Flying Finn on fast track to glory as Kiwis soar home

The 22-year-old Finn is set to be confirmed as the youngest ever WRC champion if he stays out of trouble on today’s four stages.

BARRING an accident, Finland’s Kalle Rovanpera¨ will be crowned 2022 WRC champion at Jack’s Ridge today.

On his 22nd birthday, Rovanpera¨ again showed he’s going to dominate rallying for many years to come, with a breathtaking balance of speed and consistency, winning three of the six stages yesterday.

He will take a 29-second lead over France’s Sebastien Ogier into the final four stages of Rally NZ, while Ott Ta¨ nak, who is second in the championship, is lying in third place, 46sec behind Rovanpera¨ .

Rovanpera¨ needs eight points more than Ta¨ nak this weekend to become the youngest-ever WRC champion.

If Rovanpera¨ wins and Ta¨ nak stays third, that will give him 10 points more. However, there are bonus points available on the power stage at Jack’s Ridge, with five for the winner, going down to one point for fifth place.

It was an eventful Saturday, with Rovanpera¨ masterful, while others struggled just to stay on the road.

Having spent Friday cleaning the gravel for those behind him, yesterday was always going to be a day where Rovanpera¨ went for it.

The opening stage was won by Craig Breen, not that it made up for the disappointment of going down a ditch on Friday, ending his hopes of winning this rally.

Speaking straight after finishing the stage Breen said: ‘‘my soul is still hurting’’.

Everyone found trouble with grip on SS9, Puhoi 1, but no-one more so than Elfyn Evans, who was leading the rally at the time. He spun, hit a bank, but was able to carry on.

However, the incident caused considerable damage to the front and rear of the car.

After making it to the end of the stage, Evans surveyed the wreckage and with the radiator busted, patched it up as best he could, then gathered water from a nearby puddle to fill it up.

The final stage of the morning loop was cancelled as Gus Greensmith continued M-Sport Ford’s miserable weekend with a high-speed crash, hooking his wheel into a ditch, then rolling the car multiple times.

There was further drama on SS12, Puhoi 2, with Breen losing panels off his car, while

Takamoto Katsuta went down a bank. NZ rookie Shane van Gisbergen hit a rock, suffering a front-right puncture early on the stage and had a long way to limp to the finish line.

At the end of that stage Ogier revealed he’d been given team orders to no longer push, but remain in second place, to keep

Ta¨ nak in third and secure the title for Rovanpera¨ .

It’s been an unusual rally for NZ’s Hayden Paddon, who is sixth overall. He is too quick for anyone else in WRC2 class to keep up with him, while his Hyundai i20N can’t match the pace of the Rally1 hybrid cars.

That is apart from the son of billionaire Prada heir Miucca Prada, Lorenzo Bertelli, who appears out of his depth.

Beating Bertelli is a reminder to everyone how good Paddon is, but aside from that there’s not much for Paddon to battle for as few of the leading WRC2 drivers made the trip to New Zealand.

‘‘It’s tricky just maintaining things,’’ Paddon said.

‘‘When you’re in this position that you’ve got a lot to lose and nothing to gain, it’s easy to make a mistake and we can’t make mistakes.’’

Aussie Supercars star Van Gisbergen is ninth overall and third in WRC2. ‘‘It’s just getting better, there’s still plenty to come,’’ Van Gisbergen said of his rallying exploits.

‘‘We’re having a go, but we’re having some fun too.’’

‘It’s just getting better, there’s still plenty to come. We’re having a go, but we’re having some fun too.’ SHANE VAN GISBERGEN