WRC Live Finland Rally 2011 Day 3

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1 Sébastien Loeb 171 points 2 Mikko Hirvonen 144 3 Sébastien Ogier140 4 Jari-Matti Latvala 96 5 Petter Solberg 83 6 Mads Ostberg 56 7 Matthew Wilson 40 8 Kimi Raikkonen 26 = Henning Solberg 26 10 Federico Villagra 20

FINAL TOP TEN 1 Loeb 2 Latvala+8.1s 3 Ogier +12.8s 4 Hirvonen+1:09.1s 5 P. Solberg+1:16.2s 6 Ostberg+1:27.8s 7 H.Solberg+3:25.5s 8 Wilson+3:53.2s 9 Raikkonen+3:59.8s 10 Hanninen+5:13.7s

POWER STAGE 1 Hirvonen 3 points 2 Latvala 2 3 Ogier 1

Sébastien Loeb is through the Power Stage and has won Rally Finland, his 66th career WRC win and his second in Finland. "It feels very good to have won twice in Finland. It wa a very difficult rally, we cleaned the road for three days and in the end we were the fastest. It is a relief. It is maybe my greatest victory, yes it is my greatest. It was important to score more points than Ogier and with the win it is good for the future."

Sébastien Ogier is through the Power Stage and finishes 3rd on Rally Finland. "It was a very difficult rally. It is not a good result for the championship but of course I am not giving up on the championship."

Jari-Matti Latvala is through the Power Stage, 2nd quickest so far and 2nd place on Rally Finland. "It was a tough weekend, I really pushed hard but it wasn't enough. I just woke up too late for the Rally. It has been a great rally, I enjoyed but I wanted to win it."

Petter Solberg is through the Power Stage, third quickest so far and takes 5th place on Rally Finland. "It has been a hard weekend, very frustrating.I am sure the problem is me, obviuosly I am not on the pace. I just have to work harder on the next rally."

Mads Ostberg is through the Power Stage and takes 6th place on Rally Finland.

Mikko Hirvonen has completed Rally Finland in 4th place and has set best time so far on the Power Stage.

Henning Solberg takes 7th place on Rally Finland.

Kimi Raikkonen finished 9th behind Matthew Wilson in 8th.

Juho Hanninen wins the S-WRC division and finishes 10th overall.

SS22 Laajavuori 2 (4.19km) the Power Stage is underway with 3 points to the winner, 2 to 2nd and 1 to 3rd.

The Minis of Kris Meeke and Dani Sordo have been retired before the running of the power stage with over-heating problems. Meeke had dropped out of the ten earlier in the day and now the Spaniard Sordo drops out of a point's scoring position.

AFTER SS21 1 Loeb 2 Latvala+8.4s 3 Ogier +12.8s 4 Hirvonen+1:09.7s 5 P. Solberg+1:15.9s 6 Ostberg+1:25.5s 7 H.Solberg+3:25.3s 8 Wilson+3:50.5s 9 Raikkonen+3:57.0s 10 Sordo+7:02.4s

Hirvonen sets fastest time in the stage. "It is a good recovery after the first day. The POwer Stage will be very difficult. My tyres are destroyed and it is very narrow. It is going to be very hard."

Latvala is next through,1.1s up from Ogier. "It is too late to catch Loeb. I am really angry with myself, I should have made the changes to the car earlier. I am really enjoying it now, I could have been going for the win."

Ogier is through the stage, 0.8s up from Loeb. "My right tyre is destroyed, so I will have to slow down and not attack on the Power Stage. It is a real shame for the championship, it has been a hard afternoon and I really had a chance for the win."

Loeb is through the stage. "I am pretty happy with the performance. I am really happy with my driving and cleaning the road for three days mad me push all the time. They chose to stay behind me, so there was nothing I could do but drive hard."

SS21 Isojärvi 2(4.85km) is underway with Loeb two stages from victory.

