"It’s been a fast day, but not really as good as we wanted it to be", said Tommi. "Straight away we made the wrong tyre choice which was absolutely too soft and unbelievably we made the same mistake as we did yesterday. The speed Marcus is setting is very great, but I have to try hard tomorrow and we are certainly looking to improve".

Mitsubishi Carisma GT team-mates Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets joined the growing list of retirements on the opening stage when their Carisma GT sustained accident damage. "About two or three kilometres into the stage we went off the road. It wasn’t a very bad impact but it damaged the intercooler and radiator", said Freddy. "We decided to continue but about another 10 or 15 kilometres later we had a warning that the engine was overheating so we stopped. That was the end of our rally. The car has been much better than in New Zealand and handling well, but I missed some speed yesterday after I damaged the car, which was my mistake. We have to look ahead to Cyprus now and I think it will be quite good to go there, it’s a new rally for everybody and we’ll be doing our best".

Andrew Cowan, team director of Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart added: "After Freddy’s retirement we are not in such a good position as I’d hoped. We need to push to claim at least one place; Colin (McRae) is only 12 seconds ahead and if we get a good run Tommi may even catch him".

In the Group N category, rising star Jani Paasonen has proved that his class success on the Swedish Rally was no fluke by maintaining his class lead in his ultra-reliable Carisma GT.

"The car is very good and we are in a nice position, but still I have to attack because Pykalisto is pushing hard and there are many kilometres left. It is always a fight on this rally and we’ve taken a few risks which led to some big jumps, but we have to be really satisfied with the way today has gone," Paasonen stated.

Mitsubishi Carisma GT Gr.N J. Paasonen / J. Honkanen

Pykalisto is making up ground fast after leaving the road briefly during the first leg, recording superb times in his Carisma GT on the rally that matters the most to any Finn.

"Today has been really good and things are looking much better after yesterday’s problems. I think it will be difficult to win, although still we must keep trying, but I think that unless something dramatic happens, second is the best we can do," Pykalisto said.

Italy’s Gianluigi Galli has played a starring role in his Carisma GT, holding a place in the top three on an event that rarely favours non-Nordic drivers. "I am very happy with this rally so far. We have been off the road once, but we cannot expect to beat the Finns - third place would be fantastic. Now I know why Finnish drivers are so fast on gravel," Galli commented.

Group N World Championship leader Manfred Stohl is content with fourth place, as scoring more points is his priority.

Tomorrow’s final leg includes five more stages and 116 competitive kilometres. With four of them a repetition of those run today, the roads are likely to be considerably rougher and more rutted. Anything can happen and the 50th Jubilee Rally Finland trophy is unlikely to be in safe hands until the victors cross the finish ramp back in Jyvaskyla at 16:11 hrs (GMT+3).