Before the event, WRC stars predicted that the new rally would likely produce several punctures due to loose stones. That scenario became reality for Rovanperä on the Khulais stage.
Early in the stage, he received a warning about pressure loss in the left rear tyre. Rovanperä chose not to stop for a tyre change and decided instead to reach the finish with the damaged tyre.
He drove carefully and the punctured tyre stayed on the rim, but he lost substantial time – more than half a minute to his Toyota team-mates Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans.
Evans, Ogier and Rovanperä are the three drivers still in the title fight at the season-ending gravel rally. Rovanperä already entered the finale with the weakest position of the trio, and now his situation looks even more hopeless.
He dropped a couple of places to tenth overall and is already more than a minute behind the leader.
“I didn’t hit anything. This just sums up the whole season. It has been like this all year – punctures appear out of nowhere. This time it happened at the start of the stage and there was nothing there,” a frustrated Rovanperä said.
“The tyre went down quickly. It didn’t hit anything and there was no spot for it. This is how it has been all the time this year.”
His Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari handled Khulais much better, setting the fastest time on the stage. Pajari beat Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux by 0.8 seconds.
“This was a really demanding stage. I think this was the easiest place to get a puncture because there were so many loose stones. We heard them hitting too, but it didn’t happen this time,” Pajari said, knocking on wood.
Martins Sesks, who had topped both of the morning’s first stages, made a small mistake on the final test of the loop. The Latvian took a wrong turn in a corner and lost several valuable seconds.
Sesks narrowly managed to cling onto the overall lead. However, the Ford driver’s advantage shrank significantly: Fourmaux holds second place just 1.3 seconds back, with Pajari third only 1.7 seconds from the top spot.
“I knew the place because Elfyn had gone wrong there too. But I didn’t see it – my fault,” Sesks said.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak continues in fourth ahead of his team-mate Thierry Neuville. Title contenders Ogier and Evans have suffered from their early road positions and are seventh and eighth overall – but still ahead of Rovanperä.
Four more stages will be run on Thursday in Saudi Arabia after the service break. The rally will conclude on Saturday.
Rally Saudi Arabia standings after SS4/17:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Martins Sesks | Ford | 39:40.6 |
| 2. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +1.3 |
| 3. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1.7 |
| 4. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +14.8 |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +17.8 |
| 6. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +19.5 |
| 7. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +27.6 |
| 8. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +50.3 |
| 9. | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Ford | +51.4 |
| 10. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +1:08.0 |
| 11. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:20.5 |
Rally Saudi Arabia itinerary (CET):
Wednesday 26 November
09:01 Shakedown: Thahban (4.56 km)
18:35 SS1: Jameel Motorsport Super Special 1 (5.22 km)
Thursday 27 November
06:08 SS2: Al Faisaliyah 1 (19.36 km)
07:06 SS3: Moon Stage 1 (20.12 km)
08:04 SS4: Khulais 1 (11.33 km)
10:14 Service (40 min)
12:22 SS5: Al Faisaliyah 2 (19.36 km)
13:20 SS6: Moon Stage 2 (20.12 km)
14:18 SS7: Khulais 2 (11.33 km)
17:28 Service (45 min)
18:31 SS8: Jameel Motorsport Super Special 2 (5.22 km)
Friday 28 November
06:26 SS9: Alghulah 1 (11.69 km)
07:19 SS10: Um Al Jerem 1 (30.58 km)
08:35 SS11: Wadi Almatwi 1 (24.90 km)
10:15 Service (40 min)
11:51 SS12: Alghulah 2 (11.69 km)
12:47 SS13: Um Al Jerem 2 (30.58 km)
14:05 SS14: Wadi Almatwi 2 (24.90 km)
Saturday 29 November
07:05 SS15: Thahban 1 (16.29 km)
08:21 SS16: Asfan (33.28 km)
11:15 SS17: Thahban 2 (16.29 km) *Power Stage