SS20 1Hirvonen 2 Latvala+4.3s 3 Ogier+5.1s 4 Loeb+6.5s 5 P. Solberg+7.1s

AFTER SS20 1 Loeb 2 Latvala+10.3s 3 Ogier +13.6s 4 Hirvonen+1:2.0s 5 P. Solberg+1:15.5s

Hirvonen is through the stage with the fastest time and he is now into fourth ahead of Petter Solberg by 3.5s

Latvala sets a quicker time and is now 3.3s ahead of Ogier for second place.

Ogier is though the stage,1.4s up from Loeb. "For me it is th same situation with a worn tyre and no spare. I just have to finish the rally now. For sure, I am very disappointed, in this position I should be racing for the victory, but the puncture ruined that."

Loeb is through the stage in 7:08.2s. "No mistakes on the stage. That is the main thing, I had good pace."

Latvala is 0.4s down from Ogier at split 2.

Ogier is on equal pace with Loeb at split 2.

Ogier is 0.4s up from Loeb at the opening split.

SS20 Jukojärvi 2 (14.32km) is undrway with rally leader, Sébastien Loeb, as usual this weekend, first on the stage.

SS18 1 Hirvonen 2 Ogier+2.5s 3 P. Solberg+3.9s 4 Ostberg +4.1s 5 Latvala+4.2s 6 Loeb+4.7s 7 H. Solberg+6.9s 8 Wilson+8.5s 9 Raikkonen+9.9s 10 Al Qassimi+18.8s

AFTER SS18 1 Loeb 2 Latvala+12.5s 3 Ogier +15.0s 4 P. Solberg+1:14.9s 5 Hirvonen+1:18.5s 6 Ostberg+1:25.4s 7 H.Solberg+3:21.9s 8 Wilson+3:44.9s 9 Raikkonen+3:47.0s 10 Sordo+3:49.3s

Hirvonen is through, he is now 3.6s behind Solberg for fourth place. "We're getting close, I like this stage as do I the next one. It is very close and Ithink I can catch him."

Latvala is slower than Ogier and is now 2.5s ahead in second place. "Sébastien Ogier was really fast. There are three more stages to go. I am looking out for bother Sébastiens."

Ogier is through the stage, faster than Loeb. "It will be difficult for me. I don't have a spare tyre. It was a shame I had a puncture, I could have been in a good spot to win the rally."

Loeb is through the stage in 5:59.3s.

Latvala is 0.7s up from Loeb at split 1.

Ogier is 0.4s up from Loeb at the opening split.

SS19 is underway.

SS18 1 Latvala 2 Hirvonen +0.8s 3 Ostberg +4.6s 4 Ogier+4.7s 5 Loeb+5.2s 6 P. Solberg+7.1s 7 Raikkonen+13.8s 8 Wilson+14.9s 9 H. Solberg15.3s 10 D. Kuipers+27.9s

AFTER SS18 1 Loeb 2 Latvala+13.0s 3 Ogier +17.2s 4 P. Solberg+1:15.7s 5 Hirvonen+1:23.2s 6 Ostberg+1:26.0s 7 Sordo+3:03.5s 8 H.Solberg+3:19.7s 9 Wilson+3:41.1s 10 Raikkonen+3:41.8s

Latvala is though the stage,4.7s up from Ogier and into second place.

Ogier is through, 0.5s up from Loeb. "it is not good, I don't have a spare and I have to drive carefully to save my tyres."

Ogier is 0.4s down from Loeb at the final split.

Loeb is through the stage in 8:05.5s.

Latvala is 1.5s up from Loeb at split 2.

Ogier is 0.6s down from Loeb at split 2.

Latvala is 0.9s up from Ogier at split 1.

Ogier is 1.1s down from Loeb at the opening split.

SS18 Surkee 2 (14.66km) is up and running. Sébastien Loeb has more breathing room, following Ogier's puncture on the previous stage.

SS17 1 Hirvonen 2 Latvala +3.8s 3 Ostberg +5.1s 4 Loeb+5.6s 5 P. Solberg+7.4s 6 Ogier+12.s 7 H. Solberg17.2s 8 Sordo+17.7s 9 Wilson+19.3s 10 Mikkelsen+36.0s

Kris Meeke limped through the stage with a puncture and an over-heating problem.

