But the big question remains: can Rovanperä find the same blistering pace on gravel with his Toyota as he showed on the tarmac roads of Rally Islas Canarias just over a week ago?
Earlier in the season, Rovanperä struggled to get to grips with the updated car and Hankook tyres. For 2024, the hybrid units were removed from Rally1 cars, which has proven particularly difficult for Rovanperä.
In the Canary Islands, Rovanperä finally got the full package working and was in a class of his own. After the event, he flew straight to Portugal to test for one day in preparation for the next WRC round.
However, Rovanperä didn’t give a particularly encouraging answer when asked how he felt after the test.
“Not the best, to be honest,” Rovanperä admitted.
“We still are working quite hard to find the way and the direction where we want to go more. So I think when we can find that, then we can start to be more precise with the things what we start to fine tune,” added the Toyota star, who currently sits second in the WRC standings.
According to Rovanperä, Toyota and Hankook worked brilliantly on the circuit-like tarmac of the Canary Islands. In Portugal, the stages are more technical and at times quite rough gravel roads.
“I think on gravel now, we still have a lot of work to do to try to get to the same balance. Of course on gravel we have much less grip. We are driving the car differently, sliding much more. So I think this year with the different weight balance on the car and the new tires, I just think the combination is not the best at the moment for me,” Rovanperä explained.
“And I haven’t really found the happy place for me yet,” the Finnish driver added.
Still, the win in the Canary Islands gave a much-needed boost to his season – it was his first podium finish of the year.
“Definitely the beginning of the season was not our best. So, it’s hopefully now a good moment to try to bounce back a bit more.”
“Now we go back on gravel where we have not been so comfortable yet. So it will be quite different. But we try to improve, of course,” Rovanperä stressed.
Rally Portugal takes place from 15–18 May.
Watch the video of Rovanperä’s test in Portugal below!
