Far from being daunted by two world champions, the young Kalle Rovanpera has grown and has put land in between. He has escaped from Ott Tanak and Sebastien Ogier and with each passing stage it seems clearer that he is going to score his second win at the Acropolis Rally. Dani sordo for his part he has remained in no man’s land, and remains fourth overall.
The head trio I left separated by less than four seconds, what promised a fight without quarter. But Rovanpera has been in charge of chilling expectations by prevailing in each and every one of the four stages contested during the morning, separating more than half a minute from Tanak and even more from Ogier, who seems to settle for a very valuable podium in their fight for the title. As his two main rivals have taken down, Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville, there is no point in risking.
Deaf for his part he has also taken off a bit from Ogier, and since he does not have anyone close behind him, he is dedicating himself to swimming and putting clothes away to ensure the result. The sections near Lamia have dried up a lot since the reconnaissance, and the expected mud has not been such, which has reduced complications at this stage, the longest of the Greek test.
Classification
1. Rovanpera-Halttunen (Fin / Toyota), 2h 6m 50.2s
2. Tanak-Jarveoja (Est / Hyundai), at 39.7
3. Ogier-Ingrassia (Fra / Toyota), at 43.3
Four. Sordo-Carrera (Esp / Hyundai), at 1: 32.9
5. Fourmaux-Jamoul (Fra / Ford), at 2: 44.1