Finland’s Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota) leads Rally Croatia on Friday evening, after the eight special stages of the first day, ahead of two Hyundai drivers, Belgian Thierry Neuville and Estonian Ott Tänak, more than a minute each the two.
Rovanperä, 21, winner of the previous rally in Sweden and leader of the World Championship, had the advantage of opening the road and set six out of eight best times in the special stages, contested mostly on narrow asphalt roads and wet.
The French Sébastien Loeb, winner of the Monte-Carlo rally in January, and Sébastien Ogier, reigning world champion, who is preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, are not in Croatia.
Eight other special stages are scheduled for Saturday (SS9 to SS16), i.e. 116 km timed, and four more on Sunday morning (SS17 to SS20) to close this 3rd round of 2022.