Rovanperä drove cleanly through the almost 27-kilometre Mühltal stage, finishing just 1.8 seconds behind Toyota team-mate Sébastien Ogier’s benchmark time and setting the third-fastest time overall behind Ogier and Elfyn Evans.
“It was OK. There was maybe more dirt on the road than we expected. It wasn’t easy being the last car on the road. I wasn’t fast enough – I felt that straight away. But it’s not easy to do much in this crazy situation,” Rovanperä summed up.
Rovanperä’s team-mate Elfyn Evans has now woken up to a serious fight for second place against Hyundai’s Ott Tänak. The Welshman is now just 5.2 seconds behind the Estonian in second.
“It was a clean run. With the soft tyres it wasn’t that easy to get the feeling. Maybe they weren’t the right choice, but we’ll never know for sure,” Evans reflected.
A fierce battle is now underway for Super Sunday honours. Sébastien Ogier, attacking from a favourable starting position, leads – but Evans is only a second behind.
Rovanperä is also in contention for the Super Sunday win, trailing Ogier by just 1.8 seconds. Ott Tänak sits fourth for Sunday, with Takamoto Katsuta in fifth.
In the overall standings, Rovanperä now leads the rally by 38.7 seconds over Tänak, with Evans third, 43.9 seconds off the lead. Katsuta, Adrien Fourmaux and Sami Pajari follow in the next positions.
Two more stages remain on the final day of Central European Rally. The previous stage had to be cancelled after Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville suffered a heavy crash. Neuville’s accident has effectively secured the manufacturers’ title for Toyota.
Rally Central Europe standings after SS16/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 2:16.19.7 |
| 2. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +38.7 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +43.9 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:03.9 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +1:46.2 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +2:05.1 |
| 7. | Josh McErlean | Ford | +5:17.5 |
| 8. | Oliver Solberg | Toyota | +7:38.5 |
Super Sunday standings:
| POS. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | 20:03.2 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1.0 |
| 3. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +1.8 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +4.2 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +7.4 |
Central European Rally – Stage itinerary (CET):
Thursday, 16 October
08:01 Shakedown – Test Stage (4.57 km)
14:30 SS1: Golf und Therme 1 (12.83 km)
18:05 SS2: Golf und Therme 2 (12.83 km)
Friday, 17 October
08:30 SS3: Granit und Wald 1 (10.86 km)
09:20 SS4: Böhmerwald 1 (15.27 km)
11:25 SS5: Col de Jan 1 (23.37 km)
13:40 Tyre fitting zone (15 min)
14:45 SS6: Col de Jan 2 (23.37 km)
17:20 SS7: Böhmerwald 2 (15.27 km)
18:15 SS8: Granit und Wald 2 (10.86 km)
Saturday, 18 October
08:15 SS9: Made in FRG 1 (14.30 km)
10:35 SS10: Keply 1 (21.95 km)
11:35 SS11: Klatovy 1 (15.57 km)
12:50 Tyre fitting zone (15 min)
14:05 SS12: Keply 2 (21.95 km)
15:05 SS13: Klatovy 2 (15.57 km)
18:25 SS14: Made in FRG 2 (14.30 km)
Sunday, 19 October
08:25 SS15: Beyond Borders 1 (12.37 km)
10:05 SS16: Mühltal 1 (26.52 km)
11:10 SS17: Beyond Borders 2 (12.37 km)
13:15 SS18: Mühltal 2 (26.52 km) Power Stage
