ATHENS — Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera won Greece’s Acropolis Rally to stretch his world championship lead over team mate Elfyn Evans to 33 points with three rounds remaining.
The 22-year-old Finn finished one minute and 31.7 seconds ahead of Welshman Evans to seal his third victory of the campaign and second in three years in Greece.
The next round is in Chile with a gravel event from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1.
The reigning world champion had led by more than two minutes at the start of the final leg after previous frontrunners Thierry Neuville and Sebastien Ogier retired with suspension damage on the rough mountain roads around Lamia.
Rovanpera also took a maximum five bonus points from the final stage, with Neuville returning for that but unable to score.
The Belgian is third overall but now 66 points behind Rovanpera.
“This may be the end of our championship title hopes, but now we look ahead and target some victories in the final events of the season,” said Neuville according to Reuters.
Rovanpera said the victory, which helped Toyota move 91 points clear of Hyundai in the manufacturers’ championship, came as a big relief.
“It was a tough week with all the difficult conditions, starting already in the recce,” said the Finn, who had rolled his car out of his previous home round.
“After a difficult rally in Finland, we needed to come back now, even though we never left. A strong performance, starting first and finishing first is quite nice.”
Evans fought with Hyundai’s Dani Sordo for second until the final stage, with the Spaniard ending up 4.2 seconds adrift for the final podium position.
The pair had been just 2.7 seconds apart going into the final stage.
“I tried everything in that final stage. Elfyn had a little bit of bad luck during the rally but he has driven very well,” said Sordo.
M-Sport Ford’s Estonian Ott Tanak was fourth with Esapekka Lappi fifth for Hyundai and Takamoto Katsuta sixth in his Toyota.
The rally started in drying conditions after torrential rain had left the gravel roads muddy and rocky.
Avoiding punctures and mechanical problems, Rovanpera clinched victory and boosted his championship lead over Evans by winning the Power Stage.
Evans, who battled mechanical issues, displayed an impressive comeback to finish second. A suspected overheating problem on his GR Yaris temporarily dropped him to fifth, but a roadside repair and retirements by Neuville and Ogier propelled him to second place, narrowly edging out Hyundai’s Daniel Sordo.
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