(Reuters) – Toyota’s double world champion Kalle Rovanpera led Rally Latvia on the first full day of the event as a round of the world championship.
The Finn, who started out in rallying in the Baltic country, won four of Friday’s seven gravel stages to lead local youngster Martins Sesks by 15.7 seconds.
“Quite a good day, not the perfect feeling in the car but no mistakes,” said Rovanpera.
“I think Sesks will be really fast here but overall I think we did a good job.”
Sesks, competing for M-Sport Ford in only his second WRC round, won stages three and four and ended the day 5.9 seconds clear of Toyota’s eight-times world champion Sebastien Ogier, who won stage five.
Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta was lying fourth for Toyota with M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux fifth and Estonian Ott Tanak sixth for Hyundai.
Hyundai’s championship leader Thierry Neuville was ninth and closest rival Elfyn Evans seventh for Toyota.
Neuville has 136 points to Evans’ 121 and Tanak on 115. Hyundai lead the manufacturers’ standings with 311 points to Toyota’s 301.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in Budapest, editing by Christian Radnedge)
