Rovanpera now rules Estonia

the finn Calle Rovanpera (Toyota), current WRC world champion, leads the Estonian rally, eighth round of the championship, at the end of the second day on Friday, with just 3 seconds ahead of Belgian Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

“It’s been a pretty good day overall,” Rovanpera said at the end of the day’s final stage. However, he had a scare on a curve, almost missing the trees lining the road.

But this is the local pilot Ott Tanak (M-Sport/Ford) who put on a show on Friday, winning 5 of the 7 stages held during the day, with two more going to Rovanperä.

“My son encouraged me at the beginning, so I had to go all the way,” he said at the end of stage 7, which he won with the first three of the day and the last two. But it was a last-ditch effort, as the 2019 world champion received a five-minute penalty on Thursday for changing his engine before the start of the rally.

“I wasn’t in the best mood at the beginning of the day, but now I’m getting used to it little by little and so far it’s not so bad. I get a lot of support from the fans and that’s why I give it my all,” the Estonian underlined. He has no hopes of an overall victory, but hopes to score more championship points on Sunday during the Power Stage, the final stage of the event.

The rain disturbed the day on Friday by digging up ruts, although it had the advantage of reducing the dust on the route around Tartu, in the east of this Baltic country.

neuville he remained in the lead until the sixth stage, when Rovanperä overtook him. He was just 3 seconds off the lead heading into Saturday’s third day, with competitors dueling in another nine stages before four more on Sunday’s final day.

“We’re happy to keep the pace, that’s the most important thing for us,” declared the Belgian driver, currently 6th in the championship, 47 points behind Rovanperä.