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Rovanperä one of the three most reliable drivers
However, there is no reason for Rovanperä to feel ashamed of
himself because of his performance as a driver. Despite
mechanical problems, Harri has made it to the finish in seven
rallies out of nine; Six times fighting among the top until
problems hit.
With convincing reliability, he has succeeded in taking his car
across the finish line most of the times, despite having faced over the
stages mechanical problems that have seemed insurmountable.
Together with Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz, Rovanperä takes his
place in the drivers’ top three in this year’s championship when it comes
to reliability.
Last year Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen took the victory in Rally
Costa Smeralda, which served as a rehearsal of this year’s World
Championship rally. The Italian round of WRC will this year be competed
for the first time on Sardinian gravel instead of the asphalt
surfaces of San Remo.
Rovanperä still one of the fastest drivers
When his car hasn’t caused trouble, Rovanperä has indisputably proved
to belong among the fastest drivers of the World Rally Championship.
One of the proofs is the fact that he has clocked the fifth biggest
number of stage victories, even if he has rarely been able to profit by a
faultlessly working car throughout an entire event. Harri has taken nine
championship starts this year, and he has managed to take his car to the
finish and into championship points seven times. Only twice has he been
forced to retire. In Turkey, he had no other choice after the gearbox got
stuck. Going off the road has been the reason for his retirement in just
one event, his home rally, which Harri was leading when the fatal slip
happened.
The rallies of New Zealand and Greece are the only ones in which Harri
has been able to enjoy driving a fairly troublefree car. In Rally Greece,
as a result, Harri finished in third place. In the events of Mexico, Turkey,
Japan and Wales, he was hit by mechanical problems right in the
beginning, but even so, in three of the rallies Harri managed to struggle
his way to the finish and into a points position.
In six of the rallies, Harri was battling among the top in the early
moments, four times he was even one of the two fastest drivers, until
he was dropped down due to a mechanical failure in the car. But even
in those six events, Harri eventually finished in points five times.
Top three of the most reliable drivers in WRC:
Loeb, Sainz and Rovanperä!
Among those participating regularly in the World Championship rallies,
eight drivers have had at least nine starts this year. Loeb, who has
participated in twelve events, has only one retirement. In Mexico, he hit a
stone causing the oil sump of his car damaging too badly for him to
continue. Saiz has also taken part in all of the twelve rallies, and he too
has retired only once after going off in Monte Carlo. Rovanperä has
been forced to retire once due to a mechanical failure, and only once
after going off.
Except for Loeb, Sainz and Rovanperä, all the other five regular WRC
pilots have ended up retiring from competitions at least twice because
of going off.
Careful preparation for Sardinia
- repeating last year’s win might prove challenging
Prior to Rally Sardinia, Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietiläinen have gone
through their normal process of preparation. Last year they took the
victory in Rally Costa Smeralda, which served as a rehearsal of this
year’s World Championship rally Supermag Rally Italia Sardinia.
- This year’s event is going to take place on different roads from
those of 2003, so I’m not sure how much our last year’s visit will help us.
If the character of the itinerary remains unchanged, we can expect a
fast, demanding rally on narrow roads. The last time we were to
Sardinia driving tests was before the Rally of Wales, and then the car
was working perfectly ok.
- The entire team has worked enormously hard for this rally, so
hopefully the car will be in tune also during the event so that we’ll have a
real chance of doing well, Rovanperä formulates his goal. The Italian
round of WRC will this year be competed for the first time on Sardinian
gravel instead of the asphalt surfaces of San Remo.
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