WRC Rally Finland
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No surprise to hear Latvala call Tanak's run "incredible".
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Latvala's in, he's the second fastest so far and nine seconds down on Tanak.
Decent run for the Toyota man who's looking to make inroads on Ostberg in second, especially now Tanak's extended his lead to him to around 20s.
Decent run for the Toyota man who's looking to make inroads on Ostberg in second, especially now Tanak's extended his lead to him to around 20s.
Stopwatch
Evans is through the stage, the third fastest of the five so far. He's 10s down on Tanak, but crucially that's a decent buffer for his sixth place on Ogier, who's close behind.
The gap was three seconds and it's now 13.1s.
The gap was three seconds and it's now 13.1s.
Stopwatch
Lappi is in, it's 8.2s slower than Tanak's stage time.
More importantly, he's 5.8s quicker than Ogier.
That reduces the gap to seventh-placed Ogier down to 43.4s, so he's going to need to keep that form up.
More importantly, he's 5.8s quicker than Ogier.
That reduces the gap to seventh-placed Ogier down to 43.4s, so he's going to need to keep that form up.
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"For me, it was rubbish. I tried my best, it seems like it might start to rain."
That's quite the assessment.
When challenged on his time to Ogier: "I don't know, it didn't feel good."
That's quite the assessment.
When challenged on his time to Ogier: "I don't know, it didn't feel good."
Information
Lappi, Evans, Latvala Mikkelsen and Breen are on stage.
Your move, Paddon.
Stopwatch
Tanak has blitzed Ogier and Neuville's split times, finishing the stage in 9m46.5s.
That's 19.4s quicker than Neuville and 14s up on Ogier.
That's 19.4s quicker than Neuville and 14s up on Ogier.
Stopwatch
Ogier is 5.4s quicker than Neuville at the stage end, that extends his overall gap to the Belgian to 44.2s.
Very healthy.
Very healthy.
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That sounds like Neuville's unhappy with the suspension and damper changes they made at the front of the car before this stage.
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Neuville: "I try, but it's not working. It's a lot of time loss, especially in the first part because of the big stones. Towards the end I had the feeling of being on the maximum."
Asked about the rain in his battle to Ogier: "It doesn't change anything."
Asked about the rain in his battle to Ogier: "It doesn't change anything."
Evans is looking rapid, he's the second quickest driver of the six in so far at the first split, 0.7s slower than Tanak's benchmark.
Stopwatch
Neuville completes the stage in a time of 10m05.9s.
Ogier and Tanak are keeping their pace advantage over Ogier.
The reigning champion is 4.7s quicker by the third split.
Mighty effort from Tanak who's 11.s faster than Neuville by the second split.
That's some time for Paddon when he joins the stage, who needs to close the narrow 0.9s gap to leader Tanak.
The reigning champion is 4.7s quicker by the third split.
Mighty effort from Tanak who's 11.s faster than Neuville by the second split.
That's some time for Paddon when he joins the stage, who needs to close the narrow 0.9s gap to leader Tanak.
Neuville has now hit the third split, with a time of 06m41.6s. Not long until we'll get a clearer picture of how this stage impacts the rally.
Stopwatch
A time of 04m56.8s for Neuville at the second split, as he approaches the halfway stage of SS6.
Stopwatch
Tanak's comfortably the fastest man in the stage, 3.3s faster than Neuville and 1.5s quicker than pacesetter Ogier at the opening split.
Stopwatch
It's a 1.8s quicker time through the first split for Ogier, so he's extending that lead over Neuville.
Rally leader Tanak is into the stage too.
Rally leader Tanak is into the stage too.
Seventh overall, Ogier has a 38.8s lead on Neuville, so this stage is unlikely to be pivotal in the Frenchman's hunt of the Hyundai driver.
01m36.5s at the first split for Neuville, as his title rival Sebastien Ogier starts his run.
Remember, Neuville's been repeatedly clear that this rally is about protecting his 27 point lead in the WRC standings.
After an early hit with a tree this morning, expect conservatism.
After an early hit with a tree this morning, expect conservatism.
Slightly tardy start to the stage here, running a few minutes late, but we'll forgive Neuville for that as he begins the stage.
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In further weather watch, there's dark clouds towards the end of the stage.
Neuville is about to restart the action this afternoon...
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Typical. After reporting on that sunny weather, there's drops of rain falling...
David Evans
We're minutes away from getting back into rallying action, so here's a guide to the upcoming stage.
SS6 Oittila (12.01 miles)
In the first eight kilometres there’s more gravel than anywhere else on the route. This is the place which will really clean. And it’s tricky because it’s narrow as well.
There are a lot of tricky corners with stones inside and outside – you really must be patient here again. This is the most challenging part of all the stages, but after that you come to this big road which is wide and fast – this is Oittila the powerstage from last year, but in the reverse direction.
