The current FIA World Rally Championship points leader Kalle Rovanperä has unfortunately crashed out early of the Ypres Rally as he ran wide into a ditch on the outside of a left-hander which pitched the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 into a roll at the midway point of SS2 Westouter – Boeschepe 1.
The car has a lot of damage and it is most likely that Rovanperä will be retiring from the rally and the hopes for probably claiming the championship title this weekend was shattered. However, both Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen walked away unharmed and they signed thumbs up to the marshals as shown through the LIVE TV feed from the helicopter.
Before the start of SS2, Rovanperä was quickest on the opening stage and took an early rally lead of 2.5 seconds ahead of his teammate Elfyn Evans. The SS1 wasn´t also drama free as Rovanperä was told to listen to the pace notes given by the co-driver as he had some moments out on the stage. The last year´s winner Thierry Neuville also had trouble on the first stage as he overcooked at a junction and lost quite some time.
