Rovanpera wins comfortably in Sweden
Over in the snows of Sweden, Kalle Rovanpera scored what was finally a comfortable third career win in the WRC as he beat Thierry Neuville by 22 seconds.
The win marked Toyota’s first in the new Rally1 hybrid era, making up for the disappointment of Sébastien Ogier’s defeat to Sébastien Loeb last time out in Monte Carlo. The two veteran ‘big beasts’ were absent this time, as Rovanpera proved the class of the field to win a rally on which his father Harri scored his only WRC success back in 2001.
“It doesn’t feel great to celebrate too much,” said Rovanpera on social media, with a maturity beyond his 21 years. “It’s been a really difficult week for people in Ukraine and I wish them all the strength and hope. It’s all I can do in this moment.”
Hyundai’s Neuville headed the way after a closely fought first day, but Rovanpera hit the front on the first stage of Saturday morning and engaged in a tight duel with team-mate Elfyn Evans. The Welshman looked to be the only driver in with a shot of beating the Finn, until an error on the final stage of Saturday slapped him with a 10-second penalty. Evans then crashed on the opening stage of Sunday, then retired with a hybrid issue. As for Neuville, second marks a decent return for Hyundai after a troubled Monte Carlo Rally.