WRC
Rovanperä going it alone, the French in tough in Croatia
Kalle Rovanperä leads the way in Croatia after the first loop on Friday. ©Toyota Gazoo Racing
The championship leader is present on this first day of the Rally from Croatia. On the Croatian roads, where he remains in retirement from the 1ste ES in 2021, Kalle Rovanperä has not been idle. Not bothered by the pouring rain nor by his position as fly-half, the Finn showed great solidity this Friday morning.
The son of Harri Rovanperä set the pace from the start by winning the first scratch at stake and with a margin of more than 4 seconds over his closest pursuer Thierry Neuville. Pendant que ces camarades subissaient les caprices de Mère Nature et n’échappaient pas aux crevaisons comme Elfyn Evans ou aux contacts comme Esapekka Lappi contraint de mettre un terme à sa journée dès l’ES1, le pilote Toyota continuait lui son petit bonhomme de chemin en Croatie.
Still under a capricious sky, Kalle Rovanperä set a rhythm that almost no one was able to follow. Beaten by Elfyn Evans during SS3 after dominating the first two specials, the Scandinavian finally finished the first loop of the day with a 3rd scratch in 4 outings to regain service with a 12″5 lead over Thierry Neuville. Behind, the gap was made with the rest of the pursuers sinceOtt Tänak, 3rd overall, was 47″3 off the lead after only 4 SS, confirming the Finn’s domination.
Loubet and Fourmaux start badly
In Croatia, France could claim a good result. We will ultimately have to wait a little longer to see a Tricolore fighting at the forefront. For its first appearance in WRC this season, Pierre-Louis Loubet has not had the best start to the rally. With three punctures in two stages, the Corsican was forced to throw in the towel for the rest of the day.
his compatriot Adrien fourmaux He escaped punctures but not the traps of the rain. Sixth overall, more than a minute behind Kalle Rovanperä at the start of SS3, the Northerner was surprised by a puddle which was not in his grades and ended his race in the garden of a neighboring house after a rather rapid exit from the road. If he and his co-driver Alexandre Coria are doing well, their Ford Puma is not in the same condition. The day is over for Adrien Fourmaux who will not be able to repeat his fine 5th place last year for his WRC debut.
“It’s not normal at this level of competition”
Adrien Fourmaux was not informed of the presence of the puddle which also surprised Thierry Neuville.
Le #WRC is live until 12:15 p.m. on CANAL+SPORT! @StephaneGenti#CroatiaRally | #WRC | #WRCLive pic.twitter.com/XgfyPsSsoU
- CANAL + Sport (@CanalplusSport) April 22, 2022
Rossel in control in WRC2
If in WRC things don't go as planned for the French, those in WRC2 are there, notably Yohan Rossel. Still engaged with the Citroën C3 Rally2 prepared by PH Sport, the Tricolore leads the debates in the antechamber of the premier category.
Like Kalle Rovanperä in the WRC, Yohan Rossel also won 3 of the 4 special stages at stake this Friday morning. A performance which allowed him to beat Chris Ingram by 16″6 before returning to the service park. Winner of SS4, Stéphane Lefebvre gained a position overall and is now in 4th place in the category, 34″5 behind his compatriot. Éric Camilli is 6th, 1″1 behind Kajetan Kajetanowicz and can hope to grab the Top 5 by the end of the day.
General classification after SS4
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Gonzalo Forbes
In charge of promotion formulas (F2, F3, FRECA, F4...). Carried by the grace of Franco Colapinto.
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DANIEL MEYERS
22/04/2022 at 12:40 a.m.
In the hard or in the wall?! For Loubet the question was not to know if, but when he was going to have a 'problem' as for Fourmaux it was the worst possible outcome, how could he not have had the information, when he started 6th? Deliberately suppressed information on the part of M Sport to put him under even more pressure??