Juuso Pykälistö, the man of the day
The first day of the rally started in a fine weather, only -13
degrees celsius, and temperature was rising.
Pykälistö started a bit carefully, his time on the first short
stage was the third. Winner of the winner of the stage was Jussi
Välimäki with his Hyundai WRC, and Janne Tuohino in Ford Focus WRC
was third.
Pykälistö took the lead on the third stage. Välimäki was hangin on
the second, but Janne Tuohino was already close. On the fourth
stage Tuohino took over and Välimäki had to satisfy for the third.
The fifth stage of the day, Siikakämä was the toughest. Pykälistö
was again fastest and he beat Tuohino with nearly 12 seconds.
Välimäki had troubles: - We broke the gear box halfway on the
stage, but fortunately the team got it together, said the co-driver
Tero Gardemeister.
One of the positive surprices was Kristian Sohlberg, who drove his
Mitsubishi WRC2 car in the rally for the first time. - I'm a bit
surpriced my self too, he said. -I've tested only about 100 km with
WRC-car, and I have to admit that I still make mistakes, like
breaking too early.
The other Mitsubishi driver in this competition was former
F1-driver Mika Häkkinen. This was his first rally and he had'nt set
any high hopes. We could say, that the biggest challenge for him
was propably getting through the tough stages. He finished the day
on 17th position in class A, over 2-litres.
Group N leader: Hannu Hotanen
Jukka Ketomäki took the lead of Gr N, over 2-litre class. Best on
the second stage was Jukka Aho, but only temporarily as Hotanen
took the position on the third stage. This class will sleep over
night in the following order: 1. Hotanen, 2. Ketomäki, 3. Salo.
Gr A, up to 2-litres Janne Vähämiko lead on the first stage, but
after that Tomi Tukiainen took the place and kept it until the
overnight halt. Juha Häkkinen will sleep over night on third
position.
Marko Mänty was the leader of Gr N, up to 2-litres, Pekka Turunen
second and Timo Mäenpää third. Mäenpää was the first competitor to
suffer from the storming snow on the fifth stage.
For more information, please contact:
AKK Sports Ltd
Terhi Heloaho
GSM +358 40 586 8852
