The Finnish Toyota star salvaged a damage-limiting third place in last weekend’s gravel rally in Portugal. Despite expecting a difficult event, Rovanperä managed to deliver a strong podium result.
The next WRC round takes place in a couple of weeks on the island of Sardinia, where Rovanperä will face the challenge of running second on the road on Friday. The road position is likely to disadvantage him, and he has also struggled to find the right setup on gravel with Hankook tyres.
“I’m not going there with a very good feeling. It’s probably the worst rally of the whole calendar for me. I don’t like it at all,” Rovanperä says bluntly.
“It’s going to be a long week. Hopefully we can come away with good points, but for me it’s always been about survival. With this kind of road position, it’s going to be a long weekend.”
Rovanperä revealed that he won’t have a pre-event test before the Sardinia rally. However, Toyota will do its utmost to find ways to improve the areas that have been troubling him.
“We never go into a rally just to defend. I’ve always been realistic about my goals, and Sardinia has always been a difficult event for me,” Rovanperä admits.
Rovanperä has a clear explanation for why the Sardinian gravel roads don’t suit him.
“The surface is such that I’ve never really liked it. And the roads just don’t suit my driving style. You basically have to thread the car through narrow lines with the nose first,” Rovanperä explains.
“I’ve never really found the pace or car setup to make it feel easy.”
Heading into Rally Sardinia, Rovanperä sits second in the championship standings, 30 points behind leader Elfyn Evans. The Mediterranean event runs from 5 to 8 June.
