The reigning world champion delivered a dominant display to reel off the fastest times in all six of Friday’s stages to open up a commanding 56.9s lead over Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans.
Rovanpera’s most impressive drive arrived in stage four where he was 11.1s faster than nearest rival Hyundai’s Ott Tanak, who retired from the day two stages later. Tanak had managed to stay within 18.6s of the Toyota driver before crashing out on stage six.
Reflecting on his lead, Rovnapera admitted that he cannot afford to relax given the gruelling nature of the Safari Rally, and how quickly the event can turn on its head, especially if rain showers arrive.
“It has not been so easy, but it has been a good day for sure,” said Rovanpera, making the second start of a partial WRC campaign this week.
“The plan was to use our starting place well and push when it is clear and still have a bit of margin to take care in the rough places in the afternoon, and still do good times, so I am happy.
“I wouldn’t say it [the lead] is enough and not even close to being enough. If there are some big rain showers tomorrow or something comes, we have seen before the gaps can be huge.
“If you get any small issues then they [my rivals] can make big gaps so I’m not thinking about the time difference too much. For sure, it is good, but we need to work the same way tomorrow and then after tomorrow we can see where we are.
Source: Autosport