SS10: Rovanperä leads Rally Finland – tight second battle underway

Although many doubted Rovanperä’s performance on home soil following a season plagued with difficulties on gravel, the Finnish star has found renewed pace. The Hankook tyres also seem to suit Rovanperä slightly better, even though he still admitted he was struggling.

In the overall standings, Rovanperä’s lead is a narrow 4.9 seconds over Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.

“Of course, it feels better than not leading. It wasn’t an easy day. I’m nowhere near my comfort zone, and I’ve had to push really hard. We’ll see if we can come up with something for tomorrow. It’s not quite the ultimate feeling, but fortunately it hasn’t been a problem. We’ll try to make the car a little better because the fight is going to stay tight,” Rovanperä summed up.

“I’m definitely satisfied. Everything worked more or less. I didn’t enjoy the stages much in the morning, but the afternoon was more pleasant. The feeling in the car kept improving. The result is good so far. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, as the conditions could be tricky,” Neuville commented.

In third place is Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux, who set the fastest time on the spectator stage at Harju that concluded the day. Fourmaux trails Rovanperä by 7.7 seconds. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta is in fourth, just 0.4 seconds behind Fourmaux.

“I’m really happy with my pace today. The conditions varied a lot. The gaps are really small. The feeling in the car was good,” said Fourmaux.

“The afternoon was a bit tricky. I had a couple of moments that surprised me. I just have to keep pushing,” Katsuta stated.

Toyota’s Sami Pajari holds fifth place in the rally. Pajari lost four seconds to the fastest time on Harju at the end of the day, putting him 15.7 seconds off the lead.

“I’m pleased with the day. I have to be satisfied. The feeling has been good. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It could rain again tomorrow, so anything can happen,” Pajari reflected.

Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier is in sixth, 1.9 seconds behind Pajari. Elfyn Evans remains in seventh, ahead of M-Sport Ford’s Martins Sesks and Josh McErlean. After hitting a tree earlier, Hyundai’s Ott Tänak is down in tenth place, over a minute behind Rovanperä.

Rally Finland continues on Saturday with eight special stages. The event concludes on Sunday.

Rally Finland Standings after SS10/20: