Tag: Kalle Rovanpera

Rovanpera grabs WRC Rally Acropolis lead after brutal Saturday

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera (above) is on course for a remarkable victory at WRC Acropolis Rally Greece after Saturday’s brutal penultimate leg forced leaders Thierry Neuville and Sebastien Ogier into retirement. A furious fight in the morning became a …

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera (above) is on course for a remarkable victory at WRC Acropolis Rally Greece after Saturday’s brutal penultimate leg forced leaders Thierry Neuville and Sebastien Ogier into retirement.

A furious fight in the morning became a matter of survival on the afternoon’s loop of stages as heat and punishing rock-strewn roads took a heavy toll in the 10th round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship.

Overnight leader Neuville was a relatively comfortable 10.9s clear when he thumped a deep pothole and shattered his Hyundai i20 N Rally1’s right-front suspension on the first stage of the afternoon. The Belgian had trailed reigning WRC champ and 2023 championship leader Rovanpera by 36 points coming into the event, but with only three more rounds after Greece, his slim title hopes appear to be shattered. 

Neuville’s demise left eight-time WRC champ Ogier, who’s running only a part-time WRC program in 2023, seemingly in control in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. But the Frenchman, who entered Saturday’s leg-closing Eleftherohori 2 stage 12.4s ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Rovanpera, swiped a rock which destroyed his left-rear suspension. He crabbed out of the stage, but retired on the final road section, while Rovanpera moved into a familiar spot at the top of the leaderboard.

Sebastien Ogier’s attempts at repairs after hitting a final-stage rock would prove in vain. WRC photo

Rovanpera will start the final leg with a lead of more than two minutes over Hyundai Motorsport Dani’s Sordo, and completing the victory on Sunday would move the 22-year-old Finn another step closer to clinching back-to-back WRC titles. 

“There was a lot happening at the front today,” said Rovanpera as news of Ogier’s issue reached him. “It was a nice battle of course, but not the easiest to push with Seb because we had the championship to think about. I think we had a good day; we were fast, but we also kept the car in one piece.” 

There was drama throughout the field as Rovanpera’s closest championship challenger, Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans, limped to the finish of the morning’s final stage, Eleftherohori 1, in EV mode when his hybrid GR Yaris began overheating. Having plummeted to fifth overall, the Welshman hauled himself back up the order, only to be demoted to third by Sordo’s Hyundai in the final stage.

Sordo had ended Friday’s opening leg down in seventh overall, but crept up the order as those around him struck trouble. Cautious rather than spectacular, the Spaniard headed to the overnight halt with a 5.0s lead over Evans.

Dani Sordo kept his head as others encountered dramas and now holds second for Hyundai. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Despite having 3m40s in time penalties for being late out of Friday’s tire fitting zone after a water pump issue, M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 driver Ott Tanak enjoyed a clean day in comparison to his rivals and climbed from ninth to fourth overall, passing fifth- and sixth-placed Esapekka Lappi and Takamoto Katsuta in the process. 

A transmission failure left Lappi’s Hyundai with only rear-wheel drive, while a fraught run through Karoutes 2 saw Katsuta stop twice to perform wheel changes on his GR Yaris.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Andreas Mikkelsen produced one of the strongest drives of his WRC career to climb from 12th to first in class.

After suffering three punctures on Friday, nobody could have blamed Mikkelsen for writing off his chances of claiming victory. But the Norwegian was far from down and out, and proceeded to gun his Skoda Fabia RS to fastest WRC2 times on all of Saturday’s stages — leapfrogging Gus Greensmith’s similar car in the day’s final stage to carry a miniscule 0.4s advantage into Sunday’s final leg. 

Andreas Mikkelsen fought back from his Friday punctures to take the WRC2 lead. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Overnight WRC2 leader Yohan Rossel had topped the standings throughout the morning, but fell to third when his Citroen C3 sustained tire damage on the day’s penultimate stage. The Frenchman, who trails Mikkelsen by five points in the WRC2 title race, was more than one minute behind the leaders at close of play.

Sunday’s three-stage final leg totals a short, sharp, but potentially decisive 26.33 competitive miles north-west of the Lamia rally HQ and begins with the classic Tarzan test. Double runs of Grammeni round out the event, the second of which forms the Wolf Power Stage where bonus points are available.

WRC Acropolis Rally Greece, leading positions after Day Two, SS12

1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h29m40.5s
2 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m04.4s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m09.4s
4 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m49.7s
5 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +6m16.2s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +7m02.2s
7 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +8m51.1s
8 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +8m51.5s
9 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +9m47.6s
10 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +9m56.3s

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Rovanpera ramps up WRC title defense with Estonia Rally victory

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera secured his third consecutive Rally Estonia triumph with a relentless performance on the FIA World Rally Championship’s super-fast eighth round. Two years ago, Rovanpera became the WRC’s youngest ever rally winner on the …

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera secured his third consecutive Rally Estonia triumph with a relentless performance on the FIA World Rally Championship’s super-fast eighth round.

