Jari-Matti Latvala has moved into second position on Neste Oil Rally Finland after going faster than Sebastien Ogier through stage 18, Surkee 2.
The Ford Fiesta RS WRC driver is now 13.0s behind leader Sebastien Loeb with four stages remaining.
“This is first time in the rally that I really enjoy driving,” said stage winner Latvala. “I will keep going on like this.”
With no spare tyre available following his puncture on stage 17, Ogier said it was proving difficult to push.
“It’s not good now,” said Citroen star Ogier. “As I have no spare I had to drive more carefully to save the tyres.”
Latvala’s factory Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen has also made progress, moving ahead of Mads Ostberg into fifth position. The Finn is now 7.5s behind fourth-placed Petter Solberg.
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | 2h21m21.9s |
| 02 | J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +13.0s |
| 03 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +17.2s |
| 04 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +1m15.7s |
| 05 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m23.2s |
| 06 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +1m26.0s |
| 07 | D. SORDO / C. DEL BARRIO | MINI WRC | +3m03.5s |
| 08 | H. SOLBERG / I. MINOR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +3m19.7s |
| 09 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +3m41.1s |
| 10 | K. RAIKKONEN / K. LINDSTRÖM | Citroën DS3 WRC | +3m41.8s |
| 11 | J. HANNINEN / M. MARKKULA | Skoda Fabia S2000 | +4m32.2s |
| 12 | M. PROKOP / J. TOMÁNEK | FORD Fiesta S2000 | +6m47.6s |
| 13 | D. KUIPERS / F. MICLOTTE | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +6m53.7s |
| 14 | O. TÄNAK / K. SIKK | FORD Fiesta S2000 | +8m04.9s |
| 15 | K. MEEKE / P. NAGLE | MINI WRC | +8m12.7s |