Rovanperä has been absolutely dominant at this weekend’s challenging gravel rally in Kenya. By the end of Saturday, Toyota’s Finnish star has a solid two-minute lead over his teammate Takamoto Katsuta.
If Rovanperä avoids additional problems on Sunday, he will celebrate his first victory of the season at the end of the event.
Rovanperä planned not to attack for the day’s individual points on Sunday. Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala had one wish for his driver before the final day.
“Kalle can take it easy. Kalle doesn’t need to be the fastest on Sunday. But Kalle is very good on the Power Stage, so I hope he can then push again on the Power Stage,” Latvala referred to the final stage of the event, which offers five extra points to the fastest driver.
“But we need all the cars to finish. That is the first target,” Latvala added.
Rovanperä is one of the few drivers who have navigated all the special stages without any issues. He gained a significant lead over the other competitors on Friday, and by Saturday, he was in a position to monitor the situation. Despite this, his lead was further solidified
Latvala identified a clear reason why Rovanperä has been so dominant in the Safari Rally.
“You have to build your own luck. Kalle is able to understand the sectors where he can push and the sectors where he should take it a bit easier. I think maybe others may have pushed too much in difficult places,” Latvala said.
In the previous round in Sweden, Rovanperä and Toyota’s so-called number one driver, Elfyn Evans, agreed not to compete for points on Sunday so that Evans could gain more points in the championship based on the day’s results.
The same scenario is likely to occur in Kenya.
“If Kalle wants to do it personally, then, of course, he’s free to do it. I assume his approach is going to be, he will take it a little bit easier because he wants to win the rally. And then probably he wants to push on the Power Stage. He knows that those points don’t matter so much for him. The victory is more important. I think it gives a bit of room for Elfyn, which is very important because I think Thierry (Neuville) also wants to fight,” Latvala speculated.
Championship leader Neuville is fifth in the Safari Rally before the final day.