Two years ago, Rovanpera became the WRC’s youngest ever rally winner on the country’s high-speed gravel special stages. Last year, his second victory was key in his surge to a first WRC title, and now he leaves Estonia 55 points clear at the top of the WRC standings after today’s dominant success moved him another step closer to claiming back-to-back championships.

The 22-year-old Finn finished 52.7s ahead of Hyundai i20 N Rally1 driver Thierry Neuville, who initially led after Friday’s opening loop. He seized the top spot later that day before reeling off nine consecutive fastest times in his GR Yaris Rally1 on Saturday to exert his supremacy.

The forecasted rain did not materialize in Sunday’s closing leg, where Rovanpera again remained untouchable, winning all four special stages and gaining maximum Wolf Power Stage bonus points in the process. Such was his dominance that he won 15 of the rally’s 21 special stages.

Kalle Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen celebrate a win that moves them closer to another WRC title. McKlein/Motorsport Images

“An important event, this one,” said Rovanpera. “For the championship it’s a really important place to get good points and this was exactly the plan. It’s my favorite event of the calendar so I knew we had to push here, and it went well.”

Neuville virtually conceded defeat by Saturday night but was upbeat after enjoying one of the strongest fast-gravel rally performances of his career. But he could not afford to cruise through Sunday, with Hyundai teammate Esapekka Lappi completing the podium just 6.8s behind after the event’s 187 miles of special stages.

Outpaced by Kalle Rovanpera, Thierry Neuville could still take positives from his second place in Estonia. @World/Red Bull Content Pool

Lappi’s result marked his fourth top-three finish in the last five rallies for Hyundai Motorsport, which now trails Toyota Gazoo Racing by 57 points in the manufacturers’ title race. Lappi and Toyota’s Elfyn Evans were closely matched, with only 7.3s separating them at the final control.

Teemu Suninen made it three Hyundais in the top five, finishing more than one minute back from Evans after a faultless drive on his i20 N Rally1 debut. Behind him was M-Sport Ford’s Pierre-Louis Loubet, who shaded Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta in the Wolf Power Stage to claim sixth overall by just 0.3s from the Japanese driver.

First time in a Hyundai Rally1 car, Teemu Suninen drove faultlessly to fifth. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Loubet’s M-Sport Ford teammate Ott Tanak was the pre-event favorite, but his hopes of a home victory were crushed before the rally had even started. Issues in Thursday’s shakedown forced a last-minute engine change and landed him a five-minute penalty before the opening stage. He now trails Rovanpera by 66 points with five WRC rounds remaining and a maximum of 30 points available from each one.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Andreas Mikkelsen’s title bid was given a major boost when the Norwegian driver took his second class win of the season.

Mikkelsen, the 2021 WRC2 champ, seized the class lead on Friday when early pacesetter Oliver Solberg retired his car with suspension damage. The 34-year-old Skoda Fabia RS driver remained in control from that moment on and could afford to manage his risk level on the superfast gravel stages, despite Finland’s Sami Pajari mounting a late charge in his similar Fabia.

Pajari outpaced Mikkelsen on all four of Sunday’s special stages, but his surge came too little too late, with Mikkelsen taking the win by 9.7s, marking his second victory in as many WRC starts.

“We took the clever approach this weekend,” said Mikkelsen, who climbed to second in the overall WRC2 standings. “Oliver had great pace on day one and he was maybe a bit over the limit, but we had a constant speed. After he went off, we just tried to maintain the gap as well as possible. On the Power Stage you always want to go flat out, but we were holding back a little bit because the 25 points for the win is so crucial.”

Andreas Mikkelsen’s second WRC2 win puts the former class champ in the title frame again. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

The WRC remains in northern Europe for another fast-gravel event, Secto Rally Finland, next month. Nicknamed the “Finnish Grand Prix” for its high speeds through the birch forests and lakes of central Finland, round nine of the 2023 season is based in Jyvaskyla, Aug. 3-6, and could see local hero Rovanpera move a step closer to retaining his crown. 

