13h30 – Neuville finishes 9th but keeps 21 points ahead of the general, the victory for Ott Tänak

Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) punctuated the Rally of Finland, the 8th round of the WRC World Championship, in 9th place. The Belgian remains leader of the world championship but sees his lead on the Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (M-Sport Ford), 5th this weekend, to be reduced to 21 points. Estonian driver Ott Tänak has won the prestigious "Rallye des 1000 lacs" at the wheel of his Toyota with a comfortable lead. Regular and consistent from start to finish, Tänak, 30, adds to a second success in his 2018 season after have won the Rally Argentina. He finished ahead of the 23 stages of the event, the Norwegian Mads Ostberg (Citröen) of 32.7 and the Finnish Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) of 35.5. At the start of the day, local driver Esapekka Lappi (Toyota), winner last year, was forced to retire after some sort of road in the ES20. Neuville punctuated his rally with a 4th place at the Power Stage, which brings him 2 points. At the same time, he takes these two units on Sebastien Ogier, 6th of the last stage. "We tried to push in this last portion, it was a difficult weekend but it's like that," said Saint-Vithois after the finish. Overall, Neuville, vice-world champion, is still leading with 153 points. He is ahead of Ogier (132) and Tänak (107). The Rallye d'Allemagne, the 9th round of the championship, will take place from August 16th to 19th in Moselle. Thierry Neuville won this fully asphalt rally in 2014, Tänak is the title holder. "I look forward to this meeting," said the German-speaking driver. (Belga)

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