URMO AAVA / KULDAR SIKK
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MARIS NEIKSANS / MARIS JEKABSONS
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Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 driver Urmo Aava (Estonia) was on stunning form to collect his first World Rally Championship points on the Neste Oils Rally Finland, which finished in Jyvaskyla this afternoon.
Aava was one of a quartet of Lancer WRC05s which made the start of the fastest rally in the WRC and the Estonian quickly established himself among the leading runners on the rally. Only a heavy landing on the ultra-famous Ouninpohja test slowed Aava briefly, when he damaged the steering on his Mitsubishi. With that problem solved, he and co-driver Kuldar Sikk (Estonia), raced through the remaining stages to thrill the thousands of Estonians who had made the trip across the Baltic Sea to cheer their hero to seventh position.
Once again, Rally Finland was one of the best-supported rounds of the series, with hundreds of thousands of people cheering on the world’s fastest rally drivers. After heavy rain during the recce, the sun came out on the first morning of competition and shone throughout the rally. With the weather playing its part, the drivers didn’t disappoint either, flying their cars through the air at fantastic speeds to demonstrate the astonishing ability of the crew and this cutting-edge machinery.
Mitsubishi driver Kristian Sohlberg (Finland) crashed out near the end of the second stage. Fellow Finn Juho Hanninen picked up the pace, however, and kept Mitsubishi right at the sharp end of the battle. His fourth fastest time on the Lautapera test on Saturday highlighted the pace of the Lancer WRC 05. Hanninen was consistently in the top 10 positions, before dropping out of contention later on leg two.
By then, however, Aava was firmly established at the front of the field. As preparation for Finland’s round of the WRC, the 28-year-old won the Otepaa Ralli, the latest round of his domestic series in Estonia. "That win was the perfect preparation for this," he said. "The car has been very good for us on this rally, we’ve had no problems. The only small thing we have problem with here has been the pace notes. In some stages, they have been very good, but in some stages we have really struggled with them. I am very happy with the result, though."
Kaj Kuistila and Kari Jokinen (both Finland) guided their Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 05 to 14th overall after a trouble-free run through the event.
In the race for victory in Group N, the crew Maris Neiksans and Maris Jekabsons (Latvia) collected a podium place in their Lancer Evolution IX. Neiksans was competing on the event for the second time and was delighted to make it to the end after retiring on his 2004 outing. Priit Saluri (Estonia) was also in the top six Group N finishers in his Lancer.
At the front of the field, Marcus Gronholm (Finland) became the first driver in the history of the championship to win the same event seven times. Gronholm beat his Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) with Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb (France) collecting third spot.
The next round of the World Rally Championship is Rally Deutschland, August 16-19.
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1
M |
Marcus Gronholm
Timo Rautiainen |
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 |
A
1 |
2:57:26.1 |
**:**.* |
2
M |
Mikko Hirvonen
Jarmo Lehtinen |
Ford Focus RS WRC 07 |
A
2 |
2:57:50.3 |
+24.2 |
3
M |
Sébastien Loeb
Daniel Elena |
Citroen C4 WRC |
A
3 |
2:58:36.0 |
+1:09.9 |
4
M |
Chris Atkinson
Stephane Prevot |
Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 |
A
4 |
3:00:28.9 |
+3:02.8 |
5
MT |
Henning Solberg
Cato Menkerud |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
5 |
3:01:55.5 |
+4:29.4 |
| 6
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Xavier Pons
Xavier Amigo |
Subaru Impreza WRC 2006 |
A
6 |
3:04:26.6 |
+7:00.5 |
| 7
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Urmo Aava
Kuldar Sikk |
Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 |
A
7 |
3:05:05.7 |
+7:39.6 |
| 8
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Mads Ostberg
Ole Kristian Unnerud |
Subaru Impreza WRC S10 |
A
8 |
3:06:58.0 |
+9:31.9 |
| 9
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Guy Wilks
Phil Pugh |
Ford Focus RS WRC 05 |
A
9 |
3:07:05.5 |
+9:39.4 |
| 10
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Matthew Wilson
Michael Orr |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
10 |
3:08:39.5 |
+11:13.4 |
11
MT |
Luis Perez Companc
Jose Maria Volta |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
11 |
3:09:26.4 |
+12:00.3 |
| 12
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Andreas Mikkelsen
Ola Floene |
Ford Focus RS WRC 05 |
A
12 |
3:13:28.8 |
+16:02.7 |
| 13
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Kaj Kuistila
Kari Jokinen |
Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 |
A
13 |
3:13:56.3 |
+16:30.2 |
14
MT |
Federico Villagra
Jorge Perez Companc |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
14 |
3:15:33.3 |
+18:07.2 |
| 15
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Patrik Flodin
Maria Andersson |
Subaru Impreza |
N
1 |
3:18:01.8 |
+20:35.7 |
| 16
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Khalid Al Qassimi
Nicky Beech |
Ford Focus RS WRC 06 |
A
15 |
3:19:23.9 |
+21:57.8 |
| 17
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Teemu Arminen
Seppo Varmavuo |
Subaru Impreza WRX Sti |
N
2 |
3:21:37.2 |
+24:11.1 |
18
J |
Patrik Sandell
Emil Axelsson |
Renault Clio 2.0 16V |
A
16 |
3:25:14.5 |
+27:48.4 |
19
J |
Kalle Pinomaki
Tuomo Nikkola |
Renault Clio 2.0 16V |
A
17 |
3:26:33.6 |
+29:07.5 |
| 20
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Maris Neiksans
Maris Jekabsons |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
3 |
3:27:11.8 |
+29:45.7 |
| ../ |
| 24
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Alessandro Brushetta
Edoardo Civiero |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
5 |
3:30:59.1 |
+33:33.0 |
| 26
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Priit Saluri
Indrek Lepp |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
6 |
3:33:11.6 |
+35:45.5 |
| 31
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Jasper Van Den Heuvel
Martine Kolman |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
9 |
3:34:49.1 |
+37:23.0 |
| 32
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Michele Tagliani
Benedetta Pericotti |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
10 |
3:36:46.2 |
+39:20.1 |
| 35
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Andrzej Mancin
Ciupka Ryszard |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
11 |
3:38:27.8 |
+41:01.7 |
| 39
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Pekka Savela
Pasi Lahtinen |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
A
26 |
3:43:12.7 |
+45:46.6 |
| 48
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Fabrizio de Sanctis
Luri Rosignoli |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI |
A
33 |
3:52:53.1 |
+55:27.0 |
| 49
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Pekka Vihma
Kim Niemela |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
16 |
3:52:54.4 |
+55:28.3 |
| 53
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Reijo Muhonen
Jorma Kopsa |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII |
N
20 |
3:58:26.7 |
+1:01:00.6 |
| 58
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Jouni Arolainen
Johanna Koskinen |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
23 |
4:03:18.1 |
+1:05:52.0 |
| 60
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Juha Keurulainen
Soini Liimatainen |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII |
N
25 |
4:06:29.8 |
+1:09:03.7 |
| 63
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Ari Laivola
Antti Virjula |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX |
N
28 |
4:09:17.5 |
+1:11:51.4 |
| 67
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Jarmo Komsi
Matti Kangas |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI |
A
38 |
4:31:11.6 |
+1:33:45.5 |
| 70
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Tony Ahti
Mika Joensuu |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
A
40 |
4:41:03.6 |
+1:43:37.5 |
