Kalle Rovanperä, who joined the rally on short notice, is leading the rally, with Elfyn Evans backing him up in third place. Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala praised Rovanperä’s impressive performance.
“It’s been a good day. Kalle was brought here on short notice. I told him that we don’t expect anything. However, he has had the goal that he wants to compete for the win,” Latvala said to RallyJournal.com
“The afternoons have been especially strong for him. In the morning, he hasn’t been quite satisfied with the notes and has shown some frustration.”
Although nothing was expected from Rovanperä, the Finnish driver has not been content with just cruising. Winning is the only thing that matters to the Toyota driver.
“Fortunately, there’s that desire to win in the background. Otherwise, you can’t be a champion, Latvala summed up.”
Evans’s improved performances also pleased the team boss.
“Elfyn’s pace has been really good. I’m also happy with that. His tyre exploded, and then he realised it wasn’t worth taking risks. He wanted to secure third place and get good provisional points from it,” Latvala explained.
However, it is clear that Toyota drivers must also succeed on Sunday. Using the new points system, Hyundai drivers have repeatedly beaten the Toyota crew in the hunt for extra points.
“That has been our stumbling block. In ice hockey terms, we’ve been playing a bit of a defensive game. Now we have to try to attack a bit as well. We can’t always be on the defensive line. It requires all our drivers to go on the attack tomorrow,” Latvala stated.