AFTER SS17 1 Loeb 2 Ogier +17.87s 3 Latvala+18.2s 4 P. Solberg+1:13.8s 5 Ostberg+1:26.6s 6 Hirvonen+1:27.6s 7 Sordo+2:23.3s 8 H.Solberg+3:09.6s 9 Wilson+3:31.3s 10 Raikkonen+3:33.2s

Hirvonen is through the stage,0.8s up from Latvala. Hirvonen is now one second behiond Ostberg for 5th. "The tyres are on the limit, but it will be the same for everyone."

Ostberg sets second best time, 1.1s behind Latvala

Petter Solberg is through the stage. "I have made a lot of changes, but I have been unlucky. There is nothing I can do."

Kriss Meeke is stopped in the stage.

Latvala is through the stage, 8.7s up fom Ogier. "The battle is on for second place. I am happy but am disappointed, because it now it is running the way it should have been before."

Ogier is in with a front left puncture, he has lost 6.9s to Loeb. "I had a puncture. I think it happened after the first half of the stage."

Loebis through the stage in 1 . "Cleaning the road was really bad. I took bg risks, but I can't go any faster. Ogier has puncture? Good! Hopefully he will loose a lot of time."

Latvala is 0.2 down from Loeb at split

Ogier is 1.5s up from Loeb at split 4.

Ogier is 0.8s up from Loeb at split 3.

Latvala is 0.6s down from Loeb at split 3.

Ogier is now 0.1s up from Loeb at split 2.

Ogier is 0.4s down from Loeb at the opening split.

SS17 Leustu 2 (21.35km) is underway. Sébastien Loeb begins the afternoon with a 10.8s lead from team mate Sébastien Ogier.

Sébastien Loeb on WRC radio said that he was happy wth how he drove this morning, but he is very concerned for the second pass on the stages this afternoon. With all the cars and the historic rally cars running on the stage, the racing line will be affected and he could lose time.

Jari-Matti Latvala on WRC radio : "This is a very fast rally. 20 seconds is a lot. Loeb had an advatnage this morning and was fast. I couldn't find my pace. I am frustrated, but after somelunch maybe we can get back on form."

Sébastien Ogier on WRC radio : "It is a good fight, I set good times this morning. We have no team orders, we are allowed to fight for the win."

AFTER SS16 1 Loeb 2 Ogier +10.8s 3 Latvala+20.0s 4 P. Solberg+1:12.0s 5 Ostberg+1:27.1s 6 Hirvonen+1:33.2s 7 Sordo+2:11.2s 8 H.Solberg+2:58.0s 9 Raikkonen+3:02.6s 10 Meeke+3:12.1s

SS16 1 Hirvonen 2 Loeb+1.1s 3 H. Solberg1.5s 4 Sordo+1.7s 5 Ogier+2.0s 6 Ostberg +2.8s 7 Latvala +3.0s 8 Wilson+3.0s 9 Raikkonen+3.7s 10 P.Solberg+4.9s

Hirvonen goes quickest and is now 6.1s from Ostberg. "It was a good stage, we're catching up Ostberg, so we will just keep pushing hard."

Latvala is through the stage,1.9s down from Loeb. "I can't catch them. It is obvious now, I don't know why. I can't catch them on speed. I have to just keep going and see if something happens ahead of me."

Ogier is through the stage,0.9s down from Loeb. "I made amistake on this stage, there was a lot of gravel and I went very sideways and lost itme. "

Loeb is through the stage in 2:27.4s. "There was more loose gravel on this stage. I am happy with how we did this morning. It was a perfect drive. On the previous stage it was drier, this one ws more humid, I hope it is good for me. W're in for a good fight."

CORRECTION SS15 1 Hirvonen 2 Ogier+2.9s 3 Loeb+3.6s 4 Latvala +4.3s 5 Ostberg +5.8s

SS16 Isojärvi 1(4.85km)is underway with Sébastien Loeb first inthe stage.

