Ott Tänak has defended his lead in Rally Finland – but WRC leader Kalle Rovanperä pushed ahead and more than halved his gap
Ott Tänak (Hyundai) defended his lead in the 2022 World Rally Championship (WRC) at the Rally Finland on Saturday. However: WRC leader Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) has moved into second place and is putting pressure on the Estonian.
Rovanperä, who trailed by 21 seconds after Friday’s fourth-place finish, worked his way to within 8.4 seconds as the day progressed, passing brand-mates Esapekka Lappi (+35.2 seconds) and Elfyn Evans (+1:19.7 minute).
“We lost quite a bit of time yesterday, but today we gave everything to catch up,” Rovanperä reported, explaining, “It’s not easy because the differences are so small. But the main thing is that we reached the end of the day. “
Leader Tänak explains, “It’s still a bit of a surprise where we are at the moment. But it was definitely a good day considering our conditions. We really thought we would lose a lot more.”
Unsurprisingly, as the fastest man of the day, Rovanperä also took most of the stage wins on Saturday. He won five of the eight special stages. Tänak finished twice in front and Evans won the first special stage of the day.
However, Evans was unlucky in the evening: In the penultimate special stage of the day (SS17), the left rear wheel on his Yaris bent. “We felt a small impact,” he reported. As a result, he lost almost 50 seconds to Tänak in the final stage of the day.
“It was something on the shock absorber,” the Welshman reveals and is annoyed: “It’s a pity because I have the impression I could have been faster. But at the same time, [the car] might not have held up if we had.”
Brand colleague Lappi was also unlucky at the end of the day. His windscreen broke in the final stage of the day, almost doubling his deficit from 20 to 35.2 seconds. “It was a nightmare,” he waves off.
At the very start of the day, Craig Breen (Ford) lost his chances of a podium finish. The M-Sport driver drove over a rock in the second special stage of the day (SS12), lost a wheel among other things and then had to retire.
M-Sport team boss Richard Millener was annoyed on ‘WRC Live’: “Honestly, that’s just too fast.” It was “a mistake” by Breen, who had started the day in fifth place. “It’s frustrating,” Millener admits after the retirement.
1- 0 @Craig_Breen @MSportLtd WRC RallyFinland MSporters pic. twitter.com/E1AHX54WpX
– World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) August 6, 2022
Currently it is unclear whether Breen will be able to compete again in Sunday’s Powerstage. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) made it through the day without an accident, but in fifth place, already 2:05.5 minutes behind, he only has an outside chance of making it onto the podium.
The Belgian explains: “Overall, the car behaved much better today than yesterday. We have no reason to push and I know that I can’t fight with the guys in front in this rally.” Nevertheless, the five-time vice-champion was “having fun”.
Rounding out the top 10 at the end of Saturday were Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota), Gus Greensmith, Pierre-Louis Loubet (both Ford), WRC2 leader Teemu Suninen (Hyundai) and Emil Lindholm (Skoda).
With regard to the WRC, Rovanperä does not have to take any more risks on Sunday’s last four special stages, because Neuville, his closest rival, is already far behind him and leader Tänak is already 98 points behind in the championship.
If Tänak can bring his lead to the finish line on Sunday, it would be the third victory at the Rally Finland for the 2019 world champion after 2018 and 2019. The race starts at 7:23 a.m. with SS19, the decisive power stage (SS22) begins at 12:18 p.m. CEST.
