“Sweden is our enemy” – Sport – svenska.yle.fi

There was no danger on the roof of Calle Rovanpera in Portugal. The Finn managed to maintain his lead as easily as possible during the final special stages and took home his first win of the season.

After a solid couple of days in Portugal, Calle Rovanpera geared up for a victory party and Sunday was all about keeping the car on the road. And that’s exactly what the world champion did.

Rovanpera cruised to safety and with a great lead, Dani Sordo could never threaten. The first victory of the season came by 54.7 seconds.

– It took a long time, but now we’re finally back. I want to send a huge THANK YOU to my map reader and the entire team, they pushed and made sure we got going.

– My friend Arttu also has a special thanks. I’ve been going through a tough time personally since the end of last year and he’s supported me,” Rovanpera says in his win interview.

During the final day, Rovanpera also dealt a blow to Finland’s Eurovision entry. Käärijä received the most audience votes in the competition but was not a favorite with the jury groups. Rovanpera did not like Sweden’s victory.

– It was not good at all, Sweden is our enemy in such battles. Käärijä did well and should have won, according to STT.

Rovanpera was not the only Finn on the podium in Portugal. Esapekka Lappi finished third in the rally.

Labey finished fourth in the final round but moved up to third when Thierry Neuville suffered engine problems in the morning.

Rovanperä climbs into the water cycle summary

Rovanpera also won the final Powerstage stage and collected five bonus WC points. With the victory, he climbed to first place in the WC Summary. He leads by 17 points ahead of Ott Tanak

The next sub-competition takes place during the first weekend in June.