Daily Times

LISBON: Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera won the Rally of Portugal on Sunday and took over at the top of the world championship standings after five rounds. The 22-year-old reigning champion finished the final Power Stage 54.7 seconds clear of Hyundai’s Spaniard Dano Sordo to take his first victory of the season and second in a row in Portugal. Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi finished third after team mate Thierry Neuville suffered a broken turbocharger on the gravel roads and limped through the closing stages, dropping out of the podium places to fifth. “I have missed this feeling. It has been too long coming, but finally we are back,” said Rovanpera, who won 10 of the 19 stages over three days. The Finn’s last rally win was in New Zealand when he became the youngest ever champion last October. read more Rovanpera took five bonus points from the final stage and now has a 17-point lead over M-Sport Ford’s Estonian Ott Tanak, who finished fourth on Sunday but was boosted by four extra points at the end. Toyota part-timer Sebastien Ogier, who was not competing in Portugal, is third and 29 points off the lead. The Frenchman, eight-times world rally champion, is level on points with Welsh team mate Elfyn Evans who crashed out in Portugal on Friday and did not score. Toyota lead Hyundai by 32 points in the manufacturers’ championship. The next rally is in Sardinia from June 1-4.