Rovanperä claimed his first win of the season at the Rally Islas Canarias a couple of weeks ago. The Finn dominated the first true asphalt event of the season, but now the world champion is not feeling too confident ahead of Rally Portugal.
Already after the pre-event tests, Rovanperä admitted that he couldn’t find a good driving rhythm. The root cause of the issues remains the same: the tyres of new WRC supplier Hankook simply do not suit Rovanperä’s natural driving style.
Although Rovanperä’s confidence is not particularly high at the moment, his goal for Rally Portugal remains clear.
“Same as always. Try to be fast. Try to win. It’s going to be much more difficult here than it was in Canaria,” Rovanperä said frankly to RallyJournal.com.
Rovanperä set the second-fastest time in the morning’s shakedown stage. The only driver ahead of him was M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks, who is contesting his second WRC rally of the season. He edged out the Finn by 0.6 seconds. Rovanperä was satisfied with his time, but that was about the only positive takeaway.
“It didn’t leave a very good feeling. The times were OK, but inside the car, it takes a full effort just to get to that pace. I’m sure it’s the same for everyone, but it’s not easy. These tyres have very little grip. The shakedown was quite slippery,” Rovanperä explained.
Apart from his stellar performance in the Canary Islands, Rovanperä’s season has been difficult so far. The Canaries featured smooth asphalt roads and almost circuit-like conditions. According to Rovanperä, no significant improvements have been found for rallies run on more traditional surfaces.
“The situation is still the same as it was after testing. It was expected that we’re still not at the level we should be on gravel,” Rovanperä admitted.
Similar remarks have been heard from Rovanperä earlier this season. Perhaps his lowest point came at Rally Sweden in February, where he just couldn’t find any proper feeling behind the wheel.
“It’s not that bad (as in Sweden), but for sure – same as on snow, on gravel. This year we still need to find many things. It seems now, with more driving and more data, for sure, without the hybrid, the weight balance has changed with these new tyres. So it’s not in a good window yet. I think there’s still some work to do. We still need to improve,” Rovanperä stated bluntly.
Rally Portugal kicks off already on Thursday evening with a short spectator stage, but the real action begins on Friday morning. Friday is the longest day of the rally, featuring no less than ten special stages and two remote services. The crews won’t return to service park until late in the evening.
“Friday here is always quite tough. But now it’s obviously much tougher – two more stages. It’s starting to be a bit too long, I think, when we don’t have proper service, proper breaks. Let’s say just a few regroups to eat and rest during the day. We’re in the car for 13 hours or something. I think it’s going to be a bit too long,” Rovanperä lamented.
“You can be that long in the car if you get proper time to eat and rest, but I think tomorrow can be quite tough,” Rovanperä criticised.
