Rovanperä has struggled to achieve his usual solid speed at any point during the rally. While he has shown flashes of brilliance, consistency has been lacking.
On Saturday, Rovanperä managed to find a decent driving rhythm and began rebuilding his confidence, but the clock did not agree. With only three stages left to run in Rally Monte-Carlo, the Finn sits fifth overall, trailing his teammate and rally leader Sebastien Ogier by 55 seconds.
“It wasn’t the best day. I’m lacking speed on certain sections. Occasionally, I set good times, but we’ve never had such large gaps in split times as we’re seeing now,” Rovanperä lamented to Rallyjournal.com.
On Saturday, Rovanperä battled Hyundai’s Ott Tänak for fourth place. However, the fight swung decisively in the Estonian’s favour when Tänak set the fastest times on the day’s final three stages.
“To put it simply, Ott was driving very fast. We had no chance against that. It’s rare for us to experience such big gaps even on the same stage. At times, we’re at the pace of the fastest times, and at other times, we’re losing by a lot. Certain sections of the road just aren’t working for us right now,” Rovanperä admitted.
Rovanperä made it clear that he is not content with fifth place. On Sunday, he intends to push for a stronger performance.
“Of course, we need to get something out of it. Fifth-place points don’t do much for us. If the speed stays the same as today, pushing harder probably won’t achieve much,” Rovanperä predicted for the rally’s final day.
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala has suggested that a lack of driving may be the reason for Rovanperä’s unusual form. Rovanperä has not competed at the top level since Rally Chile last autumn.
“Yes, maybe. I don’t know if that’s the reason, but it might show in some way,” Rovanperä replied tersely.
