Rallying: Burns masterful as Peugeot build lead

Richard Burns headed into last night's final Super Special stage with what already looked like a commanding lead in the Rally of Finland.

The Englishman had pushed his Peugeot 12.3 seconds clear of his Finnish team-mates Harri Rovanpera and Marcus Gronholm but did so with a masterful piece of controlled driving.

Peugeot held the upper hand throughout the day, emphasised by the fact that the Norwegian Petter Solberg, in his Subaru, was the best of the rest, more than a minute behind.

Gronholm's performance was thwarted by running first and having to brush a light coating of loose gravel off the otherwise hard, smooth roads.

Burns said: "This is quite typical. I usually get off to a good start and then the Finns come back at me as the event progresses."

Solberg slipped past Ford's Colin McRae for fourth on the day's penultimate stage and gained ground on third-placed Gronholm.

Burns retained his overnight lead after tackling the first real stages of the event yesterday.

The Briton had set the pace on Thursday's Super Special stage around the Killeri horse racing track and held on to the advantage after the opening three tests of yesterday's mammoth leg.

Burns was quickest on the day's second stage and holds a 1.9 second advantage over Rovanpera, who topped the times on the third stage of the leg. Gronholm, winner of the event for the past two years, completed the Peugeot domination by moving into third after posting the best time on the opening test, Valkola.

The Finn, Jusso Pykalisto, who has signed a three-year deal with the works Peugeot team for next season, lies an impressive fourth in a privately-entered Peugeot.