Sunday
SS19:
Neste Oil Rally Finland leader Jari-Matti Latvala was fastest through Sunday morning’s opening stage in Myhinpaa.
He went quickest in his Volkswagen Polo R by 0.9sec from team-mate Sebastien Ogier, and just a second run through the test stands between Latvala and his third Finland success.
“What a rollercoaster!” said Latvala. “That was impressive. There are places where I didn’t expect to jump and the car was in the air. Now we have to concentrate on clearing the final stage with no problems.”
His lead over Ogier is 14.1sec with just a second run through Myhinp?? remaining, and the Frenchman concentrated on fine-tuning his pace notes ahead of that final live TV stage, which offers bonus points to the fastest three drivers.
“It was a high-speed recce,” he said. “It’s an impressive stage, I had a lot of respect for that. There was nothing to gain by pushing for a win, that’s not possible, so I tried to focus on checking the notes for the second pass.”
Kris Meeke, who restarted under Rally 2 rules after retiring yesterday was third in Citroen’s DS 3 with team-mate Mads Ostberg fourth.
Thierry Neuville was ninth in his Hyundai i20, and reported that the engine sensor issues that affected him yesterday had been cured.
click:
wrc.com/finland-ss19/
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PS20:
Jari-Matti Latvala won Neste Oil Rally Finland for the third time on Sunday afternoon after a thrilling duel with FIA World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Ogier.
The Finn repeated last year’s win in a Volkswagen Polo R, beating team-mate Ogier by 13.7sec after 320km of flat out driving over rollercoaster gravel roads in central Finland. The victory promoted him to second in the championship.
Citroen’s Mads Ostberg finished third in a DS 3 to secure his third podium of the season.
Ogier won the final live TV Power Stage to claim three bonus points. Latvala took two points in second and Kris Meeke secured one in a DS 3.
Jari-Matti Latvala won the fastest event in FIA World Rally Championship history when he claimed his third victory at Neste Oil Rally Finland on Sunday afternoon.
The Finn triumphed in an event affectionately known as the ‘Finnish Grand Prix’ at a remarkable average of 125.44kph, eclipsing the previous best of 122.89kph set at the same rally in 2012 by Sebastien Loeb.
Latvala headed Volkswagen Polo R team-mate Sebastien Ogier by 13.7sec after a thrilling duel over rollercoaster gravel roads near Jyväskylä. The win, his second of the season and 14th of his career, promoted Latvala to second in the championship behind Ogier.
Ogier and Kris Meeke both led before Latvala moved to the front midway through Friday. But Ogier refused to allow the Flying Finn to break clear by more than a handful of seconds, and only when he took a chunk out of a wheel against a rock on Saturday afternoon could Latvala breathe more easily.
“This was one of the greatest drives of my life,” said a delighted Latvala, who was greeted at the end of the final stage by father Jari. “I’m proud to be a Finn today. I’ve had a tough season but winning my home event is like winning half a world championship.
“I’ve focused fully on this rally for three weeks. After my disappointment at the last round in Poland, I decided my title hopes had gone and concentrated fully on preparing for Finland. It paid off today,” he added.
Ogier, who took the maximum three bonus points by winning the final live TV Power Stage, extended his championship lead to 89 points and could clinch a third title at ADAC Rallye Deutschland later this month.
Read More:
wrc.com/latvala-wins-finland
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Tom Cave blew the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy title race wide open with victory at Neste Oil Rally Finland on Sunday.
Cave, runner-up in last year’s series, topped the podium at the third round after a thrilling see-saw battle with Marius Aasen. The 23-year-old Briton won nine stages to win by 50.6sec and move into second in the standings, eight points behind Aasen.
Max Vatanen, who won the opening round in Portugal, was just 2.3sec further back in third and is just a point behind Cave.
“What a fantastic feeling it is to win in Finland, it’s only just starting to sink in that we’ve done it,” said Cave.
More:
wrc.com/dmack-final-finland/
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Stephane Lefebvre, who finished third in WRC 2 at Neste Oil Rally Finland,
was excluded on Sunday night for using illegal software in the ECU of Citroën’s DS 3 RRC.
click:
wrc.com/lefebvre-excluded
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Next Rnd9 WRC Germany Aug20-23
History
First held in 1982, the rally was part of the European Championship.
It relocated to Trier in 2000 and joined WRC in 2002.
Citroen won every Rallye Deutschland since it entered WRC until last year. Sebastien Loeb took nine victories, with one each for Sebastien Ogier and Dani Sordo until Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville topped the podium in 2014.
What’s new for 2015
Back-to-back runs over the Panzerplatte sprint test on Saturday morning.
The tricky Bosenberg roads in Saarland’s countryside are back for the first time since 2011.
Official Website:
adac-rallye-deutschland.de/uk/
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