Untouchable Rovanperä clinches Rally Estonia win
Kalle Rovanperä secured his third consecutive Rally Estonia triumph with a masterclass drive at the FIA World Rally Championship’s eighth round. He now leads the overall drivers standings from Elfyn Evans by 55 points
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SportTranscript
00:00 A thrilling rally Estonia saw four drivers fighting it out for supremacy
00:04 as the Toyotas of Elmen Evans and Kalle Rövenperä took on the Hyundai duo of Esa-Pekka Lappi and Thierry Nürburgring.
00:11 Competition was so intense that at the end of day two just 14 seconds covered the top four
00:18 but one of the Privet favorites wasn't in the mix.
00:21 The home hero Oitsanik and his co-driver Martin Järvjöa were handed a five-minute penalty
00:28 for an engine change following the shakedown ending their chances before they'd even begun.
00:35 They fought back like lions winning six of the first eight stages before rain fell.
00:43 He's goooooooone! What is a massive slide for Tanak!
01:05 Esa-Pekka Lappi's huge launch over a crest on day two was a little too ambitious.
01:11 A heavy landing causing him to lose time throughout the morning loop.
01:14 I jumped too much in the beginning and the hybrid went off.
01:20 But my mistake fully, I just jumped too much.
01:24 And technical troubles also hit Takamoto Katsuta at the end of stage 14.
01:30 - Taka, what's wrong? - No, I don't know.
01:33 - You can't start it? - E-Bee also cannot start.
01:37 The Japanese driver thankfully managed to fix his Yaris and keep up the speed,
01:43 ending the day in sixth place but refusing to reveal what had happened.
01:48 - It's very hard to describe, sorry. - How did you fix it?
01:52 - We fixed it, so I didn't.
01:56 Teimo Sönnenen made a strong start in his return to Rally 1 machinery,
02:00 stepping up from WRC 2 to pilot the third Hyundai.
02:04 Both here in Estonia and at the next event in his native Finland.
02:09 He kept it neat and tidy, ending up a fantastic fifth and was full of emotion.
02:15 Yeah, it's been a really emotional rally for me and big thanks for the Hyundai
02:20 and to everyone who has been working in the team.
02:23 But nobody could keep pace with Karo Rovampäärä and Jonne Hälkinen,
02:26 who pulled away from the pack by winning every stage on day three with a remarkable performance.
02:32 Into the last corner, was it ever in doubt? 2.1 seconds quicker.
02:36 It's a hat-trick of Rally Estonia victories.
02:40 It's a 15th power stage victory, something special.
02:44 - For the championship, it's a really important place now to get good points.
02:50 And the plan was this exactly, my favourite event of the calendar.
02:55 So I knew that we have to push here and it went well.
03:00 Big thanks to the team, the car is working always.
03:04 Shame that we couldn't fight with Oitt this weekend.
03:07 I'm sure he will show the speed in Finland, but it's an amazing feeling.
03:12 I really love this rally.
03:13 - So Rovampäärä takes maximum points, with Nörvöl a solid second for Hyundai
03:18 and moving up to third in the championship.
03:20 Lappi was third and Evans fourth, as well as taking four bonus points from the power stage.
03:25 Sunnen finishes fifth, with Lube edging Katsuta out for sixth place by just three tenths of a second.
03:32 Tanek recovered to eighth, while Andres Mikkelsen took the spoils in WRC2, ahead of Sami Pajari.
03:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]