Rovanpera storms into lead in Finland.

Harri Rovanpera has taken the early lead on the Neste Rally Finland, the Peugeot driver winning all three tests this morning, which heralded the start of the 22-stage event.

Following the event's tradition, the Finns set the pace through the first test of the day [Kuohu 1 - 7.76 km] and charged through to take the seven fastest stage times. Peugeot's Rovanpera was quickest, with compatriot Sebastian Lindholm second and three times rally Finland winner, Marcus Gronholm third.

Subaru's Mikko Hirvonen had an excellent start and was fifth fastest, while his team-mate Petter Solberg was eleventh after suffering a small spin a few km in. Although the Norwegian had been suffering with flu-like symptoms, he reported he was feeling better after a good night's sleep.

Used as the shakedown road in 1999 and 2000, the competitive stage took crews through a fast opening section, before running downhill onto a narrow forest road. There were no jumps included in the test's 7km, which Phil Mills described as 'a good warm up'. After the finish, crews moved to the start of SS2.

Once again it was Rovanpera who set the winning pace in Parkkola 1 [14.95km], the Finn completed the 15km, loose gravel stage 1.3 seconds faster than closest rival Lindholm. Contesting the event as the Peugeot number three driver, Sebastien was the only works member to be using the new five-speed gearbox in his Peugeot 307. Team-mates Rovanpera and Gronholm were continuing to use the four-speed version.

In the Subaru camp, Solberg was back on the pace and was third fastest, despite running second on the loose gravel road that was clearing for those further down the order, while team-mate Hirvonen was seventh. At the finish, the duo held exactly the same time and lay in joint sixth overall.

Mitsubishi driver Gilles Panizzi struggled with the handling and stability of his Lancer and managed only sixteenth fastest, while Gronholm overshot a junction and had to reverse. He was tenth fastest. The stage's infamous sixth-gear jump 300 metres from the start caused no problems for the leading crews and, after the finish, they moved directly to the start of SS3.

M?kkiper? [SS3] has a reputation for being difficult. Six tricky jumps lie in quick succession in the first 1.5km, followed by a demanding rocky section that caught out both Francois Duval and Jussi Valimaki in 2003. This year there were no leading retirements and it was local hero Rovanpera who once again set the fastest time. Setting an average speed of 122.22kph, the Finn took his third stage win of the day, while Subaru's Solberg was second quickest and Gronholm third.

Fellow Finns Janne Tuohino and Lindholm took the next two best times, followed by last year's winner Markko Martin who rounded off the top six. After the finish, crews returned to Jyvaskyla for the first service of the day.

"It's been almost the perfect start to the rally for me! I think I drove quite well, without making any mistakes or pushing too hard," noted Rovanpera in Service A. "The car feels very good and I'm confident for the afternoon. We are not making any changes at service: just fuel and tyres."

"I'm a little bit surprised but very happy to be in this position! When I tested the car I knew it was possible to set some fast times but I did not think we could go this quickly straight away," added Lindholm. "I still think that it's possible to go even faster, so we will concentrate hard for the longer stages this afternoon."

SS4 starts at 12.44 local time [10.44 British time].