Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä, thrust into the rally at short notice, narrowly held onto his lead, but teammate Elfyn Evans trails by just 0.1 seconds. Rovanperä hasn’t prepared for the rally in his usual manner, which shows in his performances, despite the Finnish star driving brilliantly.
Rovanperä set two fastest times on Saturday morning, but had to settle for third on Stage 11, trailing Andreas Mikkelsen’s top time by 2.4 seconds.
“The time is not enough. We need to be much quicker. We are happy to be at the end of the loop now. With this little preparation it fucking scary, fifth gear all the time,” Rovanperä exclaimed.
“I didn’t think it would be enough, especially at a few places in the end here. Otherwise, it was quite okay. There’s a lot more to do at the end of this rally,” Evans commented.
Hyundai’s Mikkelsen closed in on the leaders significantly with his fastest time. The gap between the two is now only 2.2 seconds.
“The pace is high and we are trying hard. I was flat out. I was a bit careful in the last three or four corners, that’s the only place we lost time I think. It’s a good fight, I’m enjoying it,” Mikkelsen reported.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux holds fourth place in the rally. The Frenchman is just 15.7 seconds behind the leader. Latvian surprise Martins Sesks continues in fifth place, trailing Rovanperä by just under half a minute.
In sixth place overall is Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. The championship leader is already 46.4 seconds off the pace.
“I’m driving fast, but it is very hard to say how hard you can push. New stages, new pace notes. There is no reason to take unnecessary risks,” Neuville stated.
Seventh is Ford’s Luxembourger Gregoire Munster, trailing Neuville by only 8.5 seconds. Eighth place belongs to Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta.
Leading the WRC2 class, Sami Pajari impressively holds ninth place overall. Kajetan Kajetanowicz, who had pressured Pajari in the class, made a driving error and dropped out of contention. Estonian Robert Virves now holds second in class, trailing the Finn by just over half a minute.
“It has been quite a nice morning. I managed to get quite a nice rhythm through all the stages. It’s very close but it is fine,” Pajari remarked.
Rally Poland continues on Saturday with four more special stages. The competition concludes on Sunday.
Rally Poland standings after SS11/19:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 1:29:37.5 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +0.1 |
| 3. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +2.2 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +15.7 |
| 5. | Martin Sesks | Ford | +29.2 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +46.4 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +54.9 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:05.5 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +3:52.6 |
| 10. | Robert Virves | Skoda | +4:25.9 |
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
