Rovanperä set the fastest time on the nearly 30-kilometre Stanczyki stage, beating his teammate Elfyn Evans by 4.7 seconds. This performance propelled Rovanperä from fourth place overall to the rally lead.
Rovanperä entered the competition without any preparation, having been called in at short notice to replace the injured Sébastien Ogier. On Friday morning, Rovanperä was still finding his rhythm, but in the afternoon, his pace increased as the same loop began again.
“It was okay. Definitely much more fun in the afternoon, when I know a bit where I’m going. It’s not perfect, but I try my best,” Rovanperä commented.
Rovanperä beat Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen by 14.4 seconds on the Stanczyki stage. This result meant that Rovanperä displaced Mikkelsen from the lead, now holding a 0.2-second advantage over the Norwegian.
“The balance is a bit strange. We were quite safe, I just stayed on the lines. It seems we need to attack harder on the second pass,” Mikkelsen noted.
Rovanperä also overtook the Latvian sensation Martins Sesks, who is now third in the competition, just 1.3 seconds behind Rovanperä. The competition is tight, with fourth-placed Evans only 2.4 seconds off the lead.
M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux (+9.2) and Gregoire Munster (+15.2) are in fifth and sixth places, respectively. Road-sweeping Hyundai star Thierry Neuville is half a minute behind the leader.
Sami Pajari is leading the WRC2 class and is ninth overall.
Three more special stages will be run on Friday in the Rally Poland. The competition concludes on Sunday.
Rally Poland Standings after SS5/19:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 44:49.9 |
| 2. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | +0.2 |
| 3. | Martin Sesks | FOrd | +1.3 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +2.4 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +9.2 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +15.2 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +30.2 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +33.0 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:47.6 |
| 10. | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Skoda | +1:58.7 |
| 11. | Joshua McErlean | Skoda | +2:10.2 |
| 12. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +2:10.7 |
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
