Rovanpera ramps up WRC title defense with Estonia Rally victory

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera secured his third consecutive Rally Estonia triumph with a relentless performance on the FIA World Rally Championship’s super-fast eighth round.

Two years ago, Rovanpera became the WRC’s youngest ever rally winner on the country’s high-speed gravel special stages. Last year, his second victory was key in his surge to a first WRC title, and now he leaves Estonia 55 points clear at the top of the WRC standings after today’s dominant success moved him another step closer to claiming back-to-back championships.

The 22-year-old Finn finished 52.7s ahead of Hyundai i20 N Rally1 driver Thierry Neuville, who initially led after Friday’s opening loop. He seized the top spot later that day before reeling off nine consecutive fastest times in his GR Yaris Rally1 on Saturday to exert his supremacy.

The forecasted rain did not materialize in Sunday’s closing leg, where Rovanpera again remained untouchable, winning all four special stages and gaining maximum Wolf Power Stage bonus points in the process. Such was his dominance that he won 15 of the rally’s 21 special stages.

Kalle Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen celebrate a win that moves them closer to another WRC title. McKlein/Motorsport Images

“An important event, this one,” said Rovanpera. “For the championship it’s a really important place to get good points and this was exactly the plan. It’s my favorite event of the calendar so I knew we had to push here, and it went well.”

Neuville virtually conceded defeat by Saturday night but was upbeat after enjoying one of the strongest fast-gravel rally performances of his career. But he could not afford to cruise through Sunday, with Hyundai teammate Esapekka Lappi completing the podium just 6.8s behind after the event’s 187 miles of special stages.

Outpaced by Kalle Rovanpera, Thierry Neuville could still take positives from his second place in Estonia. @World/Red Bull Content Pool

Lappi’s result marked his fourth top-three finish in the last five rallies for Hyundai Motorsport, which now trails Toyota Gazoo Racing by 57 points in the manufacturers’ title race. Lappi and Toyota’s Elfyn Evans were closely matched, with only 7.3s separating them at the final control.

Teemu Suninen made it three Hyundais in the top five, finishing more than one minute back from Evans after a faultless drive on his i20 N Rally1 debut. Behind him was M-Sport Ford’s Pierre-Louis Loubet, who shaded Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta in the Wolf Power Stage to claim sixth overall by just 0.3s from the Japanese driver.