Atkinson takes early lead in Finland

The Subaru driver went fastest after his head-to-head run with Jari-Matti Latvala, but even the championship leaders could not match his pace.

Championship leader Marcus Gronholm was second quickest, and the Finn will take a small psychological boost from the fact that he beat Sebastien Loeb when the pair ran against each other.

Dani Sordo and Petter Solberg were both within a second of Atkinson's time as they completed the top five, while Latvala was sixth fastest after his run against the Australian pacesetter.

Mikko Hirvonen was seventh fastest in the second 2007-spec Ford Focus, while Manfred Stohl completed the top eight.

Henning Solberg and Juho Hanninen made it into the top 10 in a field of 23 WRC cars, while Xevi Pons was 11th on his first run for Subaru.

The rally gets into full flow on Friday morning, where Gronholm will be the first car on the road.

Pos  Driver      Car        Time
 1.  Atkinson    Subaru     01:20.6
 2.  Gronholm    Ford         +00.2
 3.  Loeb        Citroen      +00.3
 4.  Sordo       Citroen      +00.6
 5.  P Solberg   Subaru       +00.7
 6.  Latvala     Ford         +01.1
 7.  Hirvonen    Ford         +01.3
 8.  Stohl       Citroen      +01.9
 9.  H Solberg   Ford         +02.1
10.  Hanninen    Mitsubishi   +02.2