The summer heat offers its own challenges for the drivers who are preparing for Neste Oil Rally. If the roads remain dry until Friday, slippery conditions may cause surprises for the drivers leaving first for the route.- It has been such a dry summer that it's fun to see how it affects the surface of the roads and how much grip you can find on Friday. It can be slippery for the first car, Mikko Hirvonen's co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen estimates.
On Friday the opener's position is reserved for Sebastien Loeb who is leading the championship series. However, Lehtinen doesn't believe he and Hirvonen will benefit from the situation that much.
- We are the third car on the road, so it's hardly a big difference to the top. Only after the fourth, fifth and sixth car the road starts to be at its best, Lehtinen evaluates.
Petter Solberg (5th), Dani Sordo (6th) and Kimi Räikkönen (10th) might be among those benefiting from the starting position.
- The difference between the first and the sixth or seventh car can be of some kind. The ones coming from behind might have a little bit more grip, Lehtinen says.
However, the drivers are unlikely to slow down on Friday's last special stage to get better starting positions for Saturday.
- This is such a tough rally that you can not afford to start maneuvering. You just have to deal with it if you have to start the route first, Lehtinen stated.
Source: MTV3 - Lauri Ouvinen
Courtesy: Leijona
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