{"id":1900,"date":"2022-02-15T18:38:59","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T09:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asahi-kasei-mobility.com\/en\/?post_type=wrc-report&p=1900"},"modified":"2023-08-01T16:03:55","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T07:03:55","slug":"croatia-rally-2","status":"publish","type":"wrc-report","link":"https:\/\/asahi-kasei-mobility.com\/en\/wrc-report\/1900\/","title":{"rendered":"Croatia Rally"},"content":{"rendered":"

Croatia Rally is a tarmac event with almost half a century of history since it was first held in 1974.
\nThe event cannot be simply described as a tarmac rally as it has various characteristics, with asphalt and concrete stages, varying grip-levels with some slippery surfaces, and fast and slow roads. Furthermore, unless there are firm verges or guardrails, stages can become muddied by cars cutting corners, especially when a verge is level with the road surface.
\nThe weather is also another factor. If it is sunny, one only needs to think of a balance between tyre wear and grip, but if it rains or turns out to be both wet and dry, tyre choice can be tricky; whether to select rain tyres, intermediate tyres with a less dense tread pattern, or soft compound dry tyres. Compared with gravel events, tarmac rally results are more seriously impacted by tyre choice.
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\nAs such, various elements shape the characteristics of each tarmac event. But in the case of this Croatia Rally, its character cannot be described so simply. The stage is a combination of slow and fast roads, rough and smooth sections, and high-grip or extremely slippery surfaces. Coupled with unpredictable rainfall, choosing the most suitable tyre is close to impossible. For this reason, when Croatia Rally was added to the WRC calendar for the first time last year, various dramas unfolded from Day 1.
\nHowever, there is a connection between the starting order and times that the drivers post. Should one start first, the surface is clean, but if one is at the back of the pack, it can be more like a gravel rally.
\nThe Toyota driver Rovanper\u00e4 took advantage of his starting position and fared well on a rainy Day 1, delivering a string of fast times. Although he crashed out of the event at the beginning of the rally last year, he took the lead starting 1st, and setting the fastest time in 6 out of the 8 stages on Day 1.
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\nThe Hyundai driver Neuville was also in a good position, driving 2nd on the road, but he dropped back largely due to a problem with the electrical system and a time penalty imposed for speeding infringements over a road section.
\nHowever, we should not judge Rovanper\u00e4 only from the first day\u2019s result. At the back of the running order, the road surface was covered with mud in some places, and it turned out to be far more disadvantageous than it had been expected before the rally started.
\nAnd a completely different drama unfolded on Day 2. Starting in reverse order of the standings of Day 1, the car that came in last place among the works teams started first on Day 2. Therefore, Rovanper\u00e4 was 10th in the running order, and he dropped his pace greatly just as feared, and he even struggled to remain in a top-five position. Furthermore, Rovanper\u00e4 lost one minute due to a puncture and Hyundai’s T\u00e4nak trimmed the gap to the Finn at every stage. What was fortunate for Rovanper\u00e4 was the cancellation of SS15 in the second loop on Day 2 due to thick fog. This prevented T\u00e4nak from further closing in on Rovanper\u00e4, and the Finn managed to remain at the top.
\nThere were no particular highlights in terms of times recorded by Rovanper\u00e4. However, what shone was his ability to defend the lead despite narrowing the time margin with a rival, under conditions where he could not push, and a single mistake could have led to retirement. At the end of Day 2, the difference between the two leading drivers Rovanper\u00e4 and T\u00e4nak was 19.9 seconds. This would be of a big enough advantage for a standard tarmac event. However, the question was, with Croatia Rally not being a \u201cstandard\u201d event, how would it further unfold?
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\nToyota and Rovanper\u00e4 must have thought it as an impregnable lead. This must have been the reason why they opted for a safer tyre choice, four hards and two wets. In general, this is a choice that would not be bad if the condition is dry and would also be able to forgo even if on wet surfaces. Further, they were informed by the safety crew who made a test run on the stages that it was almost dry throughout. However, I had a sense of apprehension about their choice. This is because young drivers in the process of gaining experience in many cases can get through when pushing hard, but the moment they get defensive they can be frail.
\nOn the other hand, T\u00e4nak, aiming to overtake the lead, was aggressive in his tyre choice; four softs and two wets. This is advantageous should the temperature be low, or the road wet even if only slightly. However, if the road is completely dry, there is a risk of the tyres totally failing due to wear.
\nAnd on SS17, the first stage of Day 3, T\u00e4nak whose tyres were too soft lost over 10 seconds to Rovanper\u00e4. On the following SS18 where massive amounts of mud were left on the road surface, T\u00e4nak took advantage of the soft tyres and retrieved three seconds. T\u00e4nak started 8th and Rovanper\u00e4 in 9th, and they were on an equal footing in terms of starting order.
\nAfter this seesaw match, a drama occurred in SS19. With an unexpected sudden downpour, it turned into a totally wet stage. T\u00e4nak took back 30 seconds straight away and climbed to the top with a 1.4-second lead over Rovanper\u00e4. Rovanper\u00e4\u2019s rally-long lead had finally evaporated. Into the final stage, SS20, without a tyre fitting opportunity, T\u00e4nak had the advantage on paper, as the road surface condition was muddy in low temperatures.
\nWith some added momentum, now the situation was in favour of T\u00e4nak on an emotional side as well, compared with Rovanper\u00e4 who must had been feeling helpless being fitted with challenging tyres. However, Rovanper\u00e4 put in a miraculous performance on SS20 despite such disadvantages. From the beginning of the stage where his hard tyres had not yet warmed up, he started fighting back and finished the stage leading T\u00e4nak by 5.7 seconds. Rovanper\u00e4 managed to fight back to clinch victory with 4.3-second lead. T\u00e4nak finished the final stage in 2nd with a decent time. It was just that Rovanper\u00e4 was way too fast.
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\nHe was on unfavourable tyres and under unfavourable psychological conditions. Despite the odds stacked against him ahead of the final stage, Rovanper\u00e4 bounced back from adversity, and a driver with such resilience is one destined to become a real contender in the championship. This fightback was not a mere dramatic win. The victory coupled with the tenacity he showed on Day 2 proved that Rovanper\u00e4 is a driver fully qualified to become a champion.
\nAfter years of continuously watching WRC, one comes across a moment of conviction occasionally, that \u201ca star is born\u201d. The final stage of Croatia Rally, the third round of the WRC 2022 was one such moment for sure, witnessing a star being born.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","wrc_year":[38],"class_list":["post-1900","wrc-report","type-wrc-report","status-publish","hentry","wrc_year-38"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asahi-kasei-mobility.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wrc-report\/1900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asahi-kasei-mobility.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wrc-report"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asahi-kasei-mobility.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wrc-report"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asahi-kasei-mobility.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wrc_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asahi-kasei-mobility.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wrc_year?post=1900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}