Last used in the 1980s, Friday’s opener offered a mix of fast and technical sections. It started on a wide road in a protected historical area and the first 9.6km were typical fast Finnish roller-coaster roads before it became narrower towards the finish.
Just 1.6km was all Robert Kubica managed before the Pole’s day came to a premature end. His Ford Fiesta RS went off the road and couldn’t continue.
Leader Jari-Matti Latvala emerged unscathed from a big scare when he flirted with disaster in a roadside ditch.
“I had a moment on a left-hander. I was quite a long time in a ditch to be honest. It was the first stage we recced and I had a pace note which didn’t say the corner tightened. A bit of pressure for the heart!” admitted the Finn.
Thierry Neuville finished with the rear spoiler missing from his Hyundai i20 and damage to the back. “I went wide at a slippery braking point for a tight corner and hit something with the rear,” said Neuville, whose pace will be compromised until the spoiler can be replaced at the lunchtime service.
Kris Meeke dropped a couple of seconds with pace note issues in his Citroen DS3, while team-mate Mads Ostberg’s troubled start continued. “We had quite a few big moments. The car is different from yesterday. It’s working now, but I seem to have forgotten how to drive it,” he said.
Top ten overall after SS 6:
| Pos | # | Driver | Time | Diff Prev | Diff 1st |
| 1. | 2 |  J. LATVALA |
10:52.3 | ||
| 2. | 1 |  S. OGIER |
10:52.7 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
| 3. | 3 |  K. MEEKE |
10:54.4 | +1.7 | +2.1 |
| 4. | 20 |  H. PADDON |
10:57.0 | +2.6 | +4.7 |
| 5. | 4 |  M. OSTBERG |
10:58.3 | +1.3 | +6.0 |
| 6. | 5 | M. HIRVONEN |
10:59.4 | +1.1 | +7.1 |
| 7. | 9 | A. MIKKELSEN |
11:01.9 | +2.5 | +9.6 |
| 8. | 6 | E. EVANS |
11:06.3 | +4.4 | +14.0 |
| 9. | 7 |  T. NEUVILLE |
11:11.6 | +5.3 | +19.3 |
| 10. | 21 |  M. PROKOP |
11:16.4 | +4.8 | +24.1 |