Thrilling GT News: Rovanpera and Evans Crash Out of Rally Finland
In a dramatic turn of events at the 2023 World Rally Championship (WRC) event in Finland, championship leader Kalle Rovanpera and Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans have both crashed out of the rally on the penultimate stage.
Rovanpera, the reigning WRC champion, was leading the rally comfortably, holding a 45.8-second advantage going into the 19th stage (Sahloinen-Moksi, 14.27km). However, the Finnish driver clipped a rock on the inside of a left-hand corner, sending his Toyota GR Yaris into the trees. Rovanpera and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen were able to exit the vehicle unharmed, but their victory hopes were dashed.
“It’s a shame, but that’s rallying. We were pushing hard, and it just didn’t work out this time.” – Kalle Rovanpera
Moments later, Evans also crashed out on the same stage, losing control of his GR Yaris on the first corner, which resulted in an immediate retirement. The Welshman’s car snapped to the right, sending it wide into a ditch and then crashing into a set of trees. Evans and co-driver Scott Martin were unharmed in the incident.
The crashes have now handed the rally lead to Sebastien Ogier, who heads Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville by 42.5 seconds, with M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux in third. The incident has also brought a premature end to a difficult event for Evans, who was already fighting to salvage only the 12 Super Sunday points after a driveshaft failure on Saturday.
This dramatic turn of events in the WRC Finland has had a significant impact on the championship standings, with Hyundai’s Neuville now set to increase his lead with four rallies of the season remaining in Greece, Chile, Central Europe, and Japan.
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