The technical fault struck in Chile – Kalle Rovanperä heard nothing

Kalle Rovanperä started convincingly in Chile. Archive picture. Vesa Pöppönen / AOP

The World Rally Championship has moved to Chile in South America after Paraguay, where the challenging gravel roads are waiting for drivers. This is the fourth final race of the season, and the championship battle is becoming increasingly fierce.

Thursday’s test special test will give you a taste of the weekend’s rally.

Kalle Rovanperä He was immediately at a strong pace when he clocked the second fastest time of the first bets. On his first bet, the Finnish driver was only 1.4 seconds of the lead Elfy’s Evans.

Rovanperä also had misfortune in the leg.

– I didn’t hear notes. My headset broke down at departure. Better now than in the actual special stages, but this was not an ideal start, Rovanperä said in the finish.

Sami Pajari It was the fourth fastest in the first bets, with Evans’ time of six seconds.

Paraguya Rally won Sébastien Ogier He was more than ten seconds of the top time on his first bet. The Frenchman gave his honest opinion on the test instrument test after the stage.

– This is a completely useless Shakedown, Ogier snorted.

The fastest of other bets was Estonia Ott Tänak. Rovanperä was the second fastest in other bets, leaving Tänak for 0.1 seconds. The Finn improved his first bet by 1.6 seconds.

After a profit

Rovanperä told Toyota in the press release Doing everything to win in the Chilean World Championship Rally for the second time in a row.

– The roads are fast as in Finland, but the surface is quite different and the bottom is harder. Last year, I didn’t feel very comfortable on Friday’s special stages, but we still managed to drive a good rally as the conditions changed with rain and fog. Thanks to it, we won the competition. This year, too, we will do our best and try to earn good points.

At the top of the World Series, Evans leads with 198 points, but Rovanperä is immediately followed by 191 points and Ogier with 189 points. Also, Tänak is strictly within a range of 180 points, so the championship can still turn in several directions.