Rovanperä set fastest times early in the morning, helping him rise to the top of the rally standings.
However, the battle at the front is extremely close, with the Finn holding a slim 0.4-second lead over his teammate Elfyn Evans before the afternoon loop.
Despite leading the rally, Rovanperä has expressed frustration at the end of stages. The Finn has not been satisfied.
“Of course, it hasn’t been satisfying. Just because driving hasn’t been very enjoyable at those speeds”, Rovanperä said at the end of the morning loop.
“The driving doesn’t feel secure and natural. There have been some small surprises that don’t normally happen”, Rovanperä continued.
Rovanperä’s preparation for the rally wasn’t optimal, and Poland has taught him at least that sometimes, the frustrating pre-learning of stages can still be necessary.
“I don’t usually study things much in advance, but during the race, it’s normally good to check the notes. The biggest difference is being able to verify those small details. Now you notice that the notes aren’t very good and you can’t fully rely on them everywhere”, Rovanperä explained.
Rovanperä is currently engaged in an extremely tight battle with his teammate Evans. Naturally, the inevitable question arises: could the phone ring and team orders come into play? Rovanperä isn’t competing for the World championship this season, but Evans is, and personal championship points would certainly be more valuable to the Welshman.
“I’ll have my phone switched off for the entire weekend at least. I made the mistake once of answering it on Tuesday, but I won’t make that mistake again!” Rovanperä laughed, referring to a possible team order.
