Rovanpera lights up Estonia shakedown as Tanak incurs time penalty

The defending World Champion was a clear winner of the 4.08 kilometre ‘Kastre’ speed test in his GR Yaris Rally1, as he traversed it 1.2 seconds quicker than the rest of the main field.

Rovanpera’s benchmark time of one minute 58.8 seconds came on the third pass of the stage, which became increasingly rutted towards its conclusion.

The signs of a first success on the Tartu-based event seem equally positive for Hyundai Motorsport as Thierry Neuville completed the exercise second quickest in a time of two minutes dead, with Esapekka Lappi a further half-a-second behind in third.

Neuville - fresh from media duties at the Goodwood Festival of Speed - admitted he was adjusting to the car on the high-speed gravel roads, with this bedding in process causing him to run wide on a sweeping left hander having left his braking a fraction too late.

Three tenths slower than Lappi – and a tenth clear of Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans on his return to the third points-scoring GR Yaris Rally1 – was Takamoto Katsuta. The Japanese star confirmed that the feeling with the supermini he is sharing this season with Sebastien Ogier as part of their seat rotation agreement was “very good”.

Initially, that was also the case for Teemu Suninien on his Rally1 debut with Hyundai Motorsport as he was third fastest before eventually slotting into sixth. “Honestly, the [first] run didn’t feel very good, but I need to do a good job and it will get better over the weekend,” he said.

Home hero Ott Tanak only got one attempt at ‘Kastre’ before engine trouble pushed him to the sidelines. As well as a gruff sounding note, fire spitting from the exhaust of his Puma Rally1 at idle was another tell-tale sign all was not well.

On the car’s return to service on the end of a tow rope, the decision was taken to replace the engine which means he will start round eight of the World Rally Championship with a five-minute time penalty before a wheel has turned.

“Obviously, the competition is gone. It is quite the shock for everyone no question but let’s see what we can bring. We have the opportunity to drive and get the job done but other than that not too much to say,” said Tanak.