No Finland luck
for Fisher

Fisher, who heads the drivers’ standings after two rounds, was 5.5s behind category leader Elfyn Evans when he picked up a front-right puncture on stage five of the high-speed gravel rally. But after stopping to change the tyre, a throttle problem prevented him from going any further.

“We went over a crest on a left-hander and there was a rock sitting in the road about five kilometres in,” said Fisher. “We drove on but then the rubber started flailing so we stopped but then there was a problem with the throttle, there was no response and we couldn’t carry on.”

Fisher plans to return under Rally 2 regulations on Saturday but was unable to hide his frustration. “It’s very, very disappointing, not good for the championship at all,” he said.

The British driver’s exit means Evans now leads the division by 38.1s with Brendan Reeves second and Timo van der Marel third.