Kalle Rovanperä wanted to take it easy at the Rally Sweden – but the current champion retired on the fourth special stage
Kalle Rovanperä has pulled out of the World Rally Championship (WRC) for the time being after his second overall victory and retired from the series as a full-time driver. However, the Toyota driver will remain in the WRC as a part-time driver, which takes a lot of pressure off the 23-year-old’s shoulders. He is competing in Sweden for the first time in the 2024 season, but his plan to take it easy did not work out when he retired on the fourth special stage (SS).
“It’s nice to be back,” says the Finn before the start of the rally. “I feel more relaxed and can enjoy the rally more. I have a different approach and feel a different pressure in the world championship. That motivates me to win more, even if it doesn’t mean it will work out, but that’s the goal.”
“I don’t have to risk so much,” continued Rovanperä, but the plan of the youngest world champion in the history of the WRC did not work out. The Finn was surprised by the conditions on SS 4. “I went wide on an easy section, a right-hand bend. I hadn’t expected that. “
WP 4 causes a lot of drama
Rovanperä got caught in a snow bank that destroyed the rear of his car. “We were hit hard,” explains the Toyota driver. “We spun 360 degrees and destroyed the radiator. The conditions were difficult, but not as extreme as I had expected. There was a big difference in grip, but I think it was still manageable.”
After five of a total of 18 special stages, Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta leads by just 5.3 seconds ahead of Esapekka Lappi in the Hyundai i20. Katsuta’s team-mate Elfyn Evans in the second Yaris is in third place, but the Welshman is already 32 seconds behind the leader. Adrien Fourmaux completes the top four, while Oliver Solberg leads the WRC2 field in fifth place
ℹ️ Car 69 unfortunately stopped in SS4. Once back in service we will look to prepare for a restart tomorrow.ToyotaGAZOORacing WRC RallySweden pic. twitter.com/p7GXIcyMZs
– TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) February 16, 2024
Thierry Neuville, who was in the lead at the start of the rally, dropped back to sixth place. The Belgian said: “I enjoyed the drive, but the time will probably be bad. We lost about three seconds per kilometer here. “
Big names out early or way back
Gregoire Munster lost a lot of time on SS 4 because he had to change a tire on his M-Sport Ford and had to deal with fogged windows. I don’t know if it was the cold or the battery, but the impact wrench didn’t work properly,” he says.
The fourth special stage of the Rally Sweden proved to be a favorite killer, as it also caught out Ott Tänak in his Hyundai. The Estonian lost control of his car and crashed into a snow bank on the left-hand side. Tänak was driving at kilometer 18.5 when the accident occurred. Rovanperä and Tänak are out for the time being, but will try to return to the race on Sunday
