It is a victory that will undoubtedly be a milestone when recalling the 2022 WRC campaign. While many observers predicted a real hell for him on Portuguese roads this weekend, Kalle Rovanperä defied the odds to win and thus win a third straight win this season.
The very young 21-year-old Finn, in his capacity as leader of the World Championship approaching this fourth round, indeed had the heavy task of opening the way and “sweeping” on the first day of this first calendar dirt rally.
But the resident of Toyota pulled out all the stops on Friday, perfectly limiting the damage and then shifting gears on the second part of the rally and signing another success, this time on the Lusitanian roads.
A new triumph that the boss of the Toyota team did not hesitate to compare to the domination that Sebastien Ogier imposed on the discipline the year of its first title, in 2013. With this new victory, its fifth in the WRC, Rovanperä thus proves to be not only fast, but also efficient on all types of surface following its previous successes in Sweden ( snow) and Croatia (asphalt).
A rise in power throughout the rally
Second in the Portuguese event at the end of the first stage, just 13.6 behind the then leader, Elfyn Evansthe Finn therefore gradually caught up on Saturday to finally win with a lead of more than 15″ at the end of the Power Stage in Fafe, achieving at the same time a full card with 30 points scored on this weekend, as he had already done last month in Croatia for the rest.
And it is this ability to precisely limit the damage in the opener position which makes possible a comparison between Rovanperä and Ogier according to Latvala. The Frenchman had indeed mastered the art of managing his lead in precarious conditions throughout his eight WRC titles.
The Rally of Portugal therefore acted as a sort of torch-passing between the two Toyota drivers, the Gapençais for his part being quickly excluded from the fight for victory following a double puncture on Friday followingnoon, followed by a off the road the next day.
“Once once more Kalle surprised us because we didn’t expect him to win, given that he was the first to open the road, but he did”Latvala told Motorsport.com. “Elfyn drove very well, and he fought for the victory putting pressure on Kalle, but the latter managed to perform better. It reminds me of the hegemony of Sébastien Ogier in 2013, in his first season [qui était aussi la première du constructeur allemand en WRC] and his first title at Volkswagen.”
Kalle Rovanperä et Jonne Halttunen, Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
“He was putting all the other drivers under pressure then, and Kalle managed to do the same thing, and it’s very difficult to turn the situation around when a driver is engaged in such a dynamic. It’s very difficult for the others to beat him, but he managed to put himself in this favorable position, so Kalle manages to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, he remains calm and does not put too much pressure on himself, while his car suits him perfectly. can also say is that no one in history has succeeded in doing what he has done so far at his age. We all know that we have had very good pilots in the past, starting with Sebastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier, who were excellent and might win rallies by leading the way. But none of them had managed to do that at Kalle’s age. We have never seen this in the history of the rally.”
Thanks boss ! This, in short, is Rovanperä’s reaction to Latvala’s remarks, when the latter was questioned by Motorsport.com on his victory in Portugal: “Of course it’s a good thing to know that you can do that, because you have to be able to do it to hope to be able to fight for the championship. Of course, that [être comparé à Ogier] wants to say something, it’s nice but we still have a long way to go to have the same record as him. I am very happy [de cette victoire]. I’m also a little surprised because I didn’t expect to get such a result at the start of the rally either.”
A clear lead in the championship, and already title prospects
The new success of Rovanperä in Portugal allows him to now lead the championship with a very comfortable lead, 46 points, over his nearest pursuer. Thierry Neuville. Enough to suggest to Latvala that his foal has all the necessary elements to become World Champion this season: “Kalle gained experience very quickly, and he showed and proved that he has all the ingredients to be World Champion. He is on the right track, but of course there are still a lot of races and a lot of points to go. distribute before achieving this goal.”
The next event will be in Sardinia, another gravel rally on which Rovanperä will have to open the road. But with a first victory obtained in similar circumstances in Portugal, there is no doubt that the Finn will present himself on the Italian island in full confidence to aim for the first place in the final once more.
