It’s simultaneously the best and worst position to be in, leading a round of the World Rally Championship so comfortably on Saturday night.
Best because it means a victory and 25 points look secure; worst because it means you’ve far more to lose by going all out for Sunday points.
And at this stage of the season, with the championship situation as it is, Kalle Rovanperä cannot afford a chilled Sunday drive at Central European Rally.
“It’s not the best place to be fighting for Sunday, but obviously there is no option,” he told DirtFish. “We will do it anyway.”
That’s because his Toyota team-mate, and current championship leader, Sébastien Ogier went off at high speed on Saturday’s second stage – a puncture sending the Frenchman’s GR Yaris Rally1 wide and into a tree.
Rovanperä had been less than a second ahead of Ogier before the incident, so now has a comfortable lead. But he also has his 21-point championship deficit to think about, and knows full well that Ogier will be all-out for a full 10 point-haul from the powerstage and Super Sunday standings.
Rovanperä: “Obviously tomorrow it [the lead] doesn’t matter so much anymore; it will be a new sprint race. It will be flat out.
“Séb will be going for it with basically full risk, he has nothing to lose, he will be having good road position so I think Séb will be tough to beat tomorrow. But obviously Ott and Elfyn are in the same position – we all need all the points we can get so it will be a huge fight I think.”
It’s a tantalizing prospect for rally fans around the world. And Rovanperä is right, both Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans need to score every single point they can get – but it’s perhaps even more imperative for Evans to, who is provisionally set to move back into the championship lead.
However Saturday afternoon has been a struggle in particular for the Welshman as he lost second place to Tänak and admitted he couldn’t match him.
Evans didn't have an answer to Tänak's speed on Saturday afternoon
“He’s been fast today and obviously I haven’t really had an answer this afternoon,” Evans told DirtFish. “It’s not been the best one from us, like it doesn’t feel that bad, but just not really able to deliver the times.
“I don’t feel it’s in the amount of push,” he added. “So I think it’s either overdoing it or some bad habit somewhere that’s probably costing a bit of time. But yeah, the level of push doesn’t seem that bad.”
As for Sunday?
“Obviously we have to make the right choices and to try and find something also overnight.”
Tänak is at his maximum, so cannot have any regrets. The plan is to produce the same tomorrow.
He told DirtFish: “[We’re] probably still missing a bit the optimum speed, but performance-wise, roughly, we’ve been a bit closer.
Tänak has 43 points to make up, and no manufacturers' championship to worry about
“[Tomorrow] we can do the best [like] we’ve done today and I think we continue the same way because I feel I’ve been quite close to the maximum today with the rhythm. Basically we can only do our best tomorrow and the rest I guess they [the Toyotas] will decide if they want to go faster or slower.”
Tänak, remember, doesn’t have any manufacturers’ points to think about – only what’s best for his drivers’ championship campaign.
“I mean, for sure, there is always some risk,” he continued. “But I mean, also, there needs to be reason behind the risk. And I think if it feels comfortable, and I have the feeling, then for sure, I push for it. And we try to be as efficient as we can.”
Four stages, and a healthy 48.3 miles, stand between each contenders and the 10-point bonus haul.
“Tomorrow is a bit different kind of stages,” Rovanperä concluded. “We just try to optimize everything and have a good speed. Obviously, the car has been fast so far, and the driving when we push is also good.
“When you have a big lead for a rally win it’s not the nicest position to be in, but yeah, we still have to be there.”
