Human error behind Kalle Rovanperä's Ypres Rally accident

Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) is not the type to hide behind false pretenses. The Finn is not used to making long statements either. Also, his analysis of the accident of which he was the author in the second special du Rally byYpres (Belgium) this Friday August 19 is concise and honest.

“There were a few curves and in the second of this series my rating was too optimistic, explains the leader of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The turn was shorter than I had indicated and I was unable to turn and we ended up in the embankment. »

When did he realize this wouldn't happen? “In the left because it was shorter than I thought. Then I had a lot of understeer and it was over..."

A few minutes before this swerve, Kalle Rovanperä's co-driver, Jonne Halttunen, raised his voice to the Belgian marshals during the stop point. Did this incident affect the pilot's concentration? “It may have bothered me during the first kilometers, but in the middle of the special it was forgotten. I don't really know what happened. It was a bit of chaos at this score table. They wanted to send us into the stage with 3 seconds left on the clock... twice... I didn't understand what they did, but it wasn't good. »

His boss, former pilot Jari-Matti Latvala, delivered a slightly more technical analysis: “Kalle's note was slightly wrong. The note about the left turn said it was “short”. So, after the right turn, he opened the trajectory and dived very early at the apex of the left turn. But as this turn was not that short, it comes out very wide at the exit.

He began to understeer due to his premature entry into the corner. That's why he went off the road. This has nothing to do with a problem with the car. If you look in detail at the angle of the wheels, you see that Kalle steers very early, then straightens the steering wheel while making a course correction. As he adjusts his curve, the car begins to understeer. »

The damage is assessed by the Toyota Gazoo Racing technical team, before FIA ​​inspectors check the condition of the roll cage. If it is damaged, Kalle Rovanperä will definitely abandon the Ypres Rally. If the rollbar is intact, the Nordic will be able to restart with a heavy time penalty on Saturday morning, after repairs by the mechanics.

(With Medhi Casaurang-Vergez)