On Friday morning, Rovanperä was still clearly struggling, but by the afternoon loop, the Finn managed to find better settings for his car.
And once the car was working, Rovanperä kept up a strong pace for the rest of the rally. Tactically, he performed brilliantly.
Rovanperä avoided major issues and set himself up to strike with a spectacular effort on Super Sunday: being the fastest of the day and claiming maximum points from the Power Stage.
As a result, Rovanperä collected a handsome 25 World Championship points from Sardinia and closed the gap to championship leader Elfyn Evans to just 20 points.
This sets up a tantalising summer showdown. Using a steady pace projection, Rovanperä could potentially take over the championship lead at the fast gravel rallies in Estonia and Finland.
“Yes, this was a good rally from me,” Rovanperä admitted.
“We kept our composure in many places, and you just have to trust the plan you choose at the start of the rally. It’s not worth changing it midway, no matter the situation. In the end, you’ll see that it pays off,” Rovanperä continued.
Rovanperä understood that he couldn’t fight for the win in Sardinia unless the frontrunners ahead of him made mistakes. The Finn wisely opted for an approach focused on scoring good points rather than taking risks to chase victory. The value of the points is the same whether they come from a win or third place.
“That’s how it has always been, even when I’ve driven full seasons. You just have to take the points that are available, because they’re needed in the championship fight,” Rovanperä said.
