Tidemand third after day one of Rally Finland

After finding a good pace on the first day of Rally Finland, Pontus Tidemand is in third place in the Junior WRC category. He is happy with the start and says that he has more to give during the two upcoming days.

Six stages were on the schedule when Rally Finland got underway on Thursday. Most stages were shorter than 10 km, but that didn’t make the day any less challenging. Sun turned into rain and many crews had problems with the slippery surface towards the evening. Pontus and co-driver Ola Fløene managed to keep an even pace and are happy with the first day of the rally.

“We’ve had a good start today”, says Pontus. “We found a good pace and kept it without pushing or taking unnecessary risks.”

With just five seconds to the top, the plan is now to look to the valuable points and try to catch up on leading Sander Pärn – without risking too much.

“This is an important rally, maybe the most important rally of the year for me, and a lot of points are at stake so you have to try to take time where the others don’t. We have to keep an eye at the leader board and decide when it’s time to start pushing, but we don’t want to take too big risks”, finishes Pontus.

Tomorrow is the longest day of the rally with it’s nine special stages. The first one starts at 9:48 local time (CET +1).

Results JWRC after day 1

1. S. Pärn
2. A. Amberg +1.7
3. P. Tidemand +5.0
4. Y. Lemes +30.0
5. J. Suarez +33.6
6. N. Nieminen +39.9
7. M. Aasen +1:00.7
8. M. Koci +1:36.0
9. M. Burri +1:54.4

Photo: McKlein