There are some jumps here, but this road is out of the forest and flowing more through the fields – it’s more open.
SS6 Oittila (12.01 miles)
In the first eight kilometres there’s more gravel than anywhere else on the route. This is the place which will really clean. And it’s tricky because it’s narrow as well.
There are a lot of tricky corners with stones inside and outside – you really must be patient here again. This is the most challenging part of all the stages, but after that you come to this big road which is wide and fast – this is Oittila the powerstage from last year, but in the reverse direction.
There are some jumps here, but this road is out of the forest and flowing more through the fields – it’s more open.
David Evans
How many of you are seeking refuge from the frankly ridiculous temperatures of the UK?
No such luck for our man David Evans, who's using Rally Finland's new weather forecasting system...
"The organisers of Rally Finland have invested in a fancy new weather forecasting website for this year’s event," Evans reports. It offers all manner of detail on barometric pressures and millimetres of rainfall expected each hour.
"None of this is really needed, all you need to know is that it’s hot. It’s going to stay hot. And it’s sunny. And it’s going to stay sunny.
As we type, the WRC field is making its way towards SS6, Oittila.
Welcome back to coverage of Rally Finland.
Autosport
Here's the full report from the morning so far, we'll be back with live coverage of an epic afternoon from 12.15pm UK time: 
Stopwatch
SS5 results:
Leading stage times:
1 Tanak 3m32.1s
2 Paddon +0.9s
3 Ostberg +1.6s
4 Latvala +1.8s
5 Breen +2.7s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Tanak
2 Ostberg +1.1s
3 Latvala +10.8s
4 Paddon +14.8s
5 Suninen +16.4s
6 Evans +25.7s
7 Ogier +28.7s
8 Lappi +49.1s
9 Breen +54.0s
10 Neuville +1m07.5s
Leading stage times:
1 Tanak 3m32.1s
2 Paddon +0.9s
3 Ostberg +1.6s
4 Latvala +1.8s
5 Breen +2.7s
Overall leaderboard:
1 Tanak
2 Ostberg +1.1s
3 Latvala +10.8s
4 Paddon +14.8s
5 Suninen +16.4s
6 Evans +25.7s
7 Ogier +28.7s
8 Lappi +49.1s
9 Breen +54.0s
10 Neuville +1m07.5s
Crash
A wild finish to this stage from Suninen, who slews wide into a ditch, briefly looks like he's going to roll the car, doesn't lose much momentum and comes through ninth fastest, 4.5s off the pace. Lucky escape!
He drops from fourth to fifth behind Paddon.
He drops from fourth to fifth behind Paddon.
Ostberg didn't transmit a split so we didn't know how he was getting on compared to Tanak, but he comes through the finish 1.6s slower and loses the lead again!
"Very slippery. I didn't have an easy stage. I tried to push but I made a couple of mistakes. I tried, but I think I lost some time because I tried too hard," says Ostberg.
He's now back to second, 1.1s behind Tanak.
Asked when he had last led a rally, Ostberg replies: "1994". When he would have been seven...
"Very slippery. I didn't have an easy stage. I tried to push but I made a couple of mistakes. I tried, but I think I lost some time because I tried too hard," says Ostberg.
He's now back to second, 1.1s behind Tanak.
Asked when he had last led a rally, Ostberg replies: "1994". When he would have been seven...
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Latvala finishes the stage 1.8s slower than Tanak, so is 10.8s down overall now.
"A little bit disappointed," Latvala admits. "It was more slippery than I thought and I didn't have the best confidence so I lost a little bit to Ott.
"But the fight is on, definitely."
"A little bit disappointed," Latvala admits. "It was more slippery than I thought and I didn't have the best confidence so I lost a little bit to Ott.
"But the fight is on, definitely."
Not a great split for lead chaser Latvala, who's 1.7s off team-mate Tanak at the split. Latvala is currently third but had been edging closer to the front on the last two stages.
Mikkelsen makes it to the end of SS5 with his battered Hyundai. The bonnet was lifting slightly, the windscreen is broken and his i20 looks a lot like a car that was upside down in a ditch on the last stage. Which it was.
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"We are really at the maximum on every stage," says Tanak. "Obviously everyone was still sleepy early in the morning. Now it's going in a more logical way."
You're probably still going to be second or third even now your rivals are 'awake', Ott.
You're probably still going to be second or third even now your rivals are 'awake', Ott.
Stopwatch
Tanak comes in 3.1s faster than Ogier - a hefty margin on a short four-mile stage and he's now 28.7s clear of the world champion. No idea yet where that will place them both overall though with so much more to unfold on this stage.
Meanwhile erstwhile rally leader Tanak is through the first split 2.1s faster than Ogier, but it will be ninth-on-the-road Ostberg who he's really watching.
Now Ogier is in and Neuville's full time loss is clear - he's 26.6s down. That could drop him to 10th behind Breen and Lappi.
By: Matt Beer
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