ID :
413333
Sun, 07/31/2016 - 10:56
Auther :

Abu Dhabi Total WRT take control of Rally Finland with Kris Meeke

FINLAND: A perfect day's racing on the ultra-fast roads of Rally Finland left Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle top of the overall standings. At the end of the opening leg, the British-Irish crew leads the rally by 18.1s. With Craig Breen and Scott Martin fighting for a place on the podium, it is fair to say that the Abu Dhabi Total WRT had a very positive day! Following Thursday evening's super special stage, Rally Finland got properly underway this morning with an opening loop made up of five timed stages: Mokkipera, Halinen, Jukojarvi, Surkee and Horka. On SS2, Kris Meeke did not seem to be too troubled by the damp conditions which were expected to make his starting position less favourable. The Abu Dhabi Total claimed the stage win to take the early overall lead. Craig Breen also got off to a flying start with the seventh fastest time. Mainly challenged by Jari-Matti Latvala and Ott Tanak for the lead, Kris Meeke was initially involved in a close battle at the front. But his rivals' minor mistakes meant they were unable to keep pace with the Northern Irishman. After a second stage win on SS5, the Ulsterman's lead was almost twenty seconds at the mid-leg service. Very comfortable throughout the morning, Craig Breen set a superb third fastest time on Surkee. He therefore moved ahead of Mikkelsen and Neuville to snatch fourth position. However, on the last stage of the morning loop, he opted to run straight on after braking slightly too late into a corner to avoid running the risk of going off. He lost a few seconds and therefore made it back to mid-leg service sixth overall. - Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/sports-international/1395298338830.html

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