Rovanperä delivered another stunning performance to claim his fourth victory of the season. The Finnish ace from Toyota surged into the lead in the fog on Saturday afternoon, and his teammate Elfyn Evans couldn’t keep up after that.
Rovanperä ultimately won the rally with a margin of 23.4 seconds over Evans. He finished second on Super Sunday and in the Power Stage, just behind his teammate Sebastien Ogier, who had retired on Saturday.
Rovanperä collected a valuable 28 points from the event, crucial for Toyota’s fight in the manufacturers’ championship.
“It feels really good. Obviously, I’m a bit disappointed that we lost by only 0.1 seconds.,” Rovanperä said, referring to his narrow defeat on the Power Stage.
“Of course, it’s always nicer to be first, but with two spares the whole day, I think we did a good job today. A big thanks to the team— the car and everything were really strong this weekend,” Rovanperä added.
The gravel rally conditions were challenging, with rain at times and dense fog reducing visibility. However, Rovanperä avoided major mistakes.
“This win wasn’t an easy one. On Friday, I didn’t feel so good, and the whole weekend, the conditions, the weather, everything was difficult, so we had to fight for it. So it feels really good,” Rovanperä explained.
Rovanperä will skip the next WRC round in Central Europe. It’s possible he will return for the season finale, held on Toyota’s home turf in Japan.
