Kalle Rovanperä wasn’t particularly strong during the morning loop at the Rally Chile, but as conditions worsened in the afternoon, with heavy fog setting in, he found his rhythm and performed exceptionally well. Rovanperä clocked some impressive times amidst the challenging visibility and managed to climb into the rally lead. He now holds a 15.1-second advantage over his teammate Elfyn Evans and is in line for the largest potential points haul.
The conditions during the final stages of the day became extremely treacherous, especially with the dense fog severely limiting visibility.
“We weren’t that strong in the morning, but then the conditions became wetter and much more difficult with the fog, and we were much stronger in the afternoon,” Rovanperä explained.
At the finish of Saturday’s final stage, Rovanperä remarked that he had never driven in such conditions before, yet he adapted to them quickly.
“It always depends on what you’re faced with, but today we had good speed in the fog. I was driving cautiously the whole time. It’s about managing risks and really knowing where you are. I’d say this was the foggiest condition I’ve ever driven in,” Rovanperä stated.
The visibility on the stages was virtually nonexistent due to the fog, making the situation very dangerous, although fortunately no incidents occurred.
“There were sections where, on a straight stretch of 100 meters, you had to drive like a beginner because you just couldn’t tell where the road was going. You couldn’t even see ahead of you. It was really, really challenging, but luckily we made it through,” Rovanperä reflected.
Rovanperä’s previous rally in Finland ended in massive disappointment when a loose rock on the racing line sent him off course, ruining what seemed to be a certain victory. Toyota’s recent races as a team had also been lackluster, so Rovanperä’s determination to succeed in Chile is at its peak.
“Absolutely. However, there’s still a long day ahead on Sunday, as we saw in Finland. You never know what might happen, but of course, it’s very important for the team that we’re in first and second place right now. We’ll definitely try to bring home as many points as possible tomorrow,” Rovanperä concluded.
