Jyväskylä (Finland) (AFP)
The Toyota team scored its territory at the start of the Rally Finland on Friday, placing all three cars in the top three places after the first six stages of the 9th World Championship WRC.
Estonian coach Ött Tänak, current leader in the world championship standings, was in the lead with a 5-second advantage over his Finnish team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke.
Japanese cars were followed by Finland's Esapekka Lappi's Citroën at 7 seconds and 9 seconds away from Hyundai's Irishman Craig Breen, who made an "outing" for the South Korean team on the occasion of the race. test.
Frenchman Sebastien Ogier, currently 2nd in the world championship, was 6th before mid-day assistance, already relegated more than twelve seconds from Tänak. "It's incredible what he does, I can not match," admitted the six-time French World Champion against his Estonian rival, who already won in Finland last year.
The disappointment came from the Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) who was only in 8th position at almost 24 seconds from Tänak. "To be honest, I tried to attack very hard, if I do more, I'm out so I have to keep up the pace," he said after the fourth special. "We are always working on the development and I have some ideas for the afternoon," added the Hyundai driver, currently 3rd in the championship.
© 2019 AFP