Solberg heads Latvala in Finland WRC2 battle

Gus Greensmith, Emil Lindholm and Pierre-Louis Loubet were just a selection of the drivers to fall by the wayside today, with all three suffering accidents on the rain-hit stages east of Jyväskylä.

For Solberg, who stands in line to extend his championship lead at this ninth round of the season, there were no such troubles. Driving a Toksport-run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, the Swede was just five-tenths of a second clear of Latvala at the day’s halfway point but a sublime afternoon performance, particularly on the second running of Laukaa, saw him widen that gap to 24.1sec.

Latvala’s performance was impressive in itself considering the Finn, who normally acts as Toyota GAZOO Racing’s team principal, is contesting only his second WRC rally in four years. He and co-driver Juho Hänninen netted stage wins on both passes of Myhinpää, a Finnish classic.

“It's been a clean day,” said Solberg. “I just enjoyed myself, drove clean and not too fast.”

Robert Virves completed the podium in another Škoda as well as leading the WRC2 Challenger contingent. The Estonian kept the pressure on Latvala with two stage wins and trailed the Finn by 7.2sec overnight.

Fourth went the way of Mikko Heikkilä in another Toyota while fellow Finns Roope Korhonen and Lauri Joona completed the top six.

Friday’s notable retirements:
Pierre-Louis Loubet – Accident (SS5)
Emil Lindholm – Accident (SS5)
Fau Zaldivar – Accident (SS6)
Gus Greensmith – Accident (SS7)
Hikaru Kogure - Accident (SS7)
William Creighton – Mechanical (SS7)