Daily Times

Two-time defending world champion Kalle Rovanpera, who was not even due to be racing this weekend, enjoyed a dominant Saturday to take the lead in Rally Poland, the seventh round of the WRC season. After 15 special stages, the flying Finn’s Toyota was 9.4 seconds ahead of Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) with Welshman Elfyn Evans, his Toyota team-mate, back in third at 16.1 seconds. Rovanpera won six of the day’s seven stages to overturn the 1.8sec advantage held by Mikkelsen on Friday night. “I tried my best the whole day, and the afternoon was definitely more enjoyable when I knew what was coming,” Rovanpera said. Four speed tests on Sunday stand between Rovanpera and a remarkable win. The Finn was not scheduled to drive in Poland but had to replace Sebastien Ogier at short notice after an accident during a reconnaissance run on Tuesday. The eight-time world champion and his co-driver Vincent Landais, who was involved in a head-on collision, were uninjured, as were the two occupants of the other vehicle involved.