Juha Salo on Saturday raced to victory at the Arctic Lapland Rally, the first series of the Finnish Rally Championship.With the latest victory, Salo has won the race five times.Joni Nikko finished in second place 2 minutes and 43 seconds behind the winner.
“An excellent start to the Finnish Championship season,” beamed the Mitsubishi driver.
Salo dropped to second place during Saturday’s second stage due to a fault with his car and was 23.8 seconds behind Estonian rally driver Karl Kruuda who had taken the top spot.Salo had cut the deficit by 2.5 seconds before the last special stage of the day, Kruuda did not complete the final stage because of engine problems.
Former Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen came in sixth, finishing under four minutes behind Salo. Heikki Kovalainen (Ford Fiesta R5,) impressed many with fifth overall on his Arctic Lapland Rally debut. The Vaakuna Ralli in Mikkeli is next up on the Finnish championship schedule from February 20-21.