After the asphalt assault on Bulgaria, the eighth round of the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä, Finland, is going to be a more gravelly affair.
High-speed runs along tree-lined tracks are the trademark of Rally Finland, a race which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2010.
Here are the drivers hoping to Finnish what they started quicker than the others:
Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) – Citroen, 10th in Drivers' Championship (15pts)
An extra special rally for Kimi who will be racing on home soil for the first time in premier competition. "It is nice to get to drive at the top in my home country – that’s an opportunity that I never had in Formula One.” Read more about what the Finn had to say ahead of the race. Räikkönen is racing in only his seventh WRC competition so any improvement on the fifth place he achieved in Turkey in April will feel like a victory.
Sébastien Loeb (FRA) – Citroen, 1st in Divers' Championship (151pts)
It would be an almighty shock if Sébastien Loeb did not successfully defend his 2009 World Rally Championship win and claim his seventh title in succession. The Frenchman did what he does best in Bulgaria by winning yet again, this time by a margin of 29.5 seconds.
Sébastien Ogier (FRA) – Citroen, 2nd in Drivers' Championship (100pts)
Team-mate, and fellow countryman, Ogier is the most man most likely to profit from any mistakes made by Loeb, but the 26-year-old is still learning from his own. The Frenchman did well to recover from a series of setbacks to finish fourth in Bulgaria. One to Watch – both now and in the future.
Dani Sordo (SPA) – Citroen, 6th in Drivers' Championship (67pts)
Sordo has been overtaken by Junior Team driver Ogier as Citroen's 'second in command' but the Spaniard remains a very talented driver in his own right – as his second place last time out proves.
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) – Ford, 3rd in Drivers' Championship (86pts)
Hirvonen is another Finn competing in his home race, alongside the likes of Räikkönen and Ford team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala. The only driver in the top three who doesn't race a Citroen C4, Hirvonen is the man most likely to savour a home victory.
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