AFTER SS15 1 Loeb 2 Ogier +9.9s 3 Latvala+18.1s 4 P. Solberg+1:08.2s 5 Ostberg+1:25.4s

SS15 1 Hirvonen 2 Ogier+2.9s 3 Loeb+3.6s 4 Latvala +4.3s 5 Sordo+4.1s

Hirvonen is through the satge with the fastest time, quicker than Ogier.

Latvala is through,1.4s down from Ogier.

Ogier is through the stage, 0.7s up from Loeb. "I am happy with my drive, but Seb is going very well. It is hard to close the distance. I am still going for the vitory."

Loeb is through the stage in 7:11.2s. This stage was really dry. It was slippery, I had to push very hard to keep the pace .I think the time shouldn't be tood bad. It depends on Ogier's time, it is very hard being first on the stage."

Latvala is 0.3s down from Loeb at split 1.

Ogier is 0.3s up from Loeb at split 2.

Ogier is 0.2s up from Loeb at the opening split.

SS15 Jukojärvi 1 (14.32km) is underway with Sébastien Loeb sweeping the stage.

CORRECTIONAFTER SS14 1 Loeb 2 Ogier +10.6s 3 Latvala+17.4s 4 P. Solberg+1:00.5s 5 Ostberg+1:23.2s 6 Hirvonen+1:37.9s 7 Sordo+2:07.0s 8 H.Solberg+2:50.6s 9 Meeke+2:54.2s 10 Raikkonen+2:526.5s

CORRECTION SS14 1 Hirvonen 2 Loeb+1.0s 3 Ogier+2.1s 4 Latvala +3.5s 5 Sordo+4.1s 6 Ostberg +4.7s 7 P. Solberg+4.8s 8 Raikkonen+5.3s 9 H. Solberg+6.3s 10 Wilson+7.2s

AFTER SS13 1 Loeb 2 Ogier +10.6s 3 Latvala+17.4s 4 P. Solberg+1:00.5s 5 Ostberg+1:23.2s 6 Hirvonen+1:37.9s 7 Sordo+2:07.0s 8 H.Solberg+2:50.6s 9 Meeke+2:54.2s 10 Raikkonen+2:526.5s

SS13 1 Hirvonen 2 Loeb+1.0s 3 Ogier+2.1s 4 Latvala +3.5s 5 Sordo+4.1s 6 Ostberg +4.7s 7 P. Solberg+4.8s 8 Raikkonen+5.3s 9 H. Solberg+6.3s 10 Wilson+7.2s

Hirvonen is through the stage with the best time, one second up from Loeb. "This is a fantastic place. I ran to my target time, so we are pleased.

Ostberg is through, 0.1s quicker than Solberg. "I am still trying to catch Solberg and keep an eye on the guy behind me. O.1s is not enough to catch Petter, but I am going to keep trying. It is along day and we will try to find more speed. It is difficult, but it is going quite well, so I will continue to push."

Petter Solberg is through the stage,3.8s down from Loeb. "I've had a big problem this morning. We changed everything yesterday on the dampers, but it hasn't worked, I have no grip at all. I am doing whatever I can."

Latvala is through the stage,2.5s down from Loeb. "This stage didn't work out, but I was still happy with my driving. I don't know, it is not looking good."

Ogier is through the stage,1.1s down from Loeb. "It is difficult to keep up with Seb. I am doing my best, but I made a few mistakes. We have to react soon, because it is an important gap, but I'm not giving up, for sure."

Loeb is through the stage in 6:02.9s. "The track has more sand than the others. I don'tthink we could do much better, I don't know if it will be faster than Ogier. I think the scond pass will be more difficult. I am trying really hard. I think we have done 3 perfect stages. I have no regrets."

Ogier is now 0.8s down from Loeb at split 2.

Ogier is 0.7s down from Loeb at the opening split.

SS14 Urria 1(12.75km) is underway with the man on form, Sébastien Loeb first inn the stage.

