In Estonia it was the explosion, and confirmation has arrived in Greece. Kalle Rovanpera has culminated in the Acropolis Rally the second triumph of his fledgling career. At still 20 years old, with his face full of pimples, he has obtained his doctorate at Olympus, emphatically beating two champions, Ott Tanak and Sebastien Ogier. Dani Sordo has finished fourth, adding again important points for his team.
The demonstration of power by Rovanpera in the first four stages on Saturday has marked the recovered Greek appointment on its return to the World Cup. The young Finn punched the table and made it clear to two ‘sharks’ like Tanak and Ogier that Olympus was only for him, something that has signed taking even the final Power Stage. Neither the Estonian nor the French have been able to counter that attack, and they have had to settle for the two consolation rungs of the podium. In the case of the Frenchman, perhaps running more with the calculator, since this podium, after the stumbling of his two main pursuers, Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville bring him closer to his eighth title almost definitively.
‘Mister consistency’, as Andrea Adamo, the Hyundai boss, called Sordo, He has returned to add some valuable points. It is true that he aspired to more in Greece, but it is no less true that in his first rally since July, and with his first co-driver, Cándido Carrera, it was not easy to improve that fourth position. “The weekend has been really bad”, recognized a sincere Dani in goal. “We got the marks wrong and we were not confident during the rally. We couldn’t do much more than fourth place so we tried to keep it and in the next we will try to do better ”. It will be in Catalonia (October 14-17), and no one doubts that they will be fighting for victory.
But first we have Rally Finland (October 1-3), the third-to-last event of the year after confirming that Monza (November 19-21) will fill the gap left by the canceled Rally Japan. Sordo does not run there, and it will surely be the stage where local fans will once again dream of their new ‘flying Finn’, Kalle Rovanpera, the last star to emerge from his endless quarry, that he has already surpassed his father, Harri, who in his long career only won one rally. The son already has two, and many more are glimpsed for the future.
Final ranking
1. Rovanpera-Halttunen (Fin / Toyota), 3h 28m 24.6s
2. Tanak-Jarveoja (Est / Hyundai), at 42.1
3. Ogier-Ingrassia (Fra / Toyota), at 1: 11.3
4. Sordo-Carrera (Esp / Hyundai), at 3: 01.0
5. Greensmith-Patterson (Gbr / Ford), at 5: 45.0
World of pilots
1. Sebastien Ogier, 180 points
2. Elfyn Evans, 136
3. Thierry Neuville, 130
4. Kalle Rovanpera, 129
5. Ott Tanak, 106