Ireland's Craig Breen has grabbed the lead at the Secto Automotive Rally Finland from team-mate Ott Tanak at the end of day one.
In his Hyundai i20, Breen overturned a 1.5sec deficit to lead Tänak by 2.8sec after the night finish. Just 7.9sec blanketed the top five after a frantic Friday with Elfyn Evans, Esapekka Lappi, and Kalle Rovanperä hot on their heels.
“It's been an amazing day and I really enjoyed every second,” said Breen. “I always wondered how it would feel in the dark and it definitely lived up to expectations. I think everyone is going to try and find a little extra something tomorrow. We’ll try, we’ll not let it slip by that easily.”
Tanak, who is bidding for his third straight Rally Finland victory, was surprised to be in the fight for victory against a Toyota Gazoo Racing squad, which is based near Jyväskylä and is unbeaten on the rally since 2017.
“We never expected to be in a battle with Toyota,” he admitted. “I had quite a bad pre-event test so we made quite a lot of changes and it seems to be working in parts. But today was just an introduction because tomorrow is a big day.”
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