After the suspension of the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä Kalle Rovanperä returned to dominate the World Championship in Greece. After the other drivers made mistakes or suffered from technical problems, Rovanperä throttled to eight bottom times and a victory of more than one and a half minutes.
He crowned the rally with a stunning Power Stage win. The victory of the rally was already clear before the final stretch, but the reigning world champion still drove 2.5 seconds faster than everyone else.
– In a clear lead, even with such a decisive move, he doesn’t get the slightest chill in his head, but he gives his best performance. His performance level is completely above others, ‘s expert Henri Haapamäki download.
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Haapamäki says that many other drivers in a similar situation would think about the possibility of going out and losing the win.
– Kalle’s expression doesn’t waver either.
Haapamäki emphasizes that Rovanperä’s normal level of driving is so high that he does not have to overdo it. He rarely drives out and has not suffered from flat tires in his WRC career, for example.
A month ago in Jyväskylä, a drive-out was seen. There was no indication of that in Greece. Haapamäki points out that in the case of Rovanperä, there is not even talk about how he will pull himself together after the disappointment or whether his concentration will remain at the previous level.
– It’s completely clear that the new opening has been translated from the book and in the new rally things will start to run like that again, says Haapamäki.
Haapamäki compares again. After the interruption, other drivers in the World Championship leadership might think about how it will go if there are two or three interruptions in a row. Rovanperä is really strong mentally.
– On top of that, phenomenal car handling skills and the ability to drive, the result is like that. After such performances, you can’t be satisfied with anything other than the world championship, Haapamäki predicts the end of Rovanperä’s season.
The difference in MM points is increasing
Team mate Elfyn Evans is 33 points away from Rovanpera with three races remaining. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is third in the World Series, but already 66 points behind the Finnish ace.
Neuville’s rally in Greece was ruined when he crashed his car into a mountain in the road. Team mate Esapekka Lappi suffered from a flat tire and technical problems. Experienced Dani Sordo was the best of the Hyundai drivers when he was third.
The season has been challenging for Hyundai at times, but Haapamäki says that the team’s cars can drive good results. It’s not a low-quality car, even if Lappi suffered from unfortunate technical problems in Greece, similar to the World Rally Championship in Kenya.
– The team wouldn’t have a problem if there were the fastest and best drivers in the series, Haapamäki says.
For example, Neuville fell to a small but crucial mistake in the lead in Greece. Neuville has made fatal mistakes in the battles to win rallies before. For example, from the beginning of the season in Croatia, he hit a well in the ground and the rally was over.
– If Hyundai drove a Rovanperä, the result could look quite different, Haapamäki states.
Read more: What the hell really happened in the Greek World Rally on Saturday? An expert on Kalle Rovanperä’s mastery in chaos
The fate of the Greek World Rally Championship
The roads, which were in terrible condition, flat tires and the durability of the cars came to the fore especially on Saturday, when one driver after another experienced adversity. Competitively, Haapamäki sees a place in the calendar with a rally like Greece.
It is not right for the nature of the sport to compete, for example, only on well-surfaced and high-speed gravel roads.
– Really different conditions belong to the series. They enable different drivers to succeed.
The behavior of the spectators spoke throughout the race weekend. Already on Friday, we saw a situation where the spectator was way too close to the road, and the special test had to be stopped in the end. A similar situation was repeated on Saturday, when two spectators walked on the road just before the finish line of the special stage.
Haapamäki emphasizes the life-threatening nature of the situations. The organizers have the responsibility to ensure that the rally is safe.
– It is the responsibility of the organizers to keep the crowds under control and to see if it is safe to drive and watch, he emphasizes.
Read more: Comment: There have been fatal situations in Greece – the decision-makers of the World Rally Championship have to make the only right decision
The speed of rally cars brings its own risks to the sport. Haapamäki says that competitions cannot be taken to places where the culture or know-how do not make it possible to organize an event of the level of a World Cup competition.
An experienced driver says that such situations also affect the drivers’ driving and their motivation to go to those race places.
– Such external, easily preventable things must be taken care of. If the International Automobile Federation has already held a serious interview with the organizers before, it’s time to put the rally on ice, Haapamäki says directly about the traditional rally.
– You can’t wait that long for a serious accident to happen.