29 Jul 10

SS1: Petter
leads after
opening stage in
Finland

Buoyed by his podium performance in Bulgaria, Solberg holds Thursday's overnight lead

Petter Solberg moved into an early lead of the 2010 Neste Oil Rally Finland after setting the fastest time on Thursday evening’s opening stage.

The Citroen C4 WRC driver completed the short Laajavuori sprint stage in 2min 33.2sec, exactly one second quicker than his nearest rival, Ford team-leader Mikko Hirvonen.

At the finish control, Solberg claimed to have taken a gentle approach to the stage. “I was a bit chicken in there,” he said. “The time felt good but the proper stuff starts tomorrow so I was a bit careful.”

Hirvonen, who won Rally Finland last year, also claimed to have more speed in reserve. “It was quite a steady start, and I made a few small mistakes, but I think we’re in the game now. We’ll see for sure tomorrow morning,” said the Finn.

Sebastien Loeb and Jari-Matti Latvala will start Friday’s competition tied in third place after both completing in 2min 34.8sec - 1.6sec slower than Solberg. Sebastien Ogier rounded off the top five times, on his first competitive outing driving for the Citroen Total team.

Neste Oil Rally Finland resumes on Friday morning, with the first stage - the 12.75km Urria - getting underway at 0742hrs.

Rally results links on wrc.com:

Follow these links to see the Neste Oil Rally Finland stage times. To analyse the split times click here.

The following links will take you to the Neste Oil Rally Finland daily start lists, itinerary and entry lists.

iPhone app update

An upgrade of the official WRC iPhone app is now available featuring new-look timing screens and compatibility with the new OS4 operating system. It’s free and can be found on the home page of wrc.com, by searching 'Official WRC app' in iTunes or by following this link .