Rally Finland sets off

Rally Finland 2009 started with a 2,06kms Super Special at the Killeri Horse track tonight. Petter, who was paired against Henning, ended with sixth. Fastest were Sebastien Loeb, Dani Sordo second and Mikko Hirvonen third.

Rally Finland continues with 9 more stages Friday. First car on road from 0738 (local time).

Overall classification SS1

1. Loeb, Citroen
2. Sordo, Citroen +0,1
3. Hirvonen, Ford +0,9
4. Novikov, Citroen +1,2
5. Ogier, Citroen +1,2
6. Petter, Citroen +1,4
7. Latvala, Ford +1,5
7. Henning, Ford +1,5

Shakedown Finland

Petter endte tilslutt nest raskest på dagens Shakedown i Finland. Raskeste tid fikk Sebastien Loeb. Petter fikk sin bestetid på den andre av totalt tre gjennomkjøringer, og var lenge raskeste bil igjennom. Loeb fikk sin beste tid på fjerde gjennomkjøring. Testkjøringen foregikk på en avstengt vei 6 km utenfor sentrum av Jyväskylä.

Rally Finland starter med en Super Spesial kl 1900 i kveld.Petter ended with the second fastest time at today’s Shakedown in Finland. Fastest through the 3,76kms test stage were Sebastien Loeb. Petter did three runs in total, setting the fastest time on the second pass. Loeb was fastest on his fourth run.

Rally Finland starts with a Super Special at 1900 tonight.

Shakedown times

Loeb 2.02,2
Petter 2.02,6
Sordo 2.03,3
Østberg 2.03,4
Mikko 2.03,7
Henning 2.03,7
Wilson 2.03,9
Latvala 2.04,1

The fastest roads and highest jumps

The summer break is over, and we have travelled to Finland and the city of Jyväskylä for the 9th event in the WRC this year – Rally Finland. A Super Special at the Killeri horse track kicks of the rally in the evening on Thursday 30 July and continues with 22 more stages during the weekend. 90 cars are on the entry list. The gravel roads in Finland are the most spectacular in the championship – it is in Finland you can see cars fly 50 mtrs and speed above 200 km/ph. Petter Solberg still has the speed record through the famous “Ouninpojha” stage, set in 2004.

Petters best result in Finland is second place in 2003, he ended sixth in 2008. The list of previous winners is dominated with Finnish names. Marcus Grønholm has seven victories here, and Tommi Mäkinen won before that. The exception is Sebastien Loeb, who took his first victory in Finland in 2008.

- We are working flat out to find a way to make the car faster for Finland, especially working on dampers and the height of the car. We are also working hard to find a solution that will make us able to fight for podiums all the way, unfortunately we didn’t get it before Finland. Being realistic, I think 4/5 is the best result we can expect here, considering how fast some of the stages are. But anyway – Finland is an awesome rally and I can’t wait until it starts, says Petter Solberg.

Itinerary, Rally Finland 2009 local times

Thursday 30 July
1900 SS1 SSS Killeri 1 2,06km

Friday 31 July0738 SS2 Jukojärvi 1 22,29km
0811 SS3 Kruununperä 1 13,51km
0859 SS4 Mökkiperä 1 13,64km
0946 SS5 Palsankylä 1 13,92km
Service Paviljonki 30 min
1302 SS6 Jukojärvi 2 22,29km
1335 SS7 Kruununperä 2 13,52km
1423 SS8 Mökkiperä 2 13,64km
1510 SS9 Palsankylä 2 13,92km
Flexi Service Paviljonki 45 min
2000 SS10 SSS Killeri 2 2,06km

Saturday 1 August
0713 SS11 Leustu 1 21,35km
0802 SS12 Himos 1 20,94km
0925 SS13 Surkee 1 14,95km
Service Paviljonki 30 min
1137 SS14 Leustu 2 21,35km
1226 SS15 Himos 2 20,94km
1349 SS16 Surkee 2 14,95km
Service Paviljonki 30 min
1611 SS17 Urria 12,75km
1719 SS18 Kavala 10,35km
1752 SS19 Väärinmaja 29,29km
Flexi Service Paviljonki 45 min

Sunday 2 August
0817 SS20 Hannula 10,82km
0858 SS21 Myhinpää 1 15,06km
1051 SS22 Myhinpää 2 15,06km
1218 SS23 Ruuhimäki 6,50km
Service Paviljonki 10 min
1400 Podium