Rovanperä uncompromising in Greece, Ogier on the podium

In demonstration, this is how we could qualify the rally de Kalle Rovanperä. De jeudi soir à dimanche midi, le pilote Toyota n’a pas flanché. Au coude-à-coude vendredi avec Ott Tänak et Sébastien Ogier, the Finn achieved two scratches to take the reins of the rally on the evening of the second day. With a 3”7 lead at the start on Saturday, no one could have imagined that Kalle Rovanperä would put everyone in agreement in just 4 stages. The winner of the Estonian rally scored 4 stage wins in a row and took a 39”7 lead over his runner-up. Even after his small mistake during the 9th special, the smiling Toyota driver continued to push, as if nothing could prevent him from setting the best times.

Discreet but placed in the afternoon, Kalle Rovanperä secured victory during the two specials on Sunday morning, before the Power Stage. Despite the rain and a muddy track, the native of Jyväskylä (Finland) continued at his incredible pace to stay 35 seconds ahead of his runner-up Ott Tänak. He went all out, winning the Power Stage and the 5 points that went with it, he concluded the rally in the most beautiful way. His second career victory was that of the demonstration. “ A big thank you to the team and everyone who did a great job, he thanked when he got out of the car.

Behind him, Ott Tänak finished second at 42”1. The Estonian often complained “ lack of grip and bad feeling » de sa voiture. Le pilote Hyundai a quand même réalisé de bonnes spéciales tout au long du rallye, dont notamment un meilleur temps en ES14 sous la pluie. 

Sébastien Ogier completes the podium, an important result for the championship. The Frenchman admitted on Friday that victory in this Greek rally was not his priority: “ I only focus on myself. Our plan is to score good points for the championship ". Sometimes on reserve, Ogier stayed on the pace before dropping more time during the final stages. He finished the rally with two scratches and a place on the podium in each special.

In the French clan, Adrien fourmaux came very close to the top 5. But a problem with his Fiesta forced him to start SS13 18 minutes late. Penalized by 3 minutes, he finished 7th at 6'54”4 from Kalle Rovanperä. Cruel for the Frenchman, very solid during the first three days and on the attack this Sunday, as evidenced by his 2nd place during SS14. At Hyundai, Pierre-Louis Loubet retired this morning following a mechanical problem. The Frenchman was already out of the running after a problem during the last special of the first day. This forced him to finish SS6 pushing his car with supporters. As an opener on Saturday, he was never able to compete with the best.

In the championship, Sébastien Ogier is still leader with 180 points. He is ahead of Elfyn Evans by 44 points and 50 points Thierry Neuville. Toyota continues its lead among manufacturers with 397 points, 87 units ahead of Hyundai. 

En WRC 2, the decision was made this morning. Andreas Mikkelsen and Marco Bulacia played cat and mouse throughout the rally. With a gap of 8 tenths at the start of the last day, we thought that the decision would be made during the final special. But Andreas Mikkelsen won both stages and took a 20-second lead over his Skoda teammate. Marco Bulacia therefore finished 2nd, 16” behind the winner thanks to his victory in the Power Stage. Nikolay Garyzin completes the podium (+4'45). Andreas Mikkelsen is leader of the general classification with 126 points ahead of Marco Bulacia (114 points) and Mads Østberg (96 points). 

Yohan Rossel magnificently won the Greece Rally in WRC 3. The Frenchman battled with Kajetan Kajetanowicz, Chris Ingram and Emil Lindholm on Friday. His impressive consistency on Saturday, punctuated by a magnificent special stage during SS9, placed the tricolor at the top of the rankings. He finished the job on Sunday with two scratches to consolidate his lead. The Citroën driver won the rally ahead of Kajetan Kajetanowicz (+32”8) and Chris Ingram (+58”9). The Frenchman takes another step towards the title in his category, he now has a 50-point lead over his Polish rival.

The next round of the WRC will take place in Finland from September 30 to October 3. 

Find the complete analysis of the Rally of Greece in issue 2329 of AUTOhebdo, on sale Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands, the analysis of the Dutch Grand Prix by our special correspondent.