Evgeny Novikov in on a recovery drive back through the field on the second afternoon of Rally Finland foﷺllowing an accident on the morning loop saw him plummet down the order.

The Russian driver was running eighth going into Palsankyl? 1 when he went 🌠off and hit a log pile, damaging the front of F🅷ord Fiesta RS WRC.

Despite the heavy damage, Novikov was able to bring the🍃 car back to service at a reduced speed - incurring the wrath of a delayed Kris Meeke in the process.

Novikov's car was then repaired in serv♎ice to allow the 22-year-old to continue into the afternoon.

"I'm not 100 per cent sure what happened," Novikov admitted. "It was after a crest and we just lost control of the car and went i✅nto a✱ log pile. We'll have to have a proper look at the onboard to see exactly what happened."

At t▨he end of SS11, Novikov had worked his way up to 14th place, still more than a minute away from a place inside the top ten.