Autosportfoto

WRC 2 in Spain: Rovanperä nets masterful win

Skoda Fabia driver Kalle Rovanperä underlined his reputation as a star of the future by taking his second WRC 2 win in as many events at RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de España on sunday.

Eighteen-year-old Rovanperä began Sunday's final leg with a lead of 22sec over Skoda team-mate Jan Kopecký, and he adopted a cautious approach through the final four stages, all of which were new to him, to take the win by 8.5sec.

Kopecký, who has already sealed the 2018 title, claimed three stage wins as he attempted to reel in his team-mate. But despite taking an 8.4sec chunk out of the Finn on the final stage, it wasn't enough to continue his 100 per cent winning record this year.

Former world champion Petter Solberg gave Volkswagen Motorsport a successful one-off return to the WRC with a podium finish in the new Polo R5.

His elevation to the top-three was helped by misfortune for Nil Solans, who stopped to change a wheel on his Ford Fiesta in SS15. The Spaniard plunged from third to fifth - slipping behind Solberg and fellow Fiesta driver Kajetan Kajetanowicz.

The elder of the Solberg brothers - Henning - finished sixth in a Fabia and did well to hold off a hard-charging Pierre-Louis Loubet who ended just 6.1sec behind in a Hyundai i20.

Fabio Andolfi was eighth in his Fabia, while Citroën C3 pair Ole Christian Veiby and Simone Tempestini rounded out the top 10.

Zdroj: wrc.com