Rovanpera returns to the top in tight fight

Kalle Rovanpera has rediscovered some form on gravel to lead Rally Finland in what proved to be an intense World Rally Championship fight at the front on Friday morning.

The two-time world champion has struggled on gravel this season but has found speed from his Toyota GR Yaris package to open up a 4.4s lead over Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux after four morning stages.

Rovanpera clocked a fastest time on stage three, Saarikas 1 – 15.78km, to move into the outright lead of the rally, which he then extended by winning stage four, Myhinpaa 1 – 14.47km.
Rovanpera ended the loop by setting the fourth-fastest time on stage five, Ruuhimaki, 7.76km, 1.1s slower than Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari, who delivered his most impressive morning of the season to date.

Although not completely happy with his driving, Rovanpera admitted he was pushing “all out” and taking risks to achieve his leading pace.

“It is definitely better than we have been in previous rallies and obviously it is a nice thing,” Rovanpera told Autosport. “It probably doesn’t feel so good in the car but at least the times are coming. I cannot complain too much. There have been no real secrets, we have been working on it quite hard in the test.”

Rovanpera’s nearest rival was Fourmaux, who quickly adapted to Finland’s high-risk and high-speed gravel roads. The Frenchman leapt from sixth to second on stage three after trailing Rovanpera’s benchmark by 1.6s.

“He [Rovanpera] is really fighting and I have a bit more of a clean approach,” said Fourmaux. “There are some extra risks to take and I can play a little bit with some margins, but I still want to do a good rally and I do not want to break my confidence. It is maybe 2% missing [in my risk taking] to be closer to Kalle.”

Pajari produced an impressive performance to end the morning loop in third, 4.5s adrift of the lead. The Rally1 rookie has spent the majority of the season focusing on learning the GR Yaris package, but this weekend he’s opted to push more at an event where he finished fourth on his Rally1 debut last year.

The change in approach was highlighted by stage wins on stage 2 and stage 5, marking only his second and third stage wins in the WRC’s top flight.

“It is maybe a more brave plan or approach but I’m still not really doing anything crazy. In some places I was not really taking a risk,” said Pajari.

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta enjoyed a share of the rally lead after stage two where he was pipped to the fastest time by 0.1s. The Japanese driver continued his strong form to reach midday service in fourth, 4.8s behind.

Sami Pajari, Marko Salminen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Reigning world champion Thierry Neuville didn’t enjoy the high-speed nature of the stages but still managed to keep himself in the fight in fifth, a tenth of a second behind Katsuta.

“It is not what I enjoy the most and I don’t think anybody enjoyed it but we are here,” said Neuville. “When you don’t need to brake for any jump or any corner and just for the junctions the only way you make the difference is by taking risks.”

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans ended the morning in sixth, 9.3s off the lead, ahead of team-mate Sebastien Ogier, who dropped 6.4s after stage three.

“It is extremely fast and some sections are too fast, and almost like boring fast as there are no corners,” said Ogier.

“There was one stage where we were not committed enough and it cost us some important seconds. But the important thing is the gap is still close, which means the afternoon will be crucial to improve our road positions for tomorrow.”

Overnight leader Hyundai’s Ott Tanak was hampered by opening the dry and dusty gravel roads punctuated by junctions. The championship leader was 8.5s behind Rovanpera at midday service, but ahead of M-Sport-Ford’s trio of Martins Sesks, Josh McErlean and Gregoire Munster. The latter lost time to spins in stage three and four.

Emil Lindholm led the WRC2 class by 0.2s from 18-time WRC winner Jari-Matti Latvala, while Rally Estonia winner Oliver Solberg was seventh after a costly missed turn in stage five.