Finnish Driver Kalle Rovanperä Wins Rally Poland
The 2022 World Rally Championship saw a thrilling conclusion with Finnish driver Kalle Rovanperä taking the top spot in the Rally Poland, a seventh-round event that he had not initially planned to compete in due to a limited racing program.
Rovanperä, driving the Toyota GR Yaris, claimed the win with a 28.3-second lead over his teammate, British driver Elfyn Evans, who finished in second place. French driver Adrien Fourmaux of Ford Puma secured the third spot, 42.7 seconds behind the winner.
Thierry Neuville, the leader of the World Drivers’ Championship, managed to finish fourth, despite being hindered by his starting position. Neuville’s fourth-place finish added five points to his total, while his Power Stage victory earned him an additional two points.
Norwegian driver Andreas Mikkelsen, who had led the rally in the first stage, ultimately finished sixth, just behind Latvian driver Mrti Sesks, who made his debut in the top category and finished in fifth place.
Rovanperä was called up to replace French driver Sébastien Ogier, who suffered a traffic accident during pre-race reconnaissance, preventing him from participating. The Finnish driver and his co-driver, Jonne Halttunen, had to travel to the Polish rally base in Mikoajki late on Tuesday and, despite having little time to prepare, maintained a strong pace throughout the rally.
In the final stage, Rovanperä began with a 9.4-second lead over Mikkelsen, but lost all options when a tire came off his car’s rim. He eventually fell to sixth place.
"It’s been an amazing week. I definitely have to say that we’ve worked really hard and we’re really tired now. I think the best thing is that we came here, and it wasn’t a bad idea to come. We’ve helped the team a lot and we’ve scored a lot of points for the constructors’ championship, so we haven’t wasted any time," said Rovanperä.
The rally also saw Elfyn Evans move up to second place in the drivers’ championship, cutting Thierry Neuville’s lead to 15 points with six tests remaining. The World Championship will resume with the Latvian Rally, scheduled for July 18-21.
