Jari-Matti Latvala saw a change in Kalle Rovanperä’s being – EPN’s expert praised the Finnish star’s masterful behavior

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans won for the first time in almost two years, when he was the ruler of the World Rally Championship in Croatia, driven from challenging starting points. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville drove out of the top spot on Saturday, and not M-Sport’s Ford Ott Tänak finally able to challenge the British driver for the win.

Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi took his first podium of the season, being third, and Toyota Kalle Rovanperä was fourth.

From the speeches of the drivers and team members, it became clear that the biggest victory of the weekend was driving the race in general.

Hyundai’s participation in the rally was speculated after Craig Breen died a week and a half ago during the team’s tests in Croatia. Lappi, who drives in the team, said after the race that the past week was “the hardest ever”.

– Before the race, I probably felt a little bad that now we are driving a rally. As the rally progressed, it became clear that this was the right style, Urheilu’s expert Henri Haapamäki amount.

At the end of the World Rally Championship in Croatia, there were some touching moments at the award ceremony. The drivers were on the podium when only the Irish national anthem was played. After this there was a moment of silence. Contrary to the traditional style, the sparkling drink was not sprayed at all.

– It also respects the driver, when we don’t stay on the racks for a month waiting with the helper, but move forward respectfully, Haapamäki summed up.

Evans Map Reader Scott Martin is also Craig Breen’s former map reader. He read the notes to the Irishman when Breen drove his first WRC class podium finish at the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä in 2016.

– After crossing the finish line, Martinista noticed how strong the outburst of emotions was. It must have been a really tough week and competition, Haapamäki times.

According to him, Lappin and the map reader who came third also Janne Fermin the performance was excellent considering the starting points. In addition, the Finnish driver was at times in really big trouble on the slippery roads. Grip and self-confidence were missing.

– Esapekka and Janne were really hard this weekend. It’s a stressful and challenging situation to drive a race when you have a lot of conflicting thoughts in your head, Haapamäki explains.

Masterful behavior from Rovanpera – Latvala saw a change in the essence

Rovanperä was the fastest in Croatia in a total of six special tests. The Finn was not satisfied with his car on Friday, and a flat tire watered down the fight for the top places.

After the race, the champion driver took it upon himself that the car was not capable of striking from the start. He demanded better preparation for the race weekends.

– It was masterful behavior from Kalle. It was not the car or the team that was blamed, but what kind of adjustments he himself chose. The driver ultimately makes the decision as to which adjustments to put in the car, says Haapamäki.

Urheilu also reached Toyota’s team manager Jari-Matti Latvala on Sunday evening from Croatia. Latvala said that he talked with Rovanperä for a while after the competition. Latvala was satisfied that Rovanperä was able to defeat him in the battle for fourth place by Sébastien Ogier purely by driving.

– Notice that Kalle’s hunger for profit is starting to grow, because there has been no profit. I said that victory tastes better when it takes more time and you have to work harder for it. Kalle admitted that this is how it is, Latvala revealed.

Haapamäki believes that Toyota will focus especially closely on preparation in the future. The correct adjustments must be found before the start of the race.

– On the first day, the car can’t be such that it doesn’t fit the situation and it gets messy all the time, Haapamäki loads.

Latvala also emphasizes that the key to Rovanperä’s success is that the young Finnish star would like the car in the next race in Portugal.

– Kalle is extremely fast when he trusts the car. If he doesn’t trust the car, you can see the lack of speed right away. It is important that we get the car in such a way that Kalle can attack right away. In Portugal, Kalle will also have an advantage from the starting point. He has all the conditions to win there, says Latvala.

Why isn’t Rovanperä dominating like last year?

After the rally in Croatia, Evans and Ogier are tied at the top of the World Series. Rovanperä is only one point away from the two, while Tänak is four points behind the top two in fourth. Last season, Rovanperä had won three races out of four at this stage. Now Rovanperä hasn’t even won a competition yet. After Rovanperä’s dominance last season, the situation is encouraging, according to Haapamäki.

– Kalle’s victory in every race would kill interest in the sport, he estimates.

According to the expert, Rovanperä’s early season may be disappointing compared to the previous expectations. Haapamäki suspects that Toyota is no longer ahead of the other teams in the same way as last year.

– Already last year, towards the end of the season, it seemed that other brands are also giving their cars a top hit and the drivers are getting better at you with the new Rally1 cars. One driver cannot be so much better than the others that he always wins the race, Haapamäki analyzes the balanced power relations.

Latvala also reminded that the settings for this season have been more even than last season.

– We had a bit of a head start last year. Now the competition is tougher. You have to stretch more, Latvala said.

Haapamäki looks forward to an exciting World Series. The season continues in three weeks in Portugal, and no clear preliminary favorite for the current season has yet been found.

– You can’t look with such blue and white glasses that Rovanperä could be made a clear pre-favourite for example in every gravel rally, Haapamäki concludes.

One hot topic during the early season has been whether Sébastien Ogier wants to drive more than half the season, i.e. seven races. According to Latvala, Ogier hasn’t talked about driving all season and considers it out of the question.

– Ogier will not drive in Portugal, but there is a high probability that he will drive in Sardinia. After that, the competition program is still a bit open. Will there be two more races for Ogier then? I can’t say that. Let’s see what comes after Sardinia. He is very interested in the Central European Asphalt Race held in the fall. That’s what he would like to drive, Latvala says.