Kalle Rovanperä, the reigning champion, had a devastating crash towards the end of the second-to-last stage of Secto Rally Finland. Despite his strong performance, leading the rally comfortably ahead of his teammate Sébastien Ogier, Rovanperä’s hopes of winning his home rally were shattered.
A rock obstructed his path in a moderately fast left turn, causing his Toyota to veer off course and collide with the trees on the outer edge of the corner. Thankfully, both Rovanperä and his co-driver emerged from the incident unharmed. In a separate incident, teammate Elfyn Evans crashed at the very beginning of the same stage, forcing him to retire immediately.
Despite these setbacks, Toyota remains in the lead of the rally, with Ogier now holding a 42.5-second advantage over Thierry Neuville in the overall classification.
