The team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, Jari-Matti Latvala, says that Kalle Rovanpera's win in Portugal reminded him of Sebastien Ogier's dominance back in 2013 being of the opinion that he is in the same zone as the last one.
The young Finn is currently leading on drivers' championship with a 46-point gap over the second Thierry Neuville and clinched his third win for this season despite the fact that he started first on the road on Friday stages in Portugal.
In fact, Rovanpera won for a third time in a row while he scored the maximum poins for a second time in a row which means that he increased further his gap on the championship at the end of Rally de Portugal.
"Once again Kalle has surprised us because we didn't expect him to win, as he was first car on the road, but he did it", Latvala said.
"Elfyn was driving really well fighting for the victory and putting the pressure on Kalle, but this time Kalle found more performance.
"Kalle's victory in Portugal reminds me of the dominance of Sebastien Ogier back in the 2013 when he was driving the Volkswagen for the first time when he won his first title.
"He was putting all the other drivers under pressure and Kalle has now done the same and it very difficult when a driver is in what I call the flow zone.
"It is very difficult for the others to beat him and he has found that.
"For Kalle all of the things are clicking together he stays calm and doesn't take too much pressure and the car is suing him really well.
"What I see in Kalle, is there is nobody in history at his age that has done this.
"We know that we had great drivers in the past, Sebastien Loeb, Sebastien Ogier and they were good drivers and can win rallies by opening the road.
"But nobody has done it the age where Kalle is now.
"We haven't seen that in rally history.
"Kalle has grown up now really quickly and he has shown and proven that he has all the elements to become a world champion.
"He is on the right path but for sure there are many races and many more points to be scored before you are there."
Source: Motorsport.com
Photo Credits: Toyota
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