Rovanperä secured his fourth consecutive stage win, this time with a significant lead of 2.8 seconds ahead of teammate Elfyn Evans.
The Finnish star now leads the rally by 9.4 seconds over Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen.
“I tried my best the whole day, the afternoon is definitely much more enjoyable when I know what’s coming. Unfortunately, we have not been fast enough in the beginning of the rally. I think tomorrow will be tougher than today, let’s hope for the best,” Rovanperä explained.
“We had a good stage. Was a bit too much some places, I was in the loose. Was a bit too hard there, it was not efficient. The tyre wear was very high in the first one but the second and third was not so high. Both would’ve been good for this loop. Position is good, but we want to be one more position up.” Mikkelsen commented.
Elfyn Evans holds third place in the rally, 16.1 seconds behind the leader after suffering a puncture in the Saturday afternoon loop. Adrien Fourmaux of M-Sport Ford is fourth overall.
Latvia’s Martins Sesks has been impressive in his first Rally1 event without the hybrid unit, holding fifth place just a tenth of a second ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.
“I wasn’t happy with myself at the first part of the stage, I made many small mistakes. The last part was quite okay! That’s all I can say,” Sesks chuckled.
Seventh in the rally is M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster ahead of Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta. Sami Pajari leads the WRC2 class, with a 26.3-second lead over second-placed Oliver Solberg.
The Rally Poland concludes on Sunday with four more special stages.
Rally Poland standings after SS15/19:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 2:00:44.0 |
| 2. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +9.4 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +16.1 |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +37.0 |
| 5. | Martin Sesks | Ford | +58.2 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +58.3 |
| 7. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:24.5 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:41.9 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +5:46.5 |
| 10. | Oliver Solberg | Skoda | +6:12.8 |
Rally Poland Itinerary (CET):
Thursday 27.6. 10:01 Shakedown: Lubiewo (5.10 km) 19:05 SS1: Mikołajki Arena 1 (2.50 km) Friday 28.6. 08:45 SS2: Stańczyki 1 (29.40 km) 10:20 SS3: Wieliczki 1 (12.90 km) *CANCELLED 11:10 SS4: Olecko 1 (13.20 km) 14:05 SS5: Stańczyki 2 (29.40 km) 15:40 SS6: Wieliczki 2 (12.90 km) 16:30 SS7: Olecko 2 (13.20 km) 19:00 SS8: Mikołajki Arena 2 (2.50 km) Saturday 29.6. 08:30 SS9: Świętajno 1 (18.50 km) 09:45 SS10: Gołdap 1 (19.90 km) 10:35 SS11: Czarne 1 (22.40 km) 13:25 SS12: Mikołajki Arena 3 (2.50 km) 16:00 SS13: Świętajno 2 (18.50 km) 17:15 SS14: Gołdap 2 (19.90 km) 18:05 SS15: Czarne 2 (22.40 km) Sunday 30.6. 09:00 SS16: Gmina Mrągowo 1 (20.80 km) 10:05 SS17: Mikołajki 1 (10.73 km) 12:20 SS18: Gmina Mrągowo 2 (20.80 km) 14:15 SS19: Mikołajki 2 (10.73 km) *Power Stage
