Latvala was more than 30 seconds in front of the world champion and last year’s Finland victor after winning stage 19, Mökkiperä. But a big impact over a hole on the very next test broke the front-right brake caliper of his factory Polo and left his car with reduced stopping power for the remainder of the loop.
Desperate to hold his lead, the home hero demonstrated plenty of ’sisu’, a Finnish term meaning resilience, and reached the overnight halt in Jyväskylä still in first place, albeit with a significantly reduced margin over Ogier.
”It’s not a big lead but the main thing is we’re in the lead and that was the target,” said Latvala. ”I didn’t come here to lose, I’ve worked so hard and there’s no way I’m going to lose it now. There are three great stages left and it’s going to be a great battle. The championship doesn’t matter, it’s all about winning Rally Finland now.”
Ogier trailed Meeke by 1.6s at the start of day three. With Meeke focused on his ”own race” and Ogier intent on adding as many points as possible to his championship total, it wasn’t long before the French ace moved ahead, taking second on stage 15, despite reporting two small mistakes on Saturday’s opener. However, he had all but conceded victory to Latvala until the Finn hit trouble late in the day.
”I struggled a bit this morning and made some mistakes,” said Ogier. ”I cannot smile too much about the classification because it’s bad luck what has happened to Jari. For sure it’s a chance for a win but it’s come by chance. Jari was doing a really good job but he’s had some bad luck in the rough conditions. We’ll be going flat out tomorrow.”
Meeke kept Ogier at bay through Saturday’s opener but a brush with a rock on Jukojärvi bent a wheel rim and caused a vibration in the Briton’s Citroën. He also reported struggling in the rutted roads when the stages were repeated in the afternoon. ”Second has gradually slipped through my fingers but to be able to match the world champion in full attack mode is pretty good going,” said Meeke.
Andreas Mikkelsen started day three fourth and gradually cemented the place throughout the day in the third works Polo despite reporting a brake issue on the final stage. Mads Østberg was 8.4s behind his fellow Norwegian in fifth at midday service where his rally would end. A ”massive impact” landing a jump on stage 18 had damaged his Citroën’s safety cage and he was forced to stop for safety reasons. His exit promoted Mikko Hirvonen to fifth and Hayden Paddon to sixth.
M-Sport driver Hirvonen made it through Saturday’s closing three stages with a broken damper, while Paddon said he still had to improve the set-up of his Hyundai, which he’s using in competition for only the third time. Juho Hänninen’s recovery from his roll on Friday morning took him ahead of Elfyn Evans on stage 18, although Evans was more concerned about building his knowledge of the high-speed stages than engaging in battle with the Hyundai pilot. Behind M-Sport’s Evans, Craig Breen is ninth with Henning Solberg 10th after a fourth puncture.
Former grand prix racer Robert Kubica restarted on Saturday under Rally 2 rules and faced the tough prospect of running first on the road in his M-Sport Fiesta. Although he posted a string of top-10 stage times, the time penalties applied for the stages he missed on Friday means he’s out of contention for a points finish.
Hopes of a home win in WRC2 ended on stage 16 when long-term leader Jari Ketomaa stopped to change a punctured tyre. ”I tried to be very cautious but on one corner I was too much on the inside and hit a rock. It’s a big disappointment, he said.” His misfortune handed first place in class to Karl Kruuda, who will start the final day of the event on course for his second WRC2 victory of 2014 after overcoming a handful of technical issues. Ketomaa is second with the rapid Ott Tänak fighting back to third.
Martin Koči leads WRC3 with rising Finnish star Teemu Suninen winning the class on several stages but losing vital time when he rolled on stage 17. Nevertheless, the WRC newcomer is a fine second overnight. Fellow Finn Henri Haapamäki has also impressed throughout the day and is the highest-place two-wheel-drive contender heading to Sunday’s closing trio of stages. Sander Pärn heads the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy category.
Stage winners (Saturday)
SS14, Mökkiperä 1 (13.84): Latvala/Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
SS15, Jukojärvi 1 (21.93): Latvala/Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
SS16, Surkee 1 (14.95): Latvala/Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
SS17, Himos 1 (4.45): Ogier/Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
SS18, Leustu 1 (10,01): Latvala/Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
SS19, Mökkiperä 2 (13.84): Latvala/Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
SS20, Jukojärvi 2 (21.93): Ogier/Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
SS21, Surkee 2 (14.95): Ogier/Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
SS22, Himos 2 (4.45): Ogier/Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
SS23, Leustu 2 (10,01): Ogier/Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC)
Day three in numbers
3.4: The gap in seconds between Latvala and Ogier at the completion of day three
600: Volkswagen scored its 600th top-three stage time on SS17
0: The difference in time between DMACK team-mates Ketomaa and Tänak on SS18
7: Cups of coffee leader Jari-Matti Latvala drinks during a typical day
2010: The last time a Finnish driver won their home round of the WRC
What’s coming up on day four?
Sunday’s route is the shortest of Neste Oil Rally Finland at 36.60 kilometres. It includes two runs over Ruuhimäki and a single visit to Myhinpää. The second Ruuhimäki test counts as the event-closing Power Stage, where the leading drivers will chase bonus points, and begins at 13:08 local time. The finish in Jyväskylä is scheduled for 15:00.
