At the end of the second day of competition in the 2002 Rally Finland, the Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of Jani Paasonen and Arto Kapanen hold ninth position in the Lancer Evolution WRC2. Team-mates Alister McRae and David Senior held 14th until they were forced to stop and extinguish a fire in the final stage of the day, dropping them to 29th overall.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC2 Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart J. Paasonen / A. Kapanen

The second leg started early this morning, 50 of the original 77 crews leaving the Jyvaskylan base at 06:00 hrs for six special stages and 176.65 competitive kilometres. The route, which is the longest of the three, took the contenders to the southwest of the University City for some of the classic and most famous stages in the event, including the longest of the rally. Bright sunshine and hot weather brought the fans out in their thousands, reports suggesting that one-tenth of the Finnish population were flocking into the forests to watch the country’s flagship sporting event. None will have been disappointed by the action on the fast and flowing stages, the stomach-churning jumps providing spectacular entertainment and awe-inspiring bravery.

Jani Paasonen and Arto Kapanen continue to lead Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart’s assault on the rally, the Finns moving into 12th position after the opening stage and then into 11th following the demise of some of the leading contenders. Running third on the road, Paasonen has however been disadvantaged by his position, especially on the wider roads where the first couple of cars clean very little loose gravel from the surface, but the Finn ultimately managed to overhaul Freddy Loix in stage 15 and fellow countryman Janne Tuohino in the final stage of the leg.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC2 Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart J. Paasonen / A. Kapanen

"The middle group of stages were better for us because the roads were narrower and they clean better", said Jani. "Overall I’m pleased with our times, the feeling has been good, although we’ve had a few moments today from pushing so hard. The second run through the Ouninpohja stage was much better because the stage was cleaner, but it’s still a difficult one. Our aim before the last two stages was to get past Freddy Loix, which we did, and to start closing the gap on Janne Tuohino. We did that as well, and passed him, so I’m happy but I’m not so sure we will be able to climb much higher without problems for other people tomorrow. We have to push hard because Freddy and Janne are still close, but we have a good road position".

Team-mates Alister McRae and David Senior moved up the leaderboard to 14th position, battling hard with Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb. The British pair had enjoyed a trouble-free run in the Lancer Evolution WRC2, enjoying the technically challenging roads, until they were forced to stop and put out a fire in the final stage. "One of the rear dampers broke after hitting a rock and fluid leaked onto the brakes or exhaust, which caused a fire", said Alister. "We stopped and put it out, but by the time we’d done this and changed the wheel, we’d lost a lot of time. Before this, we’d been having a good day. The stages are great fun, I really enjoy them. It seems though that between eighth and 13th has been the best position on the road and we lost out a bit earlier when the roads were rougher and cut up".

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC2 Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart A. McRae / D. Senior