Rovanperä under pressure but still leader in Croatia

The mental strength of an athlete is measured in moments of great tension. Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) has undoubtedly proven that he can take on the role of boss of the World Rally Championship (WRC) thanks to the second stage of Rally of Croatia 2022.

The 21-year-old Finn was sent back to the ropes after suffering a puncture during the first loop. The leader of the event saw his work on Friday destroyed by this flat tire, which caused him to lose a minute on his direct pursuer, Ott Tänak (Hyundai).

The latter came up like an Estonian cuckoo during the afternoon loop, where the 2019 world champion in the specialty grabbed second after second. However, in the final timed sector of the day, Kalle Rovanperä faced his rival, and in what way!

Two stage wins in the bag already this morning for the #GRYaris Rally1! 🙌#ToyotaGAZOORacing #WRC #CroatiaRally pic.twitter.com/AoinlI641U

— TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) April 23, 2022

By winning his first (and only) Saturday special, the representative of Toyota Gazoo Racing left Ott Tänak by 5 seconds in eight kilometers. A performance achieved under intense pressure! “That’s my answer.”, he said, pointing to the inscription “Full Send” on his helmet. A message that can be translated as “Maximum attack”.

With only four stages remaining on Sunday, Kalle Rovanperä regains some air in the general classification (19''9) on the Hyundai. In the clan of the South Korean brand, we are only counting on Ott Tänak to challenge the domination of Harri Rovanperä's son.

Indeed, Thierry Neuville and Oliver Solberg have accumulated setbacks. The first named was found guilty of several speeding offenses on Friday on a connecting route, following an alternator problem.

The commissioners did not appreciate his shaky defense (no danger because traffic was non-existent at that time on the open road) and imposed a substantial penalty of 1 minute overall, accompanied by a fine and two days of work of general interest with the FIA. A few hours later, he let out several “Fuck” while hitting his steering wheel due to a 60% loss of power from his engine in SS13.

ALSO READ > Doubt persists at Hyundai

As for the son of 2003 world rally champion Petter Solberg, a driving error sent him into the background on the first morning special. The fire started in the exhaust pipe of the Hyundai i20 hybrid before co-driver Eliott Edmondson activated the fire extinguisher. The special stage was canceled to allow firefighters to contain the fire which threatened to spread into the Croatian forest.

And yet, despite all these disappointments, Thierry Neuville is fighting for the last step of the podium! Craig Breen (M-Sport Ford) perd, lentement mais sûrement, du terrain sur le Francophone. L’Irlandais ne compte plus que 4’’9 de marge au général.

Rossel at ease in WRC2

The lower category of the WRC smiles on Yohan Rossel (Citroën). The outgoing WRC3 champion remains the strong man and has remotely controlled his Russian rival Nikolay Gryazin (Skoda). The resident of the PH Sport team returns to the Zagreb park with around forty seconds in advance.

" It's a good day. I maintained the gap compared to last night. I attacked at the limit yesterday, today it was a little easier, I was more cautious in the second loop,” said the Frenchman.

Third place in the category is occupied by Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Skoda), who benefited from a puncture from Éric Camilli (Citroën, 6th) while the Frenchman was on the last step of the provisional podium.

In Junior WRC/WRC3, Sami Pajari and Robert Virves (Ford) exchange blow for blow. The 20-year-old Finn stood out in the morning by putting his little Fiesta Rally3 among the big names in the particularly rainy SS11 (8th).

The third and final stage of the 2022 Croatia Rally will begin on Sunday April 24 from 7:18 a.m. The event can be followed in live text on AUTOhebdo.com.

General ranking after Stage 2: