Kalle Rovanperä admits in a special interview with Iltalehti that the giant World Cup lead has come as a surprise.
- Kalle Rovanperä gets a lot of support from his family in this week’s World Cup home rally.
- Rovanperä was surprised by how big the lead in the World Series has grown.
- Even so, Rovanperä does not want to look at the calendar and study when the championship could be secured.
Lutako’s competition center is buzzing around.
Souvenir sellers are already setting up their own points of sale, and random tourists have to slip through the security fences to Sokos Hotelli Paviljonki.
The pace of work only accelerates towards the end of the week, when the hotel takes on its own role as the nerve center of the Finnish World Rally Championship.
We haven’t managed to get through without some hiccups either.
– I was out there filming without sunglasses, and my head hurt, Kalle Rovanperä admits in a special interview with Iltalehti.
Media representative of the Toyota rally team Hans De Bauw throws Aspirin on the table, which Rovanperä melts in his glass of water.
However, there is no reason to worry. The Finnish striker is fully fit and ready to start conquering the gravel circus of Central Finland.
Secto Rally Finland notation starts on Tuesday, and on Thursday evening, in the traditional landscape of Harju, you will already be racing against the clock.
There is no doubt who is the star of this event. On the rally’s official website, the public is welcomed to “Kalle Rovanperä’s home rally”.
You could feel pressure to succeed even with less.
– It’s always a relaxed feeling driving in Jyväskylä. Of course, there is more excitement and enthusiasm in that hustle. After all, there is a feeling when you are in front of the home crowd, Rovanperä denies.
– However, I’m not promising anything. We’re going to drive for maximum profit, but at this point in the week, you can’t know how it will go.
A giant lead
Toyota’s driver line-up, which was predicted before the start of the season, has been turned upside down. Now all signs point to Kalle Rovanperä’s world championship. Juha Sorri
Rovanperä matured as a World Rally Championship winner already last year, when he celebrated together with a map reader Jonne Halttunen with both in Estonia and Greece.
However, the real gold mine broke out in the spring of 2022, when the Finn reached the highest podium in consecutive rallies in Sweden, Croatia and Portugal.
Even Sardinia’s fifth place felt like at least a victory against the worst competitor in the World Series Thierry Neuville only got solid scores for the Power Stage.
Since then, Rovanperä has only increased his World Championship lead with his first positions in the Safari and Estonian rallies.
Central Finland would have a chance to grab the second hat trick of the season this weekend.
– I wouldn’t say that this is a terribly special rally. Of course, it would be nice to get there on the list of winners, but it’s not the biggest thing in the world.
– All rallies are difficult to win in their own way, and I put the same stake in all of them.
The student of Keski-Paloka school gets to show his nails in a really familiar environment.
– Naturally, this is a special race when there are many Finnish fans, family and acquaintances on the bench. Of course, the feeling is different.
– But it won’t change the course of this year in any way if there is no win. Of course, you have to drive good results throughout the rest of the season to be able to hold on to the championship.
Of course, an athlete should say so.
Turkey’s championship cannot be celebrated at all until it is mathematically absolutely certain. In the case of Rovanperä, however, the moment is also close.
Kalle Rovanperä’s work in the car is sometimes magical to watch. PDO
The Finn has an incredible 83 points behind him. He would lead the series, even with Neuville in second and Neuville in third by Elfyn Evans the balances would be added together.
The Welshman Evans started the season as the number one favorite for the championship, but now he has become the co-driver of the Finnish World Cup fight.
– It was a bit of a surprise. Of course, Elfyn had a difficult early season, but we have also been able to match the pace well when we have been racing.
A small smile spreads across Rovanperä’s face.
– And that’s good.
Back to August
On the consistent speed table, Rovanperä will be crowned the best in its category possibly already after the Belgian World Rally Championship held at the end of August.
The more likely place is Greece at the beginning of September. At the latest, Rovanperä will lock his title in the New Zealand rally at the turn of September-October.
– There is no calendar for that. It’s pointless to count when you don’t know what will happen next.
Rovanperä’s first serious attempt to win the home rally was last year. It ended at the end of the second day of driving.
– It was a big disappointment. And that Friday wasn’t good either. We weren’t at the pace we should have been all weekend. The outing just topped off a bad weekend.
In the previous season, the Jyväskylä metropolitan area was run according to the exceptional calendar in October. Now, to the joy of the rally people, we have returned to the familiar August.
– Road surfaces can be more summery and drier. At that time there were already some autumn rains and cold nights.
It would be gross to say that Rovanperä would have had difficulties on the gravel paths at home. However, the undeniable truth is that it is here that the Toyota star’s phenomenal abilities as a tire whisperer do not come into their own.
The Finnish World Rally Championship is known for the fact that you can drive as much as the soul can bear on hard-surfaced private roads. Rovanperä’s talent comes out better when the driver has to feel where the tire loses its grip on the road.
One factor behind Rovanperä’s success is undoubtedly his second sport, drifting, where the car is deliberately kept outside the same interface.
– I believe that all race driving is also good in rallying, but it is impossible to say where it is useful and where it is not.
– I bet it doesn’t help much in a rally like this.
“Without risks”
At its most spectacular, driving Rovanperä is like ballet on wheels. However, thousands of hours of training and almost unlimited strength are hidden behind the beautiful movements.
Even the team manager was dumbfounded by the Finnish shock Jari-Matti Latvala On the Power Stage of Rally Croatia, where he turned 1.4 seconds back To Ott Tänak 4.3 seconds to win.
It’s scary to think that Rovanperä hasn’t had to push as hard as maybe that 14.09 kilometer section that started from Zagorska Sela