the finn Calle Rovanpera He swept Saturday’s Estonian Rally, the eighth round of the WRC World Rally Championship, winning all nine special stages on day three and extending his lead in the standings by more than half a minute over Belgian Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.
“I really enjoyed the afternoon, it was very good. The car works very well and these are my favorite stages of the entire calendar, so why not go all out? And also, there are many spectators, which is very good,” said the reigning world champion, who at just 22 years old already has 9 WRC rally victories.
On Saturday afternoon, he led 34″9 Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), who should not be afraid of second place as the leader of Hyundai since third, 10″5 behind him, is his South Korean teammate, Finn Esapekka Lappi.
“I think we have driven the car for the most time, but there is still a little to go as fast as Kalle,” said the Belgian.
The British Elfyn Evans (Toyota) was fourth, 7″3 behind Lappi, ahead of another Finn, Teemu Suninen, who replaced Irishman Craig Breen as Hyundai’s third driver after he died in practice before Rally Croatia in April.
The French Pierre Louis Loubet (M-Sport/Ford) was sixth, leading the Japanese Tatsuta Takamoto (Toyota) and his teammate at Ford Ott Tanak.
The Estonian, 2019 World Champion, was far behind the day before, when he won five special stages. However, the hero had started the rally five minutes down on Thursday due to a last-minute engine change, meaning he had no chance of fighting for overall victory.
Overall ranking
1. Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (FIN, Toyota) 2:05:29.3
2. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL, Hyundai) in 34.9
3. Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN, Hyundai) in 45.4
4. Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (GBR, Toyota) in 52.7
5. Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (FIN, Hyundai) in 1:41.5
6. Pierre-Louis Loubet/Nicolas Gilsoul (FRA-BEL, M-Sport/Ford) in 2:25.5
7. Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (JAP-IRL, Toyota) in 2:32.5
8. Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (EST, M-Sport/Ford) in 5.55.2
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
