Kalle Rovanpera continues his march by also winning the Special Stage 7 of the Rally Latvia, the 17.44 kilometre Strazde. In this way he managed to further increase his advantage over Martins Sesks, even if almost imperceptibly.
Rovanpera continues to collect scratches, yet the Latvian is always very close to him. In fact, the two are separated by 8″9 after almost an hour of total racing. The impression is that Kalle is now trying to give everything to give the first push to his rival, but the race is still long and anything can still happen.
Sesks, thanks to an excellent starting position, continues to achieve significant times similar to those of his rival. While he is fighting for the first place, he has distanced himself from Sébastien Ogier – third – by 5 seconds net. He now finds himself between two drivers who have won 10 world titles together.
Ott Tanak, on the other hand, seems to be in trouble. The Estonian, the best Hyundai driver at the start of the race, is fourth, but behind him both Takamoto Katsuta and Adrien Fourmaux are threatening, fifth and sixth respectively and 2″9 and 4″5 behind.
The worst aspect, however, is that Tanak finds himself having to face the last test with brake problems. These already occurred during PS7 and if they occur again it will be very difficult for him to defend himself from the assault of the Japanese and the transalpine.
Elfyn Evans, seventh, continues to lead Esapekka Lappi, while Gregoire Munster managed to distance Thierry Neuville. The World Championship leader now has a gap of 5″3 from the Dutchman. A weekend that was expected to be an uphill battle is proving to be very complicated for him.
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