WRC Rally Estonia, final positions after Day Two, SS21
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h36m03.1s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +52.7s
3 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +59.5s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m06.8s
5 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m21.1s
6 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Nicola Gilsoul (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +3m09.9s
7 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +3m10.2s
8 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveola (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +6m25.6s
9 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +9m54.1s
10 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +10m03.8s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 8 rounds
1 Rovanpera 170 points
2 Evans 115
3 Neuville 112
4 Tanak 104
5 Ogier 97

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 8 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 331 points
2 Hyundai Motorsport 274
3 M-Sport Ford 195   

Check out WRC.com, the official home of the FIA World Rally Championship. And for the ultimate WRC experience, sign up for a WRC+ All Live subscription to watch all stages of every rally live and on demand, whenever and wherever.

Dominant Rally Portugal win gives Rovanpera WRC points lead

Defending champ Kalle Rovanpera vaulted to the top of the FIA World Rally Championship standings with a dominant Rally Portugal victory on Sunday afternoon. It was the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver’s second consecutive triumph at the Matosinhos-based …

Defending champ Kalle Rovanpera vaulted to the top of the FIA World Rally Championship standings with a dominant Rally Portugal victory on Sunday afternoon.

It was the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver’s second consecutive triumph at the Matosinhos-based all-gravel event, and his first time on top of a WRC podium since his title-clinching victory in New Zealand last October.

After going fastest on the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage (above), too, the 22-year-old Finn now holds a 17-point advantage over M-Sport Ford’s Ott Tanak after round five of 2023’s 13-rally season. 

Rovanpera seized control of Rally Portugal when Tanak suffered wheel damage on Friday afternoon’s rough and dusty stages, establishing a slender 10.7s lead by the end of the opening leg.

Unstoppable on Saturday, he unleashed a masterful display of five stage wins in his GR Yaris Rally1 and widened the gap to a commanding 57.5s at the overnight halt, before effortlessly negotiating Sunday’s four-stage final leg to finish 54.7s clear of second-placed Dani Sordo’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1.

“It has been too long coming, but finally we are back,” said Rovanpera. “I have to say a big thank you to Jonne (Halttunen, co-driver) and the team. They have been pushing all the time and going forward.”

Defending WRC champs Kalle Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen celebrated their first win of 2023. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT photo

Esapekka Lappi made it two factory Hyundais inside the top three, scoring his second podium finish in as many rallies. His result helped Hyundai Motorsport to stay within 32 points of Toyota Gazoo Racing in the fight for the WRC manufacturers’ championship.

Thierry Neuville began the day in third, but a broken turbocharger left his Hyundai severely down on power. Time poured away as he limped through the closing stages, allowing Tanak’s Puma Rally1 to claim fourth overall while the Belgian frustratingly settled for fifth.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville missed out on a podium spot after turbocharger issues. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, an exhilarating final leg saw Gus Greensmith pip a disconsolate Oliver Solberg to the class spoils by just 1.2s.

The Briton went to bed on Saturday evening thinking he was trailing Solberg by a seemingly insurmountable 35.4s heading into Sunday’s finale. But when the Swede was later handed a one-minute time penalty for performing “donuts” after the flying finish of Saturday’s closing stage — a breach of the WRC’s sporting regulations — the tables were turned. 

Greensmith’s task — to keep his newly-acquired 24.6s advantage intact over the remaining four speed tests — was easier said than done. A heavy landing over the famous Pedra Sentada jump in the first run through Fafe not only claimed his Skoda Fabia RS’s front bumper, but it also caused a power steering fault.

Solberg hunted down his rival, topping the WRC2 times on the first three tests of the day to trail Greensmith by 8.7s before the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage. The Skoda-driving 21-year old was fastest there, too – but not by enough as Greensmith walked away with victory by just 1.2s.

Gus Greensmith inherited the WRC2 lead, lost a bumper, but clung on for a close-fought win. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

“I tried, anyway,” said Solberg at the finish. “I drove too slow on the long (Cabeceiras de Basto) stage. It’s been a great weekend really — very consistent and with good speed again. It’s really a shame about everything that happened, but that’s how it is.”

WRC2 returnee and former class champ Andreas Mikkelsen made it a Fabia podium lockout, trailing Solberg by 41.8s at the finish. He headed Citroen C3 driver Yohan Rossel by more than a minute, the Frenchman retaining the WRC2 championship lead with his fourth place. 

Next up, the WRC crews face more hot weather and rough roads as the series moves to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia for round 6 and the Olbia-based Rally Italy, June 1-4.

WRC Rally Portugal, final positions after Day Three, SS19
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 3h35m11.7s
2 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +54.7s
3 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m20.3s
4 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +2m04.1s
5 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +8m22.5s
6 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +9m43.4s
7 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +9m44.6s
8 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +10m26.4s
9 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +11m33.2s
10 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N – WRC2) +12m16.3s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 5 rounds
1 Rovanpera 93 points
2 Tanak 77
3 Sebastien Ogier 69
4 Elfyn Evans 69
5 Neuville 68

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 5 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 194 points
2 Hyundai Motorsport 165
3 M-Sport Ford 130   

Check out WRC.com, the official home of the FIA World Rally Championship. And for the ultimate WRC experience, sign up for a WRC+ All Live subscription to watch all stages of every rally live and on demand, whenever and wherever.

