Sorry about the delay in getting a post about the rally up. I was having some issues with my recently upgrading mail program. Seems it just didn’t want to work for awhile….

Anyway….

It’s been a busy day at Rally Finland, with several lead changes. Heading into the final stage of the day, the superspecial at Killeri, Markko Martin has a slim 2 second lead over Marcus Gronholm. Richard Burns is about 20 seconds adrift of Gronholm, and Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz and Petter Solberg are grouped together another 30 seconds back.

Both Gronholm and Martin have been very quick, setting most of the fastest stage times. Burns had a great run through SS7, but then had some problems on SS9, dropping him a bit further back. Pre-rally favorite Harri Rovanpera had problems almost immediately on SS2, finding himself in the trees with suspension damage. He is still in the rally, though at 20 minutes back, he won’t be a factor in the overall standings. Sebastien Loeb and Tommi Makinen round out the top 8.

Didier Auriol didn’t start the stages today, as expected, because of shoulder pain, but Toni Gardenmeister has been running well in the new Fabia, setting one top 10 stage time, and if the car holds up, he should be able to fiight for a spot in the top ten. Hyundai’s Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz haven’t been particularly quick, and they are in the top 15, fighting with some of the local drivers.

The weather has been a mix of rain and sun, and some of the stages have been a bit muddy, allowing Burns (who would typically be sweeping the roads running first) to stay in the running. I expect he’ll catch right up to the leaders tomorrow when he runs near the end of the start order. Petter Solberg has said he feels he is pushing the Impreza to the limit, but the car just isn’t as quick as the Focus or the 206. Perhaps he will just have to wait for mistakes to make his move.

Posted on 8 August 2003