Rovanperä takes control after the first special
Reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) took the lead in Rally Sweden, the second round…
Rovanperä takes control after the first special
Reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) took the lead in Rally Sweden, the second round of the World Championship (WRC), by setting the fastest time in the opening special run on Thursday in Umea, near the ‘Arctic.
The 22-year-old Finn, who won the event last year, beat the 2019 world champion, Estonian Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford) and his Toyota teammate, Briton Elfyn Evans. Two Hyundais follow, that of another Finn, Esapekka Lappi, and Belgian Thierry Neuville, 5th.
The only Frenchman entered in the event in the premier category, Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport Ford) is currently in 8th place. For his first full season in the WRC, if the podium will be difficult to achieve, the objective will first be “to acquire as much experience as possible”, explained the Corsican driver before the start of the event. This short special of barely 5 kilometers, the only one on this first day, was above all a warm-up for the competitors. They will play 17 more by Sunday, competing over more than 300 kilometers of timed courses.
