Rovanperä winner of the Croatian Rally at the end of the suspense

Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) a tout d’un grand champion en devenir. Le talent, il l’a depuis de nombreuses années, grâce aux gênes héritées de son père Harri Rovanperä, mais aussi par un apprentissage studieux du rally in his native Finland.

Having become an official Toyota Gazoo Racing driver in the World Rally Championship in 2020, Kalle Rovanperä broke precocity records by becoming the youngest winner of a round WRC in 2021. But in this spring of 2022, the Finn now becomes the youngest double consecutive winner in the World Cup.

The final stage of the Croatia Rally, contested this Sunday April 24, brought its share of adventures. Kalle Rovanperä could have lost his cool when the unexpected return of rain put him at a disadvantage in favor ofOtt Tänak (Hyundai).

But a prodigious effort in the last special, that of the Power Stage, allowed him to regain his first place to the detriment of his Estonian opponent and to double the stakes after the Swedish Rally.

“I was convinced that we couldn't be faster on this dry surface with these hard tires, but we came out with a big attack. It's the hardest victory of my career, but I think we deserve it.", explains the 21-year-old young man.

As for Ott Tänak, the 2019 world champion had the decency to recognize certain favorable facts in his rally.“I didn't take the risk of giving up and I drove cleanly. I am back to fight for first place only thanks to the changing weather conditions and the best choice of tires. »

It was finally during the final morning that the podium hierarchy was determined. Entangled in several galleys, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) could have given up when the alternator of its i20 Rally1 hybrid, then its engine, failed. But the five-time vice-world champion showed his resilience.

Despite a one-minute penalty for various speeding violations on the connecting course and two non-regulatory scores, the Belgian found the strength necessary to steal the last step of the podium at Craig Breen (M-Sport Ford)… même si un accident dans les derniers kilomètres aurait pu tout changer.

" I made a mistake. The hard tires on the front axle had no grip and we hit the embankment on a bend. We were unlucky this weekend, but in the end, luck came back to my side on this one! »

The Irishman never seemed very proficient in his driving, but he saved the weekend for the English team, penalized by the mistakes ofAdrien fourmaux and Gus Greensmith on Friday morning.

For his debut at the wheel of a Rally1 hybrid, Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport Ford) was not helped by a series of punctures which put him out of the game in the first stage. Restarting under the Rally 2 rule, the Frenchman then gained confidence and reached the finish line without making any mistakes on Saturday and Sunday.

Rossel wins WRC2

A victory at the opening of the season at Monte-Carlo was denied to him after a problem. But on the Croatian roads, Yohan Rossel (Citroën) did not miss his chance. The outgoing WRC3 champion, associated with Valentin Sarreaud, signs his first success of his career in WRC2 for the PH Sport team after an event controlled from start to finish.

AND ROSSEL WHO WINS THE WRC2 🏆

The driver of the French FFSA Rallye Team 🇫🇷 wins his first victory in # WRC2 ☝️

PRIDE. BRAVO YOHAN & VALENTIN! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/tejkXofXRw

— FFSA (@FFSportAuto) April 24, 2022

“After Monte-Carlo, I worked a lot with the team,” explains the 27-year-old driver of the French FFSA Rallye Team. The team has gone through complicated times, and this victory is dedicated to the team. The goal of the championship is to win it, but the road is long. It's perfect to win in our second participation in WRC2! »

The podium is completed by Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Skoda) and Emil Lindholm (Skoda). Present on the podium until halfway, Éric Camilli (Citroën) finished in the top 5.

In the Junior WRC, the duel between Sami Pajari and Robert Virves seemed to turn the latter's advantage when a four-minute penalty was imposed on Robert Vivres for having clocked in early at the SS19 checkpoint. Lauri Joona wins the category.

Find the analysis of the WRC in Croatia by our special correspondent in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, on sale Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.

Croatia Rally 2022 ranking:

General classification Drivers: