Rovanperä set the fastest time on the morning’s first special stage and continued his excellent pace on the second one as well.
Rovanperä set another fastest time on the nearly 20-kilometre Gołdap stage. Toyotas took their own paths, as teammate Elfyn Evans trailed Rovanperä’s fastest time by just 0.3 seconds, advancing to second place in the rally.
“I didn’t really attack much. I just tried to stay on the road,” Rovanperä commented at the end of the stage.
Overall, Rovanperä rose to the top of the rally standings. He now leads the rally with a 1.4-second gap over Evans.
Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen trailed Rovanperä’s pace by 5.1 seconds, dropping to third place in the rally. He now trails the leader by 4.6 seconds.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux remains fourth in the rally, with Ford’s Martins Sesks in fifth place. Fourmaux trails the leader by 14.9 seconds and Sesks by 23.8 seconds.
Thierry Neuville, leading the championship, was impressively third fastest on SS10, advancing to sixth overall. However, the Belgian is already 41.1 seconds behind the leader. Hyundai’s Ott Tänak was fourth fastest on the stage, but his rally was ruined by a collision with a deer on the first stage of yesterday.
Five more special stages will be held on Saturday at the Rally Poland. The competition concludes on Sunday.
Rally Poland Standings after SS10/19:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:18:41.3. |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1.4 |
| 3. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +4.6 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +14.9 |
| 5. | Martin Sesks | Ford | +23.8 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +41.1 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +46.4 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +54.7 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3:16.5 |
| 10. | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Skoda | +3:33.1 |
Rally Poland Itinerary (CET):
Thursday 27.6. 10:01 Shakedown: Lubiewo (5.10 km) 19:05 SS1: Mikołajki Arena 1 (2.50 km) Friday 28.6. 08:45 SS2: Stańczyki 1 (29.40 km) 10:20 SS3: Wieliczki 1 (12.90 km) *CANCELLED 11:10 SS4: Olecko 1 (13.20 km) 14:05 SS5: Stańczyki 2 (29.40 km) 15:40 SS6: Wieliczki 2 (12.90 km) 16:30 SS7: Olecko 2 (13.20 km) 19:00 SS8: Mikołajki Arena 2 (2.50 km) Saturday 29.6. 08:30 SS9: Świętajno 1 (18.50 km) 09:45 SS10: Gołdap 1 (19.90 km) 10:35 SS11: Czarne 1 (22.40 km) 13:25 SS12: Mikołajki Arena 3 (2.50 km) 16:00 SS13: Świętajno 2 (18.50 km) 17:15 SS14: Gołdap 2 (19.90 km) 18:05 SS15: Czarne 2 (22.40 km) Sunday 30.6. 09:00 SS16: Gmina Mrągowo 1 (20.80 km) 10:05 SS17: Mikołajki 1 (10.73 km) 12:20 SS18: Gmina Mrągowo 2 (20.80 km) 14:15 SS19: Mikołajki 2 (10.73 km) *Power Stage
