This is the first retirement of the season for Kalle Rovanperä. Well ahead of the general classification of the championship, 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 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.