Aussie leads Rally of Finland

Marcus Gronholm, a favourite in his home event, could not keep up with Australian Chris Atkinson over the short Killeri superspecial. Photo / Reuters

HELSINKI - Australian Chris Atkinson took the early lead in the Rally of Finland over the short Killeri superspecial stage.

The Subaru driver finished just 0.2 seconds ahead of Finnish Ford driver Marcus Gronholm, who in turn edged out defending world champion Sebastien Loeb by just a tenth of a second. The first full day of action gets underway on Friday with 10 stages on the tough Finnish forest tracks, with the top five separated by less than a second.

Gronholm leads the drivers's overall standings on 65 points, with Loeb in second on 56.