Mikko Hirvonen returned to the Service Park after Saturday's first loop of stages with his Rally Finland lead in double figures for the first time.
Running first on the road, Hirvonen capitalised on the damp road conditions to go faster than second placed Sebastien Loeb on each of the three stages run so far today - extending his lead to 10.9sec. The lead is a significant milestone for Hirvonen, who lost this rally to Loeb last year by exactly nine seconds.
Loeb and Hirvonen were in a class of their own through Saturday's opening 57.24km, attacking the flowing gravel roads absolutely flat out, and leaving their team-mates, in identical cars, more than 40sec behind in the standings.
As he began the journey back to Jyvaskyla for a 30-minute service, Hirvonen felt the wet conditions had helped. "It’s been a good, clean drive with no problems and I'm happy to be first on the road today because the grip is very, very good," he said. "Maybe for the boys behind it's getting a little bit softer, and that might be slowing them down, but for me that's quite good."
Last year's Finland winner Sebastien Loeb reported no problems through the three stages but had no answer to Hirvonen's pace. "I'm trying really hard, and taking a lot of risks, but there's no change - Mikko is too fast."
Dani Sordo returned to service in third place, 41.9sec behind Loeb in the standings but happy with his driving on the specialised Finnish roads. "Last year I lost a lot of time here [SS13] because I didn't like the narrow section at the end too much. This year I didn't lose as much. We'll see how the time compares to Latvala's - but I'm happy," he said.
Still suffering with a bout of food poisoning, BP Ford driver Latvala was 1.4sec quicker than Sordo on SS13, narrowing the overall gap between them to 8.3sec and keeping the pressure on. "It’s been really, really hard and demanding for me this morning but we have found a good driving rhythm, if we can keep this pace we have a chance to catch Sordo," he said.
Another terrific performance from local star Matti Rantanen kept the Finn in fifth place overall, with Mads Ostberg and Sebastien Ogier sixth and seventh.
Continuing his impressive WRC debut, Formula 1 driver Kimi Raikkonen returned to Service in 16th place, despite having to contend with a few issues throughout the morning. "The first one [SS11] wasn't very good - there was so much rain we almost couldn't see out, and then we had some problems with the car not starting so well," he explained. "I hope we can fix it now, there is a lot to do in service. I hope our speed will be better on the repeat run."
UPDATED Notes and quotes from Service E (after SS13)
New gearbox for Raikkonen's AbarthKimi's co-driver Kaj Lindstrom said: "In the first service today we had hoped to make some changes to the car after the Super Special and change a few parts, but time was a bit too tight so we couldn't do everything. Because of this the car wasn't 100 per cent this morning and when we got back for this service we found a small problem - so we have to fit a new gearbox.
"I hope it will be okay but we might take a time penalty if we go over time. The most important thing is to get the car right so Kimi feels comfortable. So far I've been pleased with his Kimi's driving. It's been a surprise for a lot of the spectators I think."
Note: Kimi later got his car out of service on time.
Petter retires againPetter Solberg's SuperRally return looked like in doubt when he arrived late to the Service Park. The Norwegian's Xsara suffered a broken suspension mount on SS13, but it was a problem with the re-built engine in his car which caused the most concern. As he left for SS14 Petter said he would decide whether or not to start the stage depending on how the engine performed on the road section. It didn't go well, so he brought the car back.
Petter Solberg World Rally Team manager Ken Rees said: "When Petter went out first thing this morning, he reported that the engine felt like it had lost 20 per cent of its power. Essentially there is no power and there is also little drive and motivation. He had to start 74th in SuperRally this morning and went quite well, actually setting a fifth fastest time. But then the right hand suspension top mount failed when he clipped a rock. Putting a temporary repair cost him 1min30s on the last stage and that was that.”
Tweaks to Loeb's carThe Citroen team made some slight alterations to Loeb's car's set-up in service. "They were only small detail changes because the base set-up is good," said Loeb's engineer Didier Clement. "If there was a magic solution we would have fitted it on the first day!"
Ford newsHirvonen and Latvala's cars will run with increased ride height and stiffer suspension springs for the second pass over this morning's three stages.
Mikko Hirvonen said: "I could drive a little faster if I needed to but I'm comfortable at the moment. I need to be careful during the second pass in case the roads are rutted and I need to go out and drive with the same rhythm to try to extend the lead."
Jari-Matti Latvala said: "I started feeling ill about an hour before I got up. It feels like a fever and I seem better when I'm out in the fresh air rather than inside the car." His co-driver Miikka Anttila added: "In the stages Jari-Matti doesn't feel so bad because he has an adrenaline rush, but on the liaison sections he is finding it tough."
Team manager quotesOlivier Quesnel, Team Principal, Citroen Total World Rally Team: “I think Sebastien cannot do any more to go faster. I have just spoken to Juha Kankkunen and he said that he feels that the Citroen is better than the Ford on these roads. Being first on the road is quite hard but it seems that Mikko is having fewer problems with it than Sebastien did last year. I think tomorrow morning we will see whether the race is over. It is not finished at the moment, that’s for sure...”
Malcolm Wilson, Team Manager, BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team: "The rally is going as per plan. Mikko was fastest on every stage this morning and Sebastien said on the radio just now that he has no more speed. Jari-Matti is keeping tabs on Sordo."
