Two accidents in two rallies: Rovanperä, the breakdown?

Would the pressure of a first world title start to weigh on Kalle Rovanperä's shoulders? The young Finn, renowned for his cold and impassive character from the outside, is nevertheless guilty of a few errors on the last rallies. It's quite simple: his lead in the championship has almost halved since Rally from Finland, there are 3 tests. Author of a remarkable start to the season with 5 victories in the first 7 meetings, the driver Toyota has dropped a lot of points lately. Beaten by Ott Tänak on his land in Jyväskylä, the 21-year-old driver then made mistakes twice. A big accident and an abandonment in Ypres, then a small error with serious consequences on the Acropolis: Rovanperä was only able to save a few units on the Power Stage (5 units in Belgium, 4 in Greece).

The Acropolis, “one of my worst weekends” according to the Finn

Unusual mistakes which contrast with the almost perfect first part of the season for the Finnish prodigy. In Greece, Kalle Rovanperä was completely out of the picture. Certainly, the championship leader did not benefit from an advantageous position at the start, forced to open the road on Friday. But his accident during SS9 on Saturday morning can clearly be attributed to his driving. Broken suspension, destroyed bodywork: the #69 Toyota finished in an anonymous 15th place…

The moment it all went wrong for @KalleRovanpera 😮#WRC | #WRCLive | #AcropolisRally pic.twitter.com/wqeId6FJ5d

- World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 12, 2022

According to the main person concerned, the sensations have never been good in Greece. A coherent speech in view of the mediocre performances of the Toyota Yaris on the Acropolis Rally (no car from the official “Toyota Gazoo Racing” team in the top 10, only Katsuta finished 6th). “It was definitely a difficult weekend. From the start, I had no feeling with the car. It's difficult, but the positive thing is that we took some points in the Power Stage and that helps us. The sensations were tricky when opening the road on Friday, then Sunday” explained Kalle Rovanperä at the end of the test, which he described as being “one of my worst weekends” at the arrival.

“Nothing has been done yet in the championship” warns Rovanperä

At the same time, the Hyundai came back with a bang this season, scoring a third consecutive success and a historic treble in Greece. Fortunately for Rovanperä, the team instructions worked in his favor: it is Thierry Neuville who won ahead of Ott Tänak, who was better placed in the championship. Enough to give the Finn a little breathing room ahead of the end of the season... “We had to push hard [in the Power Stage] to score these points which will help us in the championship. It wasn't easy, but that is now in the past and we are looking forward to the next event. We want to come back much stronger [to New Zealand]. Nothing has been done yet in the championship” warns Harri Rovanperä’s son.

Nothing is done, obviously. At this rate, Ott Tänak could well postpone the outcome until the last race, in Japan. 53 points ahead, 90 points still in play: the slightest error could upset everything. If Kalle Rovanperä is still “comfortably” installed at the head of the rally, he will once again have to make do with his position as sweeper in New Zealand. The last two events, in Spain and Japan, will take place on asphalt. A surface which will not penalize him if he starts first.

If the Toyota driver manages to gain eight points (or seven if he wins the rally) in New Zealand (September 29 – October 2) from Ott Tänak, he will become the youngest world champion WRC of history (at age 21). If his thoughts are now firmly turned towards this objective, he will also have to be careful of excess zeal...

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