Rovanperä's Second Rally Estonia Victory
Kalle Rovanperä clinched his fifth victory in six rounds with back-to-back Rally Estonia wins on Sunday afternoon, providing a masterclass drive to secure his fifth FIA World Rally Championship. Just twelve months ago he became the WRC's youngest rally winner with victory in Estonia and his virtuoso success moved him a step closer to becoming the youngest champion in the series' 50-year history.
The 21-year-old Finn finished the four-day gravel road fixture 1min 00.9sec clear of Toyota GR Yaris team-mate Elfyn Evans to stretch his points lead to 83 after seven of 13 rounds. Evans had initially dominated the rally, but Rovanperä grabbed the lead in Friday's final rain-soaked stage and, after fine-tuning his car's set-up on Saturday morning, he reeled off seven consecutive fastest times to distance the Welshman and more than double his advantage.
Rain again ensured slippery conditions in Sunday's closing leg, but Rovanperä was in no mood to compromise and won the final Wolf Power Stage by an astounding 22.4sec to gain maximum bonus points. Such was his dominance that he won 14 of the rally's 24 tests. He recalled: "It was great again and thanks to Jonne [co-driver Halttunen] because it was a difficult weekend, but we drove really well. We enjoy every rally and although we need to push hard because the pressure is always high, we're managing it well."
Evans virtually conceded defeat on Saturday night and any lingering hopes he retained of catching his team-mate were extinguished in Sunday's second stage when he spun and dropped almost 10sec. The 1-2 extended reigning champion Toyota Gazoo Racing's manufacturers' points lead to 87. Home hero Ott Tänak completed the podium a further 54.8sec adrift in a Hyundai i20. He never looked like threatening those ahead as he wrestled handling problems, but the four-time Estonia winner was more than good enough to finish best of the rest.
Team-mate Thierry Neuville endured similar issues but kept a cool head to finish almost two minutes further back in fourth, despite a Sunday brush with some bushes and a spin. Fifth was Takamoto Katsuta's reward after recovering from a roll in Thursday morning's warm-up which required frantic bodywork repairs from his Toyota team. The Japanese driver ended 20.1sec behind Neuville and 35.7sec clear of Esapekka Lappi's GR Yaris.
Lappi's hopes of a top four finish ended when he had to change a puncture following a heavy landing on Saturday. The Finn plunged to seventh but won two tests on the final day and eased ahead of Adrian Fourmaux's Ford Puma in the last one. The result brought relief to Frenchman Fourmaux after a torrid opening half of the season in which he posted four retirements in six rounds.
Round eight of the 2022 WRC is the fast gravel road fixture of the Secto Rally Finland based in Jyväskylä 4/7 August - ominously, Kalle Rovanpera's home event!
1. Kalle Rovanpera Toyota Yaris WRC 2:54:29.0
2. Elfyn Evans Toyota Yaris WRC + 1:00.9
3. Ott Tanak Hyundai i20 WRC + 1:55.7
4. Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 WRC + 3:53.3
5. Takamoto Katsuta Toyota Yaris WRC + 4:13.4
6. Esapekka Lappi Toyota Yaris WRC + 4:49.1
7. Adrian Fourmaux M-Sport Ford Puma + 5:09.2
8. A.Mikkelsen Skoda Fabia Evo WRC2 + 11:01.8
19th July, 2022