FULL SEND Rally Moments in Finland!

Oh, he's off! A massive accident for Mikko. The O-o-o-o-o-taker! There's a fine line between bravery and recklessness. Teemos Soninen was flinging his Fiesta into the final corner of stage 5. Where's the road, he said. Oh, it's out that window! Soninen all over the shop. Or was it Harry Houdini? That was a lucky escape. Up front, Juha Kankenen took the fastest time on the opening 8.46km test in the Toyota, but on Special Stage 2 came disaster, as he rolled, landed on his wheels and continued, but later on, just 50 yards further down the road, he went off again, this time in a big way. The car was badly crumpled, externally and internally, with the roll cage bent as well. A lot of time was lost as the car was pushed back onto the road, and Kankenen struggled out of the stage. The spectators continued to cheer him, their hero plunging further and further down the order. Did he touch that? I don't know. I think he's got away with that, Bex, that is absolutely remarkable. Yeah, just very, very high speed corner, there was a bump inside and a little bit, you know, how do I say, kicked out from the bump, then I went outside it, and OK, luckily we didn't hit anything, but yeah, big one, but OK, we are here, so that's fine, this can happen, this rally. Back with Dani Sordo at the start line, and what a season this guy is having so far. He's right on the limit through this series of crests and jumps. Oh, he's off! Straight on into that wall, that was a very heavy impact, but Dani and co-driver Margmati seem OK. That's the Spaniard's first ever crash in a WRC car, and he certainly did it in style. Too much speed carried over the crest. And when you're in the air, there's very little you can do about steering. Look at the state of the car. They've got the goggles on, there's no windscreen. Look at this inside the car. Yada Firm can barely hold on to his pace notebook. He's almost flying away. But what a fight back after a roll in the penultimate stage. They fixed it. They topped up the water from one of the thousands of lakes here, but they've held on. It looks like the podium finish on home soil is secure in a Yaris that looks like it's been in a demolition derby. It's really heavy on the brakes. Yeah, he's done it though. Tony's ten seconds slower. EP, I don't even know where to begin. I don't know what to say. First of all, yeah, sorry for the team wrecking the car, but good to be here. The man to beat this weekend is local star Mikko Hirvonen. He won't have enjoyed that ride. A massive accident for Mikko. Let's take another look from inside the car. You can see the moment Mikko loses it. All he can do then is hang on as the car is flung into the air. And again from the bumper cam, a blisteringly quick section. The car just seems to drift left on the landing. He clips the ditch. From then on, there was only going to be one outcome. Absolutely terrifying moment for Mikko. And co-driver Jarno Lehtonen. Chris Meek was the man with a plan. He'd been up an extra hour to watch an onboard video of how to conquer the Big O. This way, he wouldn't be driving according to the famous landmarks. Instead, he committed himself to his notes. Back in sixth gear. Again wanting seventh gear. Over 100 miles an hour. Almost touching 170 kilometers an hour. It was a career-defining drive. It was a fantastic time. 13.13 seconds quicker than Jari Matilapala threw Owen for you. It was good. Everything just clicked. I got my lines right. I got up early. Paul and me done good work on the video this morning. What can I say? The Citroen's working incredibly well. The moment of the day, though, again fell to Novikov. Returning under the Super Rally rules, he almost took off over one jump, coming inches from flipping the car, and was out of the running again a few corners later. No such problems for Mikko Hiivinen, though. He's still giving his all in one of the most spectacular stages on the planet. A lucky escape there for Mikko. He really is right on the ragged edge. This is a brave performance from the Finn, but there's a fine line between bravery and recklessness. Mikko, a big moment, we hear. No, there were many big moments. I was pushing a little bit too hard, and it wasn't the perfect stage, but quite scary. Bloody hell. McRae's future is being very carefully put together, and he may yet beat the driver to bring the team their first international win, though perhaps not here. He rolled severely on SS7 the day's second, losing his pace notes and a minute in the process, but continued in the wreckage. Colin McRae, deafened by the wind howling through the taped-up windows, misheard the pace notes and took a fourth-gear crest flat in sixth with entirely predictable results. It looks more like a convertible than a saloon car, said McRae, and he should know because he converted it. McRae had already entered into Finnish legend and was by now the major spectator attraction of the rally, gathering admirers and applause everywhere he went. They said that he'd got sissu and then refused to explain what it meant, but I'm sure you can make your own mind up.