Sordo fastest in SS5, but Solberg leads

Citroen driver Dani Sordo was the fastest driver through the repeated Jukojarvi test while Petter Solberg completed Friday morning’s loop with a 1.3 second overall lead of Neste Oil Rally Finland.

Sordo shaved more than 10 seconds off his earlier time through Jukojarvi (SS3), underlining the cleaning effect on the damp gravel road. The Spaniard remained third place in the overall standings, 3.8sec behind Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala, who was second quickest through SS5.

Sebastien Loeb dropped behind his team-mate Sebastien Ogier into fifth because of handling problems with his C4 WRC. Loeb lost his car’s front splitter 19km into SS4 and reported that the car was lifting too much over crests and jumps as a result.

Subaru privateer Mads Ostberg lost more than three minutes after stopping to change a puncture.

Overall standings after SS5: