This is the first retirement of the season for Kalle Rovanperä.
Well ahead of the overall championship standings, the Norwegian has won 5 of the last 8 rallies he has contested.
But in Ypres in Belgium, the outcome will not be victory.
On the second lap and when he had made a perfect start to the rally, Kalle Rovanperä hit the ditch at the exit of a fast corner.
His car made many violent rolls that we observe in an impressive video.
Fortunately, the pilot and his co-pilot Jonne Halttunen are unharmed.
Both @KalleRovanpera and @JonneHalttunen are OK following a big roll in early action at @ypresrally 🇧🇪#YpresRally |
#WRC |
#WRCLive
— WRC - FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) August 19, 2022
Both men managed to extricate themselves from the car and informed race control that all was well.
The Toyota Yaris Rally1 is a wreck.
It is another driver from the Japanese manufacturer who inherits the lead in the classification at Ypres, Elfyn Evans.