Ford World Rally Team driver Mikko Hirvonen celebrated his 29th birthday in style as he and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen led the opening leg of Rally Finland from start to finish.
The Finnish pair won four of the eight gravel stages to build a three point three second lead in this ninth round of the championship, while team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila stand in fourth.
Mikko, who leads the drivers' championship by one point with four rounds remaining, was third after last night's curtain-raiser but took the lead by winning this morning's opening stage, and won the next as he built a 3.6 second advantage by the mid-leg service.

After stiffening the suspension settings on his car, the afternoon loop was a carbon copy of this morning.
Hirvonen was again quickest over the opening two stages, before nearest rival Sebastien Loeb edged closer by winning the next two as the battle for the lead raged between them. "I'm leading my home rally on my birthday - things don't get much better," said Hirvonen. "This time last year I was 14 seconds behind Loeb so that's a big improvement. I'm feeling confident but I know that I must continue to push because he is only a few seconds away and won't give up. I prefer it that way because it's really enjoyable to be driving flat out and fighting for tenths of a second.
Now that the battle is on I don't feel as relaxed as yesterday, but that was to be expected. I thought the first two stages of each loop would be harder for me but, ironically, they were the two tests on which I was fastest. I made a few small mistakes this afternoon but nothing serious. Tomorrow is a big, big day and I must be prepared."

Loeb, out for a sixth world championship crown and triumphant here last season, won the opening stage but was soon on the back foot as Hirvonen, seeking to bolster a one-point championship lead, bagged the next two in his Ford Focus.
Although Citroen's Loeb rallied strongly and netted the short super special stage to conclude the day's proceedings, the Frenchman stood 3.3 sec off the pace as Hirvonen timed an overall 1hr 04:12.3 to hold top spot despite his rival landing six stages to his own four.
Loeb said he was revelling in a "good fight".
"Now Mikko has four seconds so I'll try my best. You have to be completely confident here. Finland is not my favourite rally - it?s very specific and fast and dangerous - but the feeling is good and when you see it's this close you know it?s a really tough battle."

Fellow Citroen driver Dani Sordo stood in third place 20sec behind Loeb after losing precious seconds in the middle of special stage nine while Finn Jari-Matti Latvala was 10sec further back in fourth spot.
Although he landed the opening stage Loeb admitted that "during the first two (stages) we were having a hard time getting our rhythm. I wasn't totally satisfied with the way the car was handling so we tweaked the shock absorbers and the gearbox and things were better from then on," said Loeb.

Latvala settled into fourth during a solid morning and the 24-year-old Finn was delighted to emerge safely from the Mokkipera stage after crashing there in both 2007 and 2008. "It has been a difficult stage in the past and it was a special feeling for me to finish that test. The pressure went away and I felt I could breathe again," he explained.
He remained in fourth during the afternoon and returned to Jyvaskyla 30.1 seconds behind his team-mate, but only 10.1 seconds behind third-placed Dani Sordo. "As a result of my mistakes in previous years I haven't driven these stages for the past two seasons so I was quite cautious. I know tomorrow's roads better and will feel more confident.
I've done what I was asked to do today and driven to help Mikko's title challenge. After my error on the last round it took time for me to relax but now I feel I'm nearly at 100 percent with my rhythm and confidence. My target is to overtake Sordo but he's driving well and there's no point in driving crazily to achieve that. I'm here to be a team player."

Abu Dhabi's Khalid Al Qassimi and Michael Orr are 12th in the team's other Focus RS WRC. "We had an interesting start on this morning's stages," commented Al Qassimi.

Former Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who on Thursday was mulling the possibility of switching to rallying some time in the future, was 17th in a Fiat Abarth Grande Punto prepared by four-time world rally champion Tommi Makinen but earned praise from co-driver Kaj Lindstrom.