Stage Seven: Gronholm in overnight lead
Tactics on the final stage of the day brought Richard Burns home third on the Neste Rally Finland, the Oxford driver slowing to ensure he didn't have to start first on the road for Saturday's difficult leg
His Subaru team-mate Juha Kankkunen also backed off and starts tomorrow in second place while Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm holds pole position for the stages south of the rally base at Jyvaskyla.
It was Peugeot's third event with the new 206WRC and it maintained the French team's record of leading every event it has started.
Until the showpiece stage in the town centre, Burns had shown the local drivers a clean pair of heels and is now bidding to become only the third non-Scandinavian driver to win this most demanding event.
Colin McRae ended the day ninth in his Ford Focus after suffering an early scare when he ran over a rock in the middle of the first stage and had the engine stop briefly.
World Champion Tommi Makinen lies sixth overnight between the Toyotas of Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol, his main rivals in this year's title race.
In the Formula 2 battle, Vauxhall's Jarmo Kytolehto dominated the opening day with the Renault of newly crowned British Champion Tapio Laukkanen snapping at his heels.
|
Pos |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
|
1 |
Marcus Gronholm |
Peugeot 206 WRC |
0.42.01.5 |
|
2 |
Juha Kankkunen |
Subaru Impreza WRC99 |
0.42.05.3 |
|
3 |
Richard Burns |
Subaru Impreza WRC |
0.42.07.5 |
|
4 |
Thomas Radstrom |
Ford Focus WRC |
0.42.11.1 |
|
5 |
Carlos Sainz |
Toyota Corolla |
0.42.15.1 |
|
6 |
Tommi Makinen |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo |
0.42.19.8 |
|
7 |
Didier Auriol |
Toyota Corolla |
0.42.24.9 |
|
8 |
Harri Rovanpera |
SEAT WRC |
0.42.25.0 |
|
9 |
Colin McRae |
Ford Focus WRC |
0.42.34.5 |
|
10 |
Sebastian Lindholm |
Ford Escort |
0.42.51.4 |
Times from Stage Seven
1. Thomas Radstrom - 0.01.34.8
2. Colin McRae - 0.01.35.3
3. Carlos Sainz - 0.01.35.5
4. Tommi Makinen - 0.01.36.0
5. Marcus Gronholm - 0.01.36.0
6. Francois Delacour - 0.01.36.8
7. Freddy Loix - 0.01.37.2
8. Didier Auriol - 0.01.37.3
9. Gilles Panizzi - 0.01.37.4
10. Harri Rovanpera - 0.01.38.2
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