After his second overall victory in the World Rally Championship (WRC), Kalle Rovanperä has canceled sails for the time being and withdrawn from the series as a full-time driver. The Toyota driver will remain in the WRC as a part-time driver, which takes a lot of pressure off the 23-year-old’s shoulders. He will be competing in Sweden for the first time in the 2024 season, but his plan to take it easy didn’t work out when he was eliminated on the fourth special stage (WP).
“It’s nice to be there again,” said the Finn before the start of the rally. “I feel more relaxed and can enjoy the rally more. I have a different approach and feel a different pressure in the World Championship. That motivates me to win more, even if it doesn’t mean it will work out, but that’s the goal. “
“I don’t have to risk so much,” continues Rovanperä, but the plan of the youngest world champion in the history of the WRC did not work. On SS 4 the Finn was surprised by the conditions. “I got out wide in an easy place, a right-hand bend. I wasn’t expecting that.”
WP 4 causes a lot of drama
Rovanperä got caught in a snowdrift that destroyed the rear of his car. “We were hit hard,” explains the Toyota driver. “We turned 360 degrees and destroyed the radiator. The conditions were difficult, but not as extreme as I expected. The grip difference was big, but I think it was still doable.”
After five of a total of 18 special stages, Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta leads with just 5.3 seconds ahead of Esapekka Lappi in the Hyundai i20. Katsuta’s teammate Elfyn Evans is in third place in the second Yaris, but the Welshman is already 32 seconds behind the leader. Adrien Fourmaux completes the top four, while Oliver Solberg leads the WRC2 field in fifth.
Thierry Neuville, who was at the front at the start of the rally, fell back to sixth place. The Belgian said: “I enjoyed the ride but the time will probably be bad. We lost about three seconds per kilometer here.”
Big names out early or way back
Gregoire Munster lost a lot of time on SS 4 because he had to change a tire on his M-Sport Ford and had to contend with fogged up windows. I don’t know if it was the cold or the battery, but the impact wrench didn’t work properly,” he says.
The fourth special stage of the Rally Sweden proved to be a favorite killer because it also caught Ott Tänak in his Hyundai. The Estonian lost control of his car and crashed into a snowdrift on the left side. Tänak was at kilometer 18.5 when the accident occurred. Rovanperä and Tänak are out for now but will try to get back into the race on Sunday.