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Kalle Rovanpera says he needs to “stay sharp” and not allow complacency to set in as he inches towards a third straight Rally Estonia victory.
Rovanpera begins the Sunday leg of the gravel fixture 34.9 seconds clear of nearest Rally1 challenger Thierry Neuville. Despite it being the shortest of the three days, crews do not have the benefit of morning or midday service, so extra care may need to be called for.
Such a healthy lead was accrued by Rovanpera on Saturday as he blitzed the chasing pack by chalking up a remarkable nine consecutive quickest times at the controls of his GR Yaris Rally1.
Many including Neuville have already conceded catching the talented 22-year-old is unlikely – but defending World Champion Rovanpera knows that will not stop them from trying to spoil his party.
“It has been an amazing day. It doesn’t happen so often that you can win all the stages in one day,” he said. “We had a clear plan this morning to push hard and get a bit of a gap if we can, and to make use of our better starting place.
“It was a bit easier to match the speed – we had a clean morning and gained a lot of time. This afternoon I really enjoyed the stages and it went well, the feeling was great in the car.”
He added: “Tomorrow is still a tricky day, with a new stage that is quite technical, so we need to stay sharp, do a good job and then hopefully we can have a final push on the Power Stage.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala was full of praise and admiration for Rovanpera, labelling his day two performance “incredible”. However, he conceded it should not come as a surprise given that the roads in their native Finland are of a similar character and profile.
“Watching from the stages, you can see he has a great feeling for the road conditions. He’s able to brake later and use the road more, so the confidence level is higher and we could see that in his times today,” said Latvala.
“He learned to drive on roads like these – this is like a home rally for him – and he really enjoys driving these stages and these conditions. The job is not finished yet but I’m sure he can bring the victory home tomorrow.”
