Rovanperä started from third position on the grid in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux race. The rally champion got off to a good start, but the race was halted immediately on the opening lap due to a crash involving two cars on the start straight.
Once the track was cleared, the race was restarted. Rovanperä again had a strong start and attempted to challenge Niels Langeveld ahead of him. Although he couldn’t make the overtake, he maintained third position.
However, Rovanperä had to relinquish his spot early in the race when Swedish driver Robin Knutsson and then Dutch driver Paul Meijer passed him.
As the race progressed, Rovanperä picked up the pace. The Finnish star clocked the fastest lap of the race and closed in on Meijer. After a prolonged chase, Rovanperä executed a stunning move, overtaking Meijer at the first corner.
In the final laps, Rovanperä caught up with Knutsson, who was in third place. He seriously challenged the Swede and made attempts to overtake until the very end of the race. Ultimately, Knutsson secured third place by just over a tenth of a second.
Although Rovanperä missed out on a podium finish, he delivered an outstanding performance. His clean overtake was one of the race’s highlights.
The race was won by Dirk Schouten, with Niels Langeveld in second place. Rovanperä finished seven seconds behind the winner.
Another race will be held at Zandvoort on Sunday morning.
