Kris Meeke set himself up for his second victory of the season, securing a handsome 41-second lead over Volkawagen's Jari-Matti Latvala in the Finland round of the World Rally Championship, here today.
Team Abu Dhabi's Meeke, who won the Protugal rally, claimed wins in two stages to consolidate his lead.
The fight for the third place will be between Meeke's teammate Craig Breen (1m 43.0) and DMACK's Ott Tanak (1m54.5s).
Triple defending champion Sebastien Ogier of Volkawagen, who fell in the ditch on Friday to be out of reckoning, finished with a win in the last stage today to get some solace from the unforgettable opening day.
Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Hayden Paddon were fifth and sixth respectively.
Paddon was able to get within a tenth of his teammate before the final stage of the afternoon, but Neuville then pulled out the second-fastest time on Saalahti to edge away slightly.
Volkswagen's Latvala conceded that challenging Meeke for the win is an arduous task on the final day.
"It is difficult to fight with Meeke. I made a mistake, suffered a puncture and lost 15 seconds," he said adding that je enjoyed home support of the fans.
He also said that he has learnt not to put pressure on himself and has matured as adriver.
"This year has been a better one for me than last year. But it is still not a clean championship for me. I still could turn it into my best season. I still have cgances, if I have a strong second half. I am making less mistakes," he said.
Volkwagen II's Andreas Mikkelsen, who dropped to eighth from fourth today, said the dry stages is making the job for him.
"For some reasons, it's dry. It's frustrating to go to eighth. I made two mistakes, one today and losy 10 seconds. I know this rally pretty well because I have driven here for seven years but need more years to be comfortable," he joked.
Mikkelsen, who was a skier before turning a rallyist, said he still has not lost hopes and will try to catch but for that to happen others need to make mistakes.
Sebastien Ogier, who will miss the podium for the second consecutive time, said the championship is becoming tougher and rues the rule changes introduced by the FIA.
"Mantall it is tough now. But I don't serve this position. It is because of the rules. They are made to slow down the best drivers, hard to accept. They should let us fight in fare conditions," the Frenchman said.
