After nine special stages, Rovanperä’s record makes for impressive reading. The Finn has set the fastest time on every stage so far. This level of dominance hasn’t been seen in the World Rally Championship at least during the 2020s.
“It seems to be going nicely now, so you just have to let it come,” Rovanperä replied coolly after his morning.
Rovanperä said after the final stage of Saturday morning that he didn’t even have to push. Fastest times are coming almost effortlessly now.
“It has truly been a joy to drive,” said Rovanperä.
“The first two stages this morning were a bit different from what we’ve been used to here. There was a lot more broken asphalt and narrower roads. The last stage, again, was wider, and I got into a good flow,” he continued.
Rovanperä managed to get his car set up just right from the beginning of the rally, and the car has felt great in his hands throughout the event. But as noted, the first two stages on Saturday morning also required changes to his driving style.
“You had to change quite a bit. I don’t think anyone had a super great car there, and for us too, it felt like that’s where the car would need to be changed the most. Let’s see what we come up with for the afternoon,” Rovanperä said.
At this point, Rovanperä holds a solid lead. After Saturday morning’s loop, he leads the rally by 36.9 seconds over his teammate Sebastien Ogier. Still, the Finn’s plan is not changing drastically.
“We’ll try to keep going the same way, but of course we don’t need to try too hard anymore. If you just keep a good rhythm in your driving, then that’s when you make the fewest mistakes,” Rovanperä explained.
“We haven’t done anything wild today either. Just sticking to our own driving and being smart,” he added.
Rovanperä now has the chance to pull off an incredible feat by setting the fastest time on every stage of the rally. There are still nine stages left to reach that goal.
“Of course, it’s always tempting in theory. But the afternoon stages won’t be so easy for setting fastest times anymore. If more come, they come. That kind of spectator show is already annoying enough that I’m not going to go chasing anything crazy,” Rovanperä said, referring to the evening’s spectator stage.
