The Croatian World Rally Championship culminates on Sunday. Iltalehti follows Kalle Rovanperä’s victory in this story.
FACTS
Croatian World Rally Championship, EC 17/20:
1. Kalle Rovanperä, Toyota
2. Ott Tänak, Hyundai +31.1
3. Craig Breen, M-Sport +1.15.7
4. Thierry Neuville, Hyundai +1.20.2
5. Elfyn Evans, Toyota +2.14.7
6. Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota +5.50.9
The Croatian World Rally Championship will culminate in four special stages on Sunday. Kalle Rovanperä is stuck in the fourth victory of his career.
Toyota’s Finnish driver started the day with a roar, as he was as much as 11.2 seconds faster than second in the overall race in the seventeenth special stage. Ott Tänak.
At the same time, the duo’s difference in the overall race increased to more than half a minute.
– Good start. The feeling is nice. We know that momentum is enough. Everything works, we continue like this, Rovanperä said at WRC Live.
What is special is that Rovanperä and Tänak went to the first special stage with different tires.
Toyota in Rovanperä has four hard and two rain tires. Today’s jacket has four soft and two rain gear tires.
After the first ek of the morning, the Estonian driver of Hyundai regretted his choice. Today was only the ninth fastest and 12 seconds behind.
– The road is pretty dry. We were afraid of the rain, but the weather is sunny. A risk had to be taken.
The fastest in the special stage was Esapekka Lapland. Rovanperä was 0.8 seconds behind his compatriot.
The next special stage starts at 9.38. The winner of the rally will be announced this afternoon.
Kalle Rovanperä leads the World Rally Championship. AOP