Kalle Rovanperä did a masterful job.
The reigning world champion leads the World Rally Greece before the final day of driving by more than two minutes ahead of Hyundai Dani Sordoa. Rovanperä’s teammate Elfyn Evans is third. Saturday contained wild twists and turns that changed the battle for the top several times.
– Kalle’s performance is at an unfathomable level. He can distinguish himself with his speed, but also with his ability to avoid mistakes, which is even more difficult than driving a single hard time, ‘s expert Henri Haapamäki anneal.
The adversities trickled down both the long lead by Thierry Neuville that Sebastien Ogier’s from the top fight. The suspension of Neuville’s Hyundai broke on the tenth special stage, when the Belgian driver hit a pit and had to stop. Ogier suffered a flat tire on the final stretch of the day and suffered the same fate.
Rovanperä drove the bottom time equally for all the special stages of the day. The demanding conditions of the rally challenged the cars as well as the drivers.
The audience became a topic of conversation again
The stony and potholed roads showed their danger as early as the eighth special test, when Esapekka Lappi suffered a flat tire and fell far from the top. Lappi claimed in the interview that the rock that caused the breach was so big that it was not possible to avoid it on the narrow and high-speed section.
At this point, Neuville and Ogier were fighting for the top spot. With a small mistake by the French legend, Neuville took the lead.
Rovanperä did a strong job and clocked the record time for the ninth special test. At the same time, Evans’ Toyota had an engine failure. The British driver had to drive the rest of the section with only the hybrid.
Supporters were already on Friday in Greece in areas that do not belong to them, watching the competition. This happened again on Saturday. Two people walked on the route just before Robert Virves was driving to the finish line with EK 9.
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 battle for victory in the rally and this season’s World Cup battle took a dramatic turn with Neuville’s suspension. Neuville, who drove violently into the pit, was already 34 points behind Rovanperä in the World Cup standings before the Greek rally. Now the gap threatens to grow even more.
– Neuville will have to look for motivation for the rallies at the end of the season from somewhere other than the world championship, Haapamäki uploads directly.
– It’s not nice for Finns either, if the championships are decided in situations like this.
The expert emphasizes the speed of the situation in Neuville’s suspension. Still, he reminds that, for example, Ogier managed to avoid a similar point on the road.
– In the case of Ogier, you can see that he has time to turn to the side a little and does not drive directly over the pit, but Neuville drives directly into the pit. That shows the brutality of the rally, Haapamäki emphasizes.
He adds that by driving on a different line from the previous bump, the driver would not have had to do any kind of evasion. The margins, especially in a rally like Greece, are minimal.
The afternoon was still colored by Lapland’s technical problems with the eleventh special test. The drive shaft of Lapland’s car broke. He was afraid of being interrupted, but in the end he drove the next special test calmly to the finish line.
The bad luck of Toyota drivers also continued when Takamoto Katsuta suffered two punctures on EK 11. Ogier, who led the rally, had a flat tire in the closing stages, “crowning” a chaotic Saturday. According to the WRC website, the rock destroyed Ogier’s rear wheel and ruined the French legend’s dreams of victory.
Rovanperä shines again
In the middle of all the chaos, Rovanperä drove to four consecutive bottom times. In total, he has been the fastest in seven special tests in Greece. Haapamäki says that at the top of the world, the differences between drivers come from really small things. This season too, Rovanperä has shown his skills in high-speed rallies as well as in sylvia like Greece.
– He is an extraordinary talent. He sees and senses things very quickly when driving, Haapamäki analysed.
He points out that many drivers over the years have been able to stand out from time to time with their speed. Another kind of example is Sordo. According to Haapamäki, he drives reliably to the finish line in the top positions, but lacks the brightest top speed.
After Rovaperta, these are combined.
– The performance level is above the others. When he needs to shave the bottoms, he will shave the bottoms. When you have to dodge rocks, he dodges rocks, an experienced rally man paints from Rovanperä.
He only raises Ogier among the current drivers to Rovanperä’s level. The eight-time world champion is not driving the entire World Series this season, but the speed has been enough for, among other things, three victories.
– He has put Kalle in a tight spot every time. The battle for the championship would be at least even if he drove the entire World Series, Haapamäki estimates.