looking very committed and quick on the onboard camera - no doubt helped with the new aero package.
This run could be pivotal to him climbing the overall leaderboard and making the most of Neuville's conservatism and road position in the title fight.
This run could be pivotal to him climbing the overall leaderboard and making the most of Neuville's conservatism and road position in the title fight.
It's a 1m50.2s at the first split for Neuville as Ogier joins the running.
Neuville is at the stage start and he gets us going again.
Information
With just over 10 minutes to go, here's Latvala's lowdown on the stage.
SS9 Assamaki (7.66 miles)
This is new for us. The first seven kilometres is from the last two years, but it’s different because we are running in the opposite direction.
This section is a bit more sandy than anywhere else on the route and I’m sure you will see more rocks coming here than in any other stage on the rally. It’s very soft.
You have to be patient with the car here. After that soft section there’s a long straight with a couple of good jumps and then we’re into a new five-kilometre section to the finish which takes us through a pine forest and around a lake.
It’s really nice in this last place, with lots of corners over crests; the rhythm is good and the feeling will be nice in the car.
SS9 Assamaki (7.66 miles)
This is new for us. The first seven kilometres is from the last two years, but it’s different because we are running in the opposite direction.
This section is a bit more sandy than anywhere else on the route and I’m sure you will see more rocks coming here than in any other stage on the rally. It’s very soft.
You have to be patient with the car here. After that soft section there’s a long straight with a couple of good jumps and then we’re into a new five-kilometre section to the finish which takes us through a pine forest and around a lake.
It’s really nice in this last place, with lots of corners over crests; the rhythm is good and the feeling will be nice in the car.
David Evans
Returning to tech spotlight, Toyota has also tweaked its aero. But last year’s winning car starts its home round of the world championship with revised centre differential set-up and new engine hardware.
Jari-Matti Latvala explains the changes: “The team has worked hard with the centre differential and the engine. For the engine side, it’s not mapping, it’s more hardware that will give us more torque. Normally Finland is all about the power, but this year we are using some of the smaller roads and the torque will be important.”
Jari-Matti Latvala explains the changes: “The team has worked hard with the centre differential and the engine. For the engine side, it’s not mapping, it’s more hardware that will give us more torque. Normally Finland is all about the power, but this year we are using some of the smaller roads and the torque will be important.”
Information
Around 15 minutes until the next stage. It's certainly fast-paced in Finland.
Information
So with that drama, here's the latest leaderboard.
Stage times after SS8
1. Breen
2. Lappi +0.1s
3. Latvala +1.5s
4. Ogier +2.9s
5. Ostberg +3.1s
6. Suninen +4.2s
7. Paddon +4.5s
8. Evans +4.6s
9. Tanak +4.9s
10. Mikkelsen +5.1s
Overall leaderboard
1. Ostberg
2. Tanak +1.9s
3. Latvala +20.5s
4. Suninen +25.6s
5. Paddon +30.1s
6. Evans +47.3s
7. Ogier +53.8s
8. Lappi +58.6s
9. Breen +1m2s
10. Neuville +1m45.9s.
Stage times after SS8
1. Breen
2. Lappi +0.1s
3. Latvala +1.5s
4. Ogier +2.9s
5. Ostberg +3.1s
6. Suninen +4.2s
7. Paddon +4.5s
8. Evans +4.6s
9. Tanak +4.9s
10. Mikkelsen +5.1s
Overall leaderboard
1. Ostberg
2. Tanak +1.9s
3. Latvala +20.5s
4. Suninen +25.6s
5. Paddon +30.1s
6. Evans +47.3s
7. Ogier +53.8s
8. Lappi +58.6s
9. Breen +1m2s
10. Neuville +1m45.9s.
Crash
Paddon is 0.3s slower than Suninen at the finish, the replay shows he clipped a rut and oversteered onto the grass.
Big let off as he recovered quickly.
Big let off as he recovered quickly.
Paddon goes off! But quickly gets back on the route, that may be a big reprieve for Suninen, who was looking under pressure.
Stopwatch
Suninen completes the stage in 6m11.2s, that means he'll lose more time to Latvala in third.
Stopwatch
More good news for Citroen, Breen's fastest of all in the stage! A time of 6m7s is the benchmark.
Quote
Ostberg: "I had to back off on the rough sections, if you're driving for nothing you can take the rocks. I knew Ott wasn't so fast there and the rocks are big so I backed off on purpose."
Smart driving there.
Smart driving there.
Stopwatch
Big result for Ostberg there, making up plenty of time at the end of the stage!
His time of 6m10.1s means he's 1.8s quicker than Tanak.
That's a 1.9s rally lead for the Citroen man.
His time of 6m10.1s means he's 1.8s quicker than Tanak.
That's a 1.9s rally lead for the Citroen man.
Stopwatch
A 6m12.1s time in the stage for Mikkelsen is mid-table pace, which is probably a good result considering his morning off.
Stopwatch
As it stands, Tanak might get away with his mistake as Ostberg continues to lose time, he's almost a second slower coming towards the end of the stage.
Stopwatch
Ostberg is in and 0.3s down on Tanak at the first split, this is going to be close again by the looks of it...
Stopwatch
Latvala is 3.4s quicker than Tanak and just 1.4s slower than the pace set by Lappi.
That's brought him to around 18s of Tanak's lead now, having been 22.1s behind.
That's brought him to around 18s of Tanak's lead now, having been 22.1s behind.
By: Matt Beer
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