Burns loses lead in Rally of Finland

Richard Burns lost the lead of the Rally of Finland after being caught out by a high-speed jump.

The reigning world champion had led the rally by 20 seconds after winning the opening stage of the day and looked set to become the first British driver to win in Finland.

But on the second stage Burns briefly lost control of his Peugeot over a jump, causing the car to land heavily.

Burns lost his turbo boost as a result and wasted almost a minute as he coasted around the stage, although the full extent of the damage will not be known until after the third stage when Peugeot finally get a chance to perform running repairs.

"I took a jump flat-out, just the same as I have done every year I've been here," said a frustrated Burns.

Peugeot team boss Corrado Provera added: "It seems that Richard's car landed heavily after a jump and that is what appears to have caused the damage.

"The important thing is that it's still a one-two-three and without another stage to complete I'm confident that Richard can get back here to service and fix it."

Burns' misfortune handed team-mate Harri Rovenpera the lead with world championship leader Marcus Gronholm - also a Peugeot driver - second.

Despite his problems Burns lies third but is likely to lose more time as he battles through the third stage of the day with a battered Peugeot. He has a 47-second advantage over Scotland's Colin McRae.

Home favourite Juha Kankkunen - a four-time world champion - crashed out of the event when he rolled his Hyundai on the second stage of the morning.