Rovanperä survives rain in Estonia, Evans loses his mind

Firmly installed at the head of the Rally from Estonia since the start of the day, Elfyn Evans lost all his lead in the last two stages. Damaged by the rain, the Welshman saw Kalle Rovanperä slip past him to take the reins of the general classification.

However, everything seemed to be smiling on Elfyn Evans whose start to the day had been perfect with the best time during the first 5 special stages and a lead of almost 20 seconds over Kalle Rovanperä. This was without counting on the late appearance of rain which completely reshuffled the cards. Then in charge, the 2021 world vice-champion saw the gap with his teammate Toyota melt like snow in the sun.

After signing a first scratch during SS7, Kalle Rovanperä doubled the lead straight away, coming back to just over 10 seconds behind the Briton. The two Yaris drivers then seemed to be heading towards a double with Elfyn Evans in 1st position but the latter's difficulties while the conditions continued to worsen offered the general lead on a platter to his partner who was asking for it. not much.

In distress, Elfyn Evans lost 22″6 in just 6,7 kilometers of special! A sad outcome for him after having made a great start. Finally helped by his position as opener, Kalle Rovanperä was spared by the waterfalls which intensified as the minutes passed. Result ? The Finn returned to the Service Park with a lead of 11″7. And when we know that he will be last on the road this Saturday we say to ourselves that Rally Estonia may have experienced a turning point this Friday evening.

Hyundai in distress, Loubet avoids the worst

On the side of Hyundai, this Rally of Estonia is not going at all as planned. If hopes were high before the start of the weekend, there no longer seemed to be any as the day ended. In difficulty on the Estonian gravel, the i20 did not meet expectations, preventing its representatives from fighting for the first places.

At the end of the 8 special stages contested this Friday, the gap with Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans is glaring. Although 3rd in his national rally, Ott Tänak is already relegated to 44″3 behind the Finnish leader. Thierry Neuville, who suffered throughout the day, is 5th but more than 1'10 from the lead. Sandwiched between the two Hyundais, Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) could take advantage of the setbacks of the South Korean machines to move up to 3rd position. Currently, he is 21″6 behind Ott Tänak but his renewed form during the 2nd loop could perhaps allow him to catch the Estonian this Saturday.

Among the Tricolores, this Friday almost ended earlier than expected for Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport). Without a windshield wiper in the rain, the Corsican made a mistake when landing a jump and ended up on the door of his Ford Puma. Luckily, the accident occurred at a place where many spectators were present. They helped him get back on his 4 wheels so that he finished as best he could, more than 2 minutes late. It is now 4 minutes from Kalle Rovanperä.

Adrien fourmaux (M-Sport) clings to his 6th place overall but Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) does not give up. The Japanese is in fact only 2″8 behind the Northerner. Nothing is decided for the two men.

In WRC2, Andreas Mikkelsen is the man to beat. If Emil Lindholm led the debates for a long time, the Norwegian regained momentum during the 2nd loop to end the day at the top of the category. He was closely pursued by Teemu Suninen who was only 12″1 behind. Marco Bulacia completes the Top 3 but almost 40 seconds behind.

General classification after SS9

Complete general ranking

See you this Saturday at 8:06 a.m. for the rest of the Estonian Rally, still live text on AUTOhebdo.