AFTER SS12 1 Loeb 2 Ogier +9.5s 3 Latvala+14.9s 4 P. Solberg+56.7s 5 Ostberg+1:19.5s 6 Hirvonen+1:38.9s 7 Sordo+2:03.9s 8 H.Solberg+2:45.3s 9 Meeke+2:45.7s 10 Raikkonen+2:52.2s

SS12 1 Loeb 2 Ogier+1.6s 3 Latvala +1.6s 4 Hirvonen +1.9s 5 Ostberg +6.1s 6 Sordo+8.4s 7 P. Solberg+8.6s 8 Raikkonen+10.0s 9 H. Solberg+16.6s 10 Wilson+17.0s

Petter Solbreg is through the stage,8.6s down from Loeb. "I don"t know why but I don't have a proper feeling. Honestly, I don't know what is going on."

Petter Solberg is 7.8s down from Loeb at split 3.

Latvala is through the stage,1.6s down from Loeb and equal time Ogier.

Latval is 1.4s down from Loeb at the final split.

Ogier is through the stage, 1.6s down from Loeb. "The stage was okay, but Seb is pushing very hard, which makes it very hard to follow him."

Ogier is still 1.6s down from Loeb at the final split.

Loeb is through the stage in 8:07.1s. "I pushed very hard. This was a good stage, no mistakes, no problems."

Latvala is 0.4s down from Loeb at split 1.

Ogier is 1.6s down from Loeb at split 2.

Ogier is 0.9s down from Loeb at the opening split.

SS13 Surkee 1 (14.66km) is underway with the amazing Sébastien Loeb first in the stage.

AFTER SS11 1 Loeb 2 Ogier +7.9s 3 Latvala+13.3s 4 P. Solberg+82.7s 5 Ostberg+1:13.4s 6 Hirvonen+1:37.0s 7 Sordo+1:55.5s 8 Meeke+2:25.7s 9 H.Solberg+2:28.7s 10 Hanninen+ 2:40.3s

SS11 1 Loeb 2 Ogier+6.4s 3 Hirvonen +8.3s 4 Latvala +10.7s 5 Ostberg +13.3s 6 P. Solberg+18.9s 7 Sordo+19.3s 8 Raikkonen+21.7s 9 H. Solberg+22.6s 10 Wilson+24.9s

Sordo is through the stage, 19.3s down from Loeb. "It was a good stage, I lost time in some places, but it was okay."

Hirvonen is through with third best time, 8.3s down from Loeb. "I am not happy at all, Sébastien did an amazing time. I know every corner and I couldn't go any faster. I will push hard and try to catch the guys in front of me."

Mads Ostberg is through the stage,13.3s down from Loeb. "We said yesterday we might have a slight hope of catching Petter. We have to see, it is a good start and we will keep trying to catch Petter."

Petter Solnerg is through the stage, 18.9s down from Loeb. "I am not running at the same pace as the others. I have to just defend my position. I will push on, but it is not easy."

Latvala is through the stage,10.7s down from Loeb. "Third wasn't the best place to be, the best position is first on the road. It was still damp and there wasn't anything I could do. Loeb had a big advantage."

Ogier is through the stage,6.4s down from Loeb. "He did a very good stage. It wasn't so bad or good for us, but it is not finished. He was very fast on this stage, but it isd a very long day and I will try to fight back."

Loeb is through the stage in 10:13.1s. "I was pushing like hell. We don't have the advatnage today. The conditions are not too bad and we just have to continue like this. It is a very good start.

Ogier is now 4.1s down from Loeb at split 4.

Latvala is 3.5s down from Loeb at split 3.

Latvala is 2.8s down from Loeb at split 2.

Ogier is now 3.3s down from Loeb at split 3.

Latvala is 0.9s down from Loeb at the opening split.

Ogier is 2.7s from Loeb at split 2.

Ogier is 0.2s down from Loeb at the opening split.

SS12 Leustu 1(21.35km) is underway with leader, Sébastien Loeb first in the stage, follwed by Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala.