Rovanpera closes on WRC Rally Portugal win after Saturday charge

Just four stages stand between reigning WRC champ Kalle Rovanpera and his first win of 2023 after the Finn obliterated his rivals on Rally Portugal’s Saturday leg. Unyielding and unstoppable, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver (above) unleashed an …

Just four stages stand between reigning WRC champ Kalle Rovanpera and his first win of 2023 after the Finn obliterated his rivals on Rally Portugal’s Saturday leg.

Unyielding and unstoppable, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver (above) unleashed an onslaught of raw speed as he romped to fastest times on five of the day’s seven grueling gravel special stages. What started as a modest overnight lead of 10.7s was transformed into a mighty advantage of almost one minute by the end of the leg on the penultimate day.

Rovanpera launched his attack from the morning’s first stage, more than quadrupling his lead before the mid-leg service halt. He delivered further blows when the classic roads of Vieira do Minho and Amarante were repeated in the afternoon, widening the gap further in rough and dusty conditions more reminiscent of Safari Rally Kenya than Portugal. Even a loss of intercom — and pace notes from co-driver Jonne Halttunen — before the day’s short final stage couldn’t put the 22-year-old Finn off his stride.

“My headphones broke on the last stage of the day, so we were lucky it was here and not in the forest!” he quipped. “But, yes, a good day for me, so let’s see how tomorrow goes.”

Rovanpera, who’s only managed one podium in the first four rounds of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship, enters Sunday’s short closing leg 57.5s ahead of Hyundai Motorsport’s Dani Sordo.

Part-season driver Sordo, starting his third WRC round of the campaign, quickly diverted his attention to the chasing i20 N Rally 1 cars of his teammates, Esapekka Lappi and Thierry Neuville.

Lappi closed in on the Spaniard early in the day, climbing from fifth to third overall on the first pass of Vieira do Minho. But the Finn’s pace faded in the afternoon and he was passed by Belgian Neuville, who finished just 2.3s ahead of him and 11.1s adrift of Sordo. If Hyundai lets its drivers fight it out, it should make for an interesting Sunday.

Esapekka Lappi heads into Sunday’s final leg just 2.3s behind Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

M-Sport Ford’s Pierre-Louis Loubet retired close to the finish of Amarante 1 when a heavy impact damaged his Puma Rally1’s steering, allowing his teammate, Ott Tanak, to profit by seizing fifth overall. The Estonian dropped time with wheel damage on Friday and languishes 2m21.8s back from the lead after an off-the-pace Saturday.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg remains in control despite Saturday’s stages serving up some drama for the Skoda Fabia RS driver.

The 21-year-old Swede finished Friday with a comfortable 50.2s advantage over Gus Greensmith’s similar Skoda, but he saw that margin whittled down to 35.4s by close of play.

Solberg gave away more than 10s with a spin in the Vieira do Minho opener and he found it difficult to manage the wear of his Pirelli tires. A mystery issue which sapped engine power also struck in the afternoon’s first stage, while Greensmith posted a string of top-three stage times aboard his Fabia RS to whittle down the gap.

“It’s great to be here,” Solberg said after the final stage. “It’s been a good day — consistent, but also super-rough this afternoon, so we were just taking it steady.”

Oliver Solberg retains his WRC2 lead, despite some dramas for the Skoda driver. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

After suffering a puncture in his Skoda on Friday, WRC2 returnee and former champ Andreas Mikkelsen made major gains in his comeback mission. The Norwegian grabbed third in the class from Citroen C3 pilot Yohan Rossel in Vieira do Minho 2, going on to trail Greensmith by 53.0s at close of play.

Sunday’s final leg is all about the spectacular Fafe stage, its big jump before the finish and its massive and enthusiastic crowds. Four tests, including two hits of Fafe, make for a total of 33.44 competitive miles, with the second blast through Fafe as the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage.

WRC Rally Portugal, leading positions after Day Two, SS15
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h59m48.6s
2 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +57.5s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m08.6s
4 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m10.9s
5 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) +2m21.8s
6 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +8m08.3s
7 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +8m43.7s
8 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +9m36.7s
9 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +9m58.1s
10 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N – WRC2) +11m13.2s

Check out WRC.com, the official home of the FIA World Rally Championship. And for the ultimate WRC experience, sign up for a WRC+ All Live subscription to watch all stages of every rally live and on demand, whenever and wherever.