WRC and Estonia

When I think of the country of Estonia, what comes to my mind first is Markko Märtin, and other top drivers, such as Ott Tänak. Although Estonia is only in its third year of hosting the WRC, the country’s history is tinged in stories, including drivers who pulled off victories in the World Championship. It has been hosting rally championships since the days of the Soviet Union, and since its independence in 1991, Estonia has continued to send out talented drivers. Furthermore, the Toyota works team, GAZOO Racing WRT has opened its maintenance garage in the country. So, the image of a once distant country has been dispelled, and a modern WRC and Estonia have a close relationship.
The WRC in Estonia is one of the youngest events in the world championship, and together with Ypres in Belgium, the WRC is ironically being made possible by the global outbreak of the Covid-19 virus. With the pandemic severely limiting the number of events held outside Europe, as a result of the FIA restructuring the WRC with rallies that could be held, Estonia made its way into the WRC in 2020.
Estonia is less than 100 kilometers away from the rally kingdom of Finland across the Gulf of Finland, and its roads are just as fast as Finland’s. However, its roads are narrow, and the surface is not as hard as in Finland. In addition, the angles of the jumps are so tight that many drivers suffer back injuries when landing on the big jumps. This is a rally that requires a great deal of road mastery, as evidenced by the fact that Tänak, a local driver, won this rally three years in a row from 2018.

Local hero vs. champion candidate

Kalle Rovanperä, who is leading this year’s championship contenders, was the one who stopped Tänak from securing his fourth consecutive win in Estonia and took his first WRC victory last year. Rovanperä grew up in Finland, but since the age of 14, he has been competing in the Latvian championship, which does not require a license. Latvia is adjacent to Estonia and has stages that are similar in character to Estonia.
Will Tänak take revenge on last year’s defeat in this rally, an event made for him, or will Rovanperä, driving the upgraded Yaris Rally 1 with a more powerful engine, extend his winning record? It felt as though Estonia’s contenders were narrowed down to these two before the rally.
However, it was Elfyn Evans of Toyota who defied expectations and jumped out on Day 1. He took advantage of starting from the back on the gravelly Estonian terrain to set the fastest times on all of the first loop on Day 1, the longest of the rally. Things started to change in the second loop of Day 1. Rovanperä, who was the gravel sweeper in the first loop, set the fastest time on the three SSs when the rain started to fall. Then, on the final SS9 in the pouring rain, Evans went off the road giving up a lead of more than 10 seconds that he had been defending, to let Rovanperä take the lead.
One thing to watch out for in this year’s gravel rally pattern is how much time the phenomenally fast Rovanperä will lose on Day 1, when his running order is unfavourable. But he bounced back from this disadvantage to stand the closest to the win as early as Day 1 this time. Tänak, a local hero who was considered to be a contender, was in the fight over the lead at the beginning, but he was unable to find the right setting and fell progressively behind. Moreover, he received a 10-second penalty for not turning off the engine in the “Hybrid Electric Vehicle Zones”. Introduced this year, it requires running only on the electric motor with the engine turned off. As a result he was now 44 seconds behind Rovanperä even though he was still in third place.
And in this rally, Rovanperä’s winning pattern was no different. On Day 2 when he was no longer handicapped starting at the back of the pack, he set the fastest time on seven of the nine SSs and widened the gap over Evans who was holding on to 2nd place, to nearly 30 seconds. At this point, the game was decided.
On the final day, the rally continued to develop at the pace of Rovanperä, slowing down in the second half before the power stage. And after winning the final power stage with overwhelming speed, it appears as if there is no one left to stop the momentum of Rovanperä.

Rovanperä’s solo run and the championship’s outlook

Not all Toyotas are necessarily fast, and Hyundai sometimes shows speed that can compete with them. But it doesn’t last long. It is regrettable that many of them are due to minor problems or lack of testing. Tänak said, “we are not at a level where we can compete at the moment. But we know what we need to do.”  But sometimes doing what needs to be done is in fact the most difficult part.
After Round 7 in Estonia, five-time winner, Rovanperä has 175 points in the Drivers’ Championship, with Neuville in 2nd place with 92 points. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Toyota has 298 points and Hyundai has 211. Setting the Manufacturers’ Championship aside, the Drivers’ Championship is starting to be decided. The next rally will be Rovanperä’s favourite in his home country of Finland. Furthermore, rallies that are more suited to Toyota drivers will continue in the latter half of the championship. The WRC in 2022 is becoming a one-sided game. Expectations are high for the Hyundai team to regain their footing in the second half of the season.