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Finland countdown: 2016 rewind

We start our build up to Neste Rally Finland [27 - 30 july] with a look back to last year, when northern irishman Kris Meeke set out to beat the finns at their own game.

Friday 29 July

Ott Tänak and Andreas Mikkelsen tied the lead after Thursday night's stage in Jyväskylä, but when the action switched to forest roads on Friday, Meeke [above] was the man to beat.

On a rally where Nordic drivers normally dominate, Meeke won four stages to lead by 18.1sec in Citroën's DS 3 from local hero Jari-Matti Latvala, who was chasing his third consecutive victory on home ground.

Meeke, returning to action for the first time since winning in Portugal in May, took advantage of drying conditions which hindered early starters and took the lead on the opening stage.

Latvala would have been closer but for a mistake when he ran wide and hit a bank. The impact punctured his Polo R's rear left tyre and he lost 15sec. Tänak's early challenge ended when his steering broke after a heavy landing and he plunged to 10th.

Championship leader Sébastien Ogier was third until he slid his VW into a ditch three stages from the end and dropped 16 minutes. Thierry Neuville, Andreas Mikkelsen and Craig Breen traded places all day in what turned out to be a fight for third after Ogier's error.

Mikkelsen held the initiative until a visit to a ditch in the penultimate stage allowed Neuville ahead by 1.1sec. Breen ended the day fifth ahead of Hayden Paddon and Mads Østberg.

Saturday 30 July

Meeke more than doubled his lead over Latvala to 41.0sec, winning four of the day's eight stages.

He stamped his authority with a stunning first pass through the 33km Ouninpohja, [see video below] beating Latvala by more than 13sec, leaving the home driver deflated. To prove his performance was no fluke, Meeke won the repeat pass as he further increased his lead.

Latvala had a troublefree day to head Breen by 64.4sec, the Irishman climbing from fifth in a DS 3 and on the verge of a maiden WRC podium.

Five drivers were involved in the battle for fourth. Tänak recovered from Friday's time loss to rocket from eighth to fourth, only for a puncture to put him back where he started. However, a determined afternoon enabled the Estonian to regain fourth in his Ford, 4.4sec ahead of Neuville with Paddon a further 2.7sec back.

Mikkelsen slid from third to eighth as he struggled for traction on the loose gravel from first in the running order.

Sunday 31 July

Meeke held his nerve and won the rally by 29.1sec from Latvala. It was a record-breaking drive that set a new mark for the fastest WRC round in history. Meeke's 126.60kph average smashed Latvala's performance on the same rally 12 months ago by 1.2kph.

Thirty-seven-year-old Meeke became the first British driver to win the Finnish classic and only the sixth non-Nordic victor in its 65-year history.

To seal a remarkable day for the Abu Dhabi Total team, which was tackling a part-time WRC programme in 2016, Breen scored a maiden podium in third.

Neuville held off Hyundai team-mate Paddon to take fourth by 2.3sec, while Østberg completed the top six. Tänak's hopes of grabbing third from Breen ended when he crashed into a ditch.

Zdroj: wrc.com