Comfortable leader of Rally Finland, Kalle Rovanperä cruises to victory at home

Kalle Rovanperä is only four stages away from a first victory on home soil, having outrageously dominated the Rally Finland ahead of a resigned Sébastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville.

Published on 03/08/2024 à 17:11

Dorian Grangier

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Comfortable leader of Rally Finland, Kalle Rovanperä cruises to victory at home

No one seems to be able to stop Kalle Rovanperä at home! The Finn is heading towards his destiny: winning the Rally from Finland. On the eve of the finish and the last four special stages, the reigning double world champion has a comfortable lead of 44″2 over his closest pursuer, Sébastien Ogier.
The pilot Toyota scored an almost perfect score, winning five stages out of the six contested this Saturday. Always on the attack, even at the end of the day when his direct opponents were already starting to manage, Kalle Rovanperä has never been so close to a success at home which eludes him in the premier category!
With 44 seconds behind Kalle Rovanperä and 39 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville, Sébastien Ogier is also comfortably isolated in 2nd place, he who benefited – like the others behind him – from the mechanical problem encountered by Elfyn Evans this Saturday morning. The Welshman, victim of a problem with his driveshaft, was ejected from the Top 10 after losing six minutes on track and suffering a 2'40 penalty for leaving the service park 16 minutes late . A big blow for his championship, since he scored no points this Saturday evening…
Adrien fourmaux, very consistent and clean on the track with a Ford which suits him better and better as the stages progress, finished this second day of the Rally Finland in 4th place. A good distance from the podium – 25 seconds behind Thierry Neuville – the Northerner remains on the lookout in the event of a problem.pine mechanical tomorrow for one of the three leaders.
The stage's rookie, Sami Pajari, continues to impress in the premier category for his first appearance in Rally1. If the Finn did not score a scratch this Saturday unlike Friday, the young 22-year-old driver kept pace – or even better – with his competitors, notably in the legendary Ouninpohja special (3rd time in SS16) .
In WRC2, Oliver Solberg is still imperial and leads the category with 47 seconds ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala. The Finn suffered a big scare in the last special of the day when he went off the track, fortunately without consequences.