WRC Croatia: Rovanpera snatches win from Tanak in thrilling showdown

Rovanpera headed into the final power stage 1.4s behind Tanak after losing grip on a rally lead he held from Stage 1 when a sudden downpour turned the rally on its head in the penultimate stage.

However, Rovanpera produced a stunning drive on the final stage to beat Tanak by 5.6 seconds to take victory by 4.3s, and scoop the five power stage bonus points.

The Finn set up the victory by winning six of the eight stages on a wet Friday but then witnessed his 1m23s lead over Tanak reduced to 16.8s after suffering front left puncture in the rain on Saturday. He was able to recover to hold a 19.9s advantaged heading into Sunday.

After recovering from a puncture on Friday afternoon, Tanak fought hard and looked on course for a possible victory after making the most of his wet and hard tyre mix in the rain on Stage 19, only to be denied at the last stage by Rovanpera. 

Hyundai sealed a double podium as Thierry Neuville finished third, but only after dramatic finish to the final stage that saw his i20 N almost flip when he ran into a ditch. After recovering from the moment with a front right and left rear puncture, he was able to complete an impressive recovery after a series of penalties and misfortune.

The Belgian had ended Friday's morning loop 12.5s behind rally leader Rovanpera before his rally began to unravel. First an alternator failure required Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe to push their stricken i20 N 800m into service where they checking in four minutes later and incurred a 40s penalty.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport

The pair were then given a one-minute penalty and a €1,900 fine on Friday night after being clocked driving at