By Paul Evans

Rally Finland blasted off with an opening stage around the streets of Jyväskylä tonight, with Elfyn Evans crossing the finishing line in ninth position and predicting that a he’s in for a “decent weekend.”

Co-driven by Daniel Barritt, the 29-year old from Dolgellau completed the stage in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC just 2.6 seconds behind leader Ott Tanak (Toyota) after the short spectator-friendly test.

With three full days of action ahead, the rally properly gets underway tomorrow, with nine stages over the very fast and rollercoaster roads of central Finland.

“It’s the same as any WRC weekend, you have to be on it from the very start,” said Evans. “Make no mistakes here because it is difficult to get the time back. I think we’re in for a decent weekend.”