The Suzukis have got off to a flying start on Rally Finland! Young Swede P-G Andersson leads the event by 10.3 seconds from his team mate Kosti Katajamaki. Mirco Baldacci ends the leg in fourth, while Urmo Aava finishes sixth.
The Rally Finland is the fourth round of the Junior World Rally Championship, based in the university town of Jyvaskyla. The fast gravel roads are characterised by blind crests that require unbelievable levels of bravery and commitment. Pace notes have to be entirely accurate as even the smallest miscalculation can result in a substantial accident. The stages run through flowing forest roads, and are renowned as the fastest of the entire World Championship.

Today's action consisted of 10 challenging stages, ending with a run through the famous Killeri superspecial. The total competitive distance was 119km.

Our teams in action

Suzuki Ignis number 31 - Mirco Baldacci (RSM)/Giovanni Bernacchini (I)
Fourth after leg one 1
fastest stage time

Mirco came to Finland buoyed with confidence, having convincingly led the last two JWRC rounds in Greece and Turkey. He got through the opening loop of stages with no problems at all, to lie second overall at first service. On SS5 he lost around 30 seconds with a bizarre problem at the stage start. The start line was just on a hole, and Mirco's front-wheel drive Ignis struggled to get off the line. He lost a little bit of time in the last loop of stages by catching up a slower car in front.

He said: "I knew after our test that we would be quick in Finland and from the start the car felt very good. My plan today was to drive at a sensible pace and aim for a podium, but we were really unlucky to have such a strange problem at the start of SS5. We are still in contention, so we will be pushing hard tomorrow."

Suzuki Ignis number 33 - Guy Wilks (GB)/Phil Pugh (GB)
Retired SS7
1 fastest stage time

Acropolis winner Guy came into the rally lying second overall in the Junior World Rally Championship standings. The Englishman always enjoys Finland, having made his name there last year by finishing third in an old car outclassed by more modern opposition. This time, the rally got off to an uncertain after he had a bad feeling with the brakes. That provoked a half-spin on SS2. However, a worse fate awaited him on SS7 when he was forced into retirement.

He said: "Finland is a real driver's event, which is why I am so bitterly disappointed to retire. We had a few little problems over the opening loop of stages, but I thought we could come back from them in order to do well here. We were settling into quite a comfortable pace when suddenly the back of the car broke loose, exactly like a puncture. I don't think it was a puncture, but we'll have to wait to find out exactly what caused it."

Suzuki Ignis number 35 - Kosti Katajamaki (FIN)/Timo Alanne (FIN)
2nd after leg one 2
fastest stage times

Kosti approached his home event with confidence, having constantly battled for the lead on the last JWRC round in Turkey. He got off to a start which he felt was maybe a bit too cautious, but soon got into the groove. He had no problems during the rest of the day, and came back to service with a large smile on his face and plans to challenge for the lead tomorrow.

He said: "It's always fun to drive on your home event, especially in a good car. It is important for me to do well here, and we've got off to a good start. Of course there is still a long way to go and plenty of good drivers to beat, but we've stayed out of trouble today so we have every possibility of doing well."

Suzuki Ignis number 45 - Per-Gunnar Andersson (S)/Jonas Andersson (S)
1st after leg one!
4 fastest stage times

Finland has always favoured Scandinavian drivers, and P-G hopes that this will be the case once more! The young Swede won on the last JWRC round in Turkey, and emerged from Suzuki's pre-Finland testing feeling confident. He built up his speed gradually over the three stages in the morning, but decided to take it carefully over the long SS4, Lankamaa, because of the high risk of punctures. He had no other problems for the rest of the day.

He said: "In Turkey I just tried not to take any risks and increase my speed until I was in a position to win. I'm trying to take a similar approach here in Finland. Today has gone very well indeed and we've had nothing to worry about. Now we have to keep concentrated: I am expecting a big fight tomorrow!"

Monster Sport Europe team manager Risto Laine, himself from Finland, commented: "Finland is almost certainly the biggest challenge of the year for any driver, and it certainly sorts out the men from the boys! That's been the case again, and we look forward to another competitive day tomorrow. It's a pity Guy had to retire, but we have to be pleased with a one-two at the end of the first day! "

Suzuki Ignis number 32 - Urmo Aava (EE)/Kuldar Sikk (EE)
Sixth after leg one

Urmo is the only Suzuki driver with some previous experience of the Rally Finland in an Ignis, and it's also the closest the Estonian gets to a home rally. Driving a 2003-specification car, Urmo felt he was not at his best over the morning's opening loop of stages. However, he dropped quite a lot of time with a puncture on SS4 and dropped more time with gearbox problems on SS7.

He said: "I love the challenge of driving on these roads, but we've been a bit unlucky so far today. Finland is the sort of rally that can always bite, but at least we are still here with our car intact - which is more than you can say for many other drivers."

Suzuki Ignis number 43 - Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN)/Mika Anttilla (FIN)
Retired SS3

Jari-Matti Latvala, making his debut with Suzuki, was unfortunately forced to retire after rolling his car at the end of today's second stage. Before then, he had enjoyed his first experience of the Ignis and was pushing hard.

He said: "It is a real pity we crashed. I would have liked to have found out more about the car, as it was feeling very good."

Tomorrow the drivers will tackle eight more stages including the legendary Ouninpohja, where cars jump several metres into the air, and Moksi-Leutsu - the longest stage of the rally at 40.96 kilometres. The leg comprises a total of 167.8 competitive kilometres, making it the longest day of the rally.

Today in JWRC

Opel driver Kris Meeke set the early pace before being sidelined by a puncture on SS4 that dropped him down the order. From then on, Suzuki's P-G Andersson took control, followed by his team mates to make it a Suzuki one-two-three. Suzuki driver Guy Wilks unfortunately retired from third, but it remains a tight battle at the front...