Latvala admitted he thought the win had escaped the 21-year-old after witnessing a rally long lead evaporate when a sudden downpour caught out the team with its tyre choice on the penultimate stage.
Rovanpera was helpless to avoid losing a 28.4s margin to Hyundai’s Ott Tanak, who was helped by a superior tyre package [two softs and two wets] compared to the two hards and two wets that were fitted to Rovanpera’s Toyota GR Yaris.
