Kalle Rovanperä broke his car on Saturday morning and fell almost 15 minutes away from the lead of the Akropolis rally. See the ruined situation of the Rovanperä rally in the main picture video.
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Toyota driver Kalle Rovanperän even the little dreams of the Akropolis rally’s top fight crumbled on Saturday morning. Rovanperä, who was driving in ninth place, destroyed the rear of his car, which hit the trees in a bend on the ninth special stage of the competition.
Rovanperä and the map reader Jonne Halttunen got the car in good condition for the tenth special test and thus got into day care. The difference between the duo and the driver in the lead to Thierry Neuville however, had stretched to almost 15 minutes.
– The bend to the right was perhaps more slippery than the other bends. It felt like I came into that corner right on cue, but we drifted wide. Perä hit something, Rovanperä said.
Rovanperä reached the finish line of the special stage, but lost more than six minutes.
– The biggest problem was the brakes. We lost a lot when we had to drive around without brakes. But we got the brakes repaired for the next (10th special test), Rovanperä explained.
At the 10th special test, a special moment was proven, when Rovanperä had to swerve to the side of the road, so that the Ott Tänak was able to drive past the Finn.
Watch the video: Rovanperä dodged so that Tänak could pass
Hulppea’s World Cup points lead is narrowing at an alarming rate
Rovanperä is in the lead of the World Series with a difference of 72 points ahead of Tänak, but now the point difference threatens to narrow significantly. The background is Rovanperä’s driving mistake in the previous World Cup rally in Belgium.
Team manager Jari-Matti Latvala don’t panic.
– I’m not worried. I still believe that Kalle can win the championship. Every driver usually has one or two bad races, now they have only happened in consecutive rallies, Latvala said.
As far as Greece is concerned, almost nothing can be done anymore, so securing the championship remains in the last three races of the season. A new opportunity awaits at the turn of September-October in New Zealand.
– This weekend went a bit under the bench, but we have to try to hit the tricks and find a good pace for the next race, Rovanperä thought.
will broadcast live the 13th special stage of the Greek World Rally Championship on Saturday at 17:00. Follow this link to follow the rally.
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