Paris (AFP) - Kalle Rovanpera won the final stage of the Rally of Croatia on Sunday to retake first place from Ott Tanak after a game of tyre poker in the closing stages.

The Finn led after each of the first 18 stages but was caught out by a downpour in the penultimate stage, finishing almost 30 seconds behind Tanak.

The Estonian, who had gambled on wet tyres on his Hyundai, won the stage and took the overall lead by 1.4sec.

“I didn’t know where this weather came from,” said Toyota’s Rovanpera. “We had no idea there was going to be rain.”

He struck back in the final stage, winning by 5.6sec from Tanak, second.

“I was sure we could not be so fast with these tyres, but it’s amazing,” Rovanpera said at the finish.

“We pushed really hard and I think we deserve it this weekend. For sure, it was the toughest win of my career.”

Tanak, who went last, was not able to match the Finn.

“I didn’t take any risks, but Kalle obviously did a good drive,” said Tanak. “We were fighting for the win, but only because of clever decisions and tyre choices.”

Another Hyundai driver, Belgian Thierry Neuville was third despite ending a weekend plagued by problems by crashing at the finish of the final stage and limping across the line with two punctures.

“At the end, I got caught under braking with the hard tyres and we just went straight on. Luckily we got away with it,” Neuville said.