OGIER WOULD RATHER BE LATVALA: After the Citroen tactics that didn’t pay off for the French squad, second place Sébastien Ogier knows it is wide open and believes his Finnish rival has the best chance for the win. “Everything’s still up for grabs,” says Ogier. “Since yesterday, the positions at the start haven’t had a big influence on the performances. Nobody’s managed to make the break. Tomorrow, I think we’re going to meet more difficult conditions. We’ll have to push like crazy. Everybody knows these stages. It’s going to be a ding-dong battle, and in my opinion Jari-Matti Latvala is in the best position.”

LOEB’S MOVE DIDN’T PAY OFF: Like the end of the first day the last stage gave the leaders a chance to reshuffle the cards. Loeb received a 10-second penalty for checking in a minute late on purpose at the start of Mynnilä (SS11). Ogier, who started behind him, decided to drop 13.4s to finish second 1.5s behind his team-mate. In third came JariMatti Latvala, 2.6s further back. “We tried to do something to sow doubt in our rivals’ minds,” summed up Loeb. “It didn’t work, but it hasn’t really made our task a lot more difficult. We’ve still got a long leg to do. Since the start we’ve managed to match the pace of our rivals even though we’re first out on the road. I just hope that I won’t have to do even more sweeping tomorrow on the very dry stages.”

: HIRVONEN ON THE CHARGE: After losing two minutes on Thursday, Mikko Hirvonen's goal on Friday was to win as many stages as possible and climb up the leader board. He won the opening three stages and added two more victories during the afternoon as he stormed back inside the top 10. "Today's stages were probably the easiest of the three legs and I'm pleased with my speed," said Hirvonen. "I can't catch the top three drivers on pace alone, but I would like to catch Mads Østberg for fifth. I decided not to think about yesterday. It happened, and today I just wanted to drive as fast as I could and see how high I could climb. "I'm glad it didn't rain because my road position was perfect in the dry and I would have lost that advantage if it was wet. My start position won't be as good tomorrow, but still better than all the drivers ahead of me. I chose to carry a second spare tyre this afternoon and that affected the balance of the car. It slid more and tyre wear was greater, so perhaps it was a mistake to do that," he added.

: LATVALA IS IDEALLY PLACED FOR REPEAT WIN : After a long hard day of battling, tactics ended working in 2010 Rally Finland winner’s favour. Latvala wil be third on the road and Is just 3 seconds adrift of the lead. "I have all the keys in my hand. The Finnish fans want a victory and I want to give it to them, but it won't be easy," he said. "I need to be perfect and the car must be perfect, because it will be a big fight. I wanted a gap of no more than 10sec to the leader so the margin I have is ideal. I'm not a massive fan of tactics like this but it was exciting tonight and the team did a great job, for which I thank them. I know tomorrow's stages well and I'm so much looking forward to what I hope will be a great day," added Latvala.

START LIST DAY THREE RALLY FINLAND 1 Loeb (FRA) / Elena (MCO) Citroen DS3 WRC 2 Ogier (FRA) / Ingrassia (FRA) Citroen DS3 WRC 3 Latvala (FIN) / Anttila (FIN) Ford Fiesta RS WRC 4 P. Solberg (NOR) / Patterson (GBR) Citroen DS3 WRC 5 Ostberg (NOR) / Andersson (SWE) Ford Fiesta RS WRC 6 Hirvonen (FIN / Lehtinen (FIN) Ford Fiesta RS WRC 7 Sordo (SPA) / Del Barrio (SPA) Mini John Cooper Works WRC 8 Meeke (GBR)/ Nagle (IRL) Mini John Cooper Works WRC 9 H. Solberg (NOR) / Minor (AUT) Ford Fiesta RS WRC 10 Wilson (GBR) / Martin (GBR) Ford Fiesta RS WRC

Good moring and welcome to day 3 of Rally Finland on motorstv.com. We will have all the splits, interviews and breaking news form what should be an amazing day of action.