World champion Sebastien Ogier topped the time charts on Thursday's opening stage of the Rally of Finland but less than one second covers the top three drivers.

The Frenchman led on the streets of Jyvaskyla, which had been made treacherous by heavy rain in the run-up to the start, by just 0.6sec in his Volkswagen Polo.

Kris Meeke was second in a Citroen DS 3 with Andreas Mikkelsen completing the top three, 0.8sec off the lead in another Polo.

“It’s never easy in the street stages, so easy to make a small mistake,” Ogier told www.wrc.com.

“It was better to start at the back because the roads were drying minute by minute for each car.

“Tomorrow will be a long day with two passes through the mythical Ouninpohja stage and no service, but the conditions are beautiful and the stages fantastic. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Source: AFP