Starting his WRC season in Umeå, Rovanperä was the overwhelming favourite for the rally, given his advantageous starting position. Initially, things looked promising as the Finnish driver led the competition after three stages.
However, during the fourth stage, disaster struck, and Rovanperä was forced to withdraw from the race.
“It was quite a straightforward and easy section, but I don’t know if the corner’s entrance was tighter than I expected after being ploughed. We went wide, and since those ahead had slightly opened up the snowbank, it hit quite hard as we dropped into it.”
“We spun 360 degrees, and it wasn’t a terribly serious situation, but the snow damaged the radiator. A tyre also came off the rim. The radiator was broken, and we had to repair it for so long that we ended up staying there,” Rovanperä explained after returning to the service area.
Rovanperä was surprised by how easily the car slid off the driving line.
“The corner was marked as easy in my notes, meaning it’s a place you drive through quite fast. Looking at last year’s videos, it seemed to go well sticking to the line. I did the same thing this time, and it felt like the corner turned much more at the start. I don’t know if there was a bit more snow on the inner bank, which made the start tighter.”
“After it went wide, there wasn’t much to be done.”
Rovanperä will continue in the competition on Saturday, but he no longer has any chance of fighting for the top positions. Especially on Saturday’s stages, Rovanperä will not have anything to compete for, but he must find some motivation.
“Tomorrow is not important for us, but there are many points to be gained for the team on Sunday. There will definitely be more motivation on Sunday,” Rovanperä noted.
On the final day of the competition, Rovanperä has a chance to scrape together a maximum of 12 points. The winner of the day’s results takes seven points, with an additional five bonus points available from the Power Stage.
The fight for points on Sunday will hardly console Rovanperä at this stage, given he had all the keys to win the entire Rally Sweden.
“Of course, this is very disappointing. We had high expectations, and there was only one goal. The disappointment is a bit different now. If you were competing the whole season, then the lost points would be more stressful. Now, it’s just disappointing because there was a good chance to score a strong result,” Rovanperä concluded.
