Rovanperä advanced from the qualifiers to the battles and started the tandem competition brilliantly. The rally star first eliminated Italian driver Luca Fuschini, but in the next round of 16, the Finnish star encountered problems.
A technical issue derailed his battle against the host nation’s Kevin Piskolty.
“This time our race here in Hungary ended in top16 with technical issue causing me to lose power in the chase run. Very small thing and nothing really what my mechanics could have done to prevent it,” Rovanperä commented on social media.
“That’s motorsport I guess, but really annoyed as I was feeling really good on this track this weekend and I was ready to battle hard!”
The commentators of the Drift Masters series broadcast speculated that Rovanperä might have fallen victim to the tire smoke from the Hungarian driver’s car, causing him to lose visibility. However, the Toyota WRC team’s superstar dismissed these claims as nonsense.
“Drift Masters guys saying on the live stream that I got lost in the smoke is not true so it’s maybe not the best thing always to try to guess what happens for the drivers without actually knowing.”
The fifth round of the Drift Masters season featured a Finnish celebration as Lauri Heinonen secured a stunning victory. On his way to the top, Heinonen defeated Germany’s Max Heidrich, fellow Finn Juha Rintanen, Ireland’s Jack Shanahan, and Kevin Piskolty, who had eliminated Rovanperä. In the final, Heinonen showcased his skills against Norway’s Tor Arne Kvia.
This was Heinonen’s second win of the season, putting him very close to securing the series championship. Heading into the season finale in Poland on September 13-14, Heinonen holds a 75-point lead over Ireland’s James Deane. Another Irish driver, Duane McKeever, fell 87 points behind after failing to advance to the top 32 tandem battles.
Drift Masters points after 5/6 races:
| POS. | Drvier | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lauri Heinonen | 387 |
| 2. | James Deane | 312 |
| 3. | Duane McKeever | 300 |
| 4. | Conor Shanahan | 245 |
| 5. | Pawel Korpulinski | 233 |
