Rovanperä missed only tenths of Elfy’s Evans.
Situation after 1/18 EK
1. Elfyn Evans, Toyota 3.21,6
2. Kalle Rovanperä, Toyota +0.5
2. Ott Tänak, Hyundai +0.5
4. Adrien Fourmaux, Hyundai +1.2
5. Thierry Neuville, Hyundai +3,7
6. Takamoto Watch, Toyota +5,4
7. Sami Pajari, Toyota +5,6
The Swedish World Rally started with a 5-kilometer sprint special test, where it was close to the center of Umeå.
Elfyn Evans clocked the base time 3.21.6. Kalle Rovanperä and Ott Tänak were 0.5 seconds left.
Thierry Neuville was 3.7 seconds slower than Evans. He had technical problems in conversation with his map reader.
– We had the same problem already in the morning and thought we could solve it. Now it came back, Neuville was annoyed in an interview with the WRC.
Rovanperä was pleased with his first bet. He created a gaze already on Friday’s day.
– Everything seems to be quite well at the moment. Tomorrow is a long run right in the morning, and a little different tire tactics. We have six and some five rings. Let’s see how it works, the Finn said.
Rovanperä will attack the third route tomorrow.
– In such a situation, it might even be good to go number one. The road is clean and there are no grooves, he estimates.
Sami Pajari was the seventh of the group, 5.6 seconds from the tip.
Kalle Rovanperä goes to find a profit from the Swedish World Rally. Aop