It was Somnac at Rally Finland when Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier & stand‑in co‑driver Julien Ingrassia surged ahead with a 16.3‑second lead after a rain‑slicked afternoon that reassigned the top spots.
Morning dominance, afternoon chaos
In the dry starts, Ogier and Ingrassia captured three of the four “early stage” gravel loops, pivoting a 5.3‑second advantage over Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux.
Stage six (Laukaa 2) saw a tumbling of the weather: Ogier climbed one‑tenth of a second, while Toyota teammate Sami Pajari edged Fourmaux 0.3 s back into second.
But the shower intensified before the next loop, and the heavy rain hit Fourmaux hard – he lost 1 m 29.8 s and slipped off the podium.
Ogier remained only 4.4 s slower than stage winner Elfyn Evans and his gap to Pajari narrowed to 3.3 s; the stage win lifted Evans from fifth to third in overall standing.
In stage eight, the downpour widened Ogier’s margin to 26.1 s as Pajari struggled and bunched Evans into second.
Rising leaders and shaking positions
Evans, who had begun the day third in the classification, closed enough ground to stay within striking distance, though the rain turned the afternoon into a ruthless “lottery.”
Teammate Sami Pajari salvaged third overall (+26.7 s) but admitted a technical failure – the blower was dead, making the windscreen mist-covered and hindering visibility.
Oliver Solberg trailed behind until the frost‑bitten stages; his stage‑six second‑fastest time pulled the gap to 9.6 s, but the brutal wetness of stage seven nearly erased 1 m of his progress.
In the final bit of the day Solberg’s stage‑eight performance hung the slant on a 41.3‑second deficit, but the Norwegian‑Swedish lap time remained competitive for the podium.
M‑Sport‑Ford driver Martins Sesks moved five places from seventh and posted 19.1 s more than Fourmaux, who re‑examined a “boat‑like” ride after his car’s rear‑right clipped an object in stage three and spurred a ditch.
Retirements and wrecks
Jon Armstrong of M‑Sport was forced out after a blow‑by that forced his Puma to belly‑flop into a ditch. He will re‑join on Saturday.
Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi, however, lost the rear of his i20 N Rally1 in stage four, spinning his car into a roll. Damage to the roll cage was too extensive for a repair.
Looking ahead
The grappling weather at Rally Finland leaves the field positioned for a sharp contest into tomorrow, with Ogier’s 16.3‑second cushion still sustaining his title‑defending campaign while rivals reel from the rain‑driven stumbles.
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