Elfyn extends lead after thrilling Rally Finland podium

Dramatic weekend sees Welshman roll Toyota but still finish in third                            

Elfyn has extended his world rally championship lead to 30 points thanks to another podium finish on Rally Finland, which delivered a weekend full of drama and high-speed action.

Despite rolling three times just metres from the finish of stage 14 on Saturday, Elfyn returned in his repaired GR Yaris to take the fastest time on the Power Stage on his way to securing third place overall.

The high-speed stages of Rally Finland were always going to pose one of the greatest challenges of the season. When the event kicked into gear on Friday, Elfyn’s road-opening position meant he wasn’t able to challenge for the lead on the morning stages. But rain showers in the afternoon saw him both benefit and lose out as torrential and localised rain moved across the stages, and he eventually completed the day in second place, 26 seconds adrift of leader Sebastien Ogier.

With improved road position on Saturday, the race was on to take the challenge to Ogier. Elfyn had reduced the gap to 11 seconds but, just a few corners from the end of stage 14, he ran slightly wide on the outside of a corner and his car rolled three times. Spectators helped push him back on the road and the time loss saw him drop to fifth.

The Toyota mechanics miraculously repaired the damaged car in just 30 minutes and he got back out again to set a number of strong times to climb back to third.

He maintained P3 over the final two stages on Sunday, finishing second in the Super Sunday classification and winning the Power Stage to secure additional, valuable championship points.

The series continues with a South American double-header beginning with Rally Paraguay on 27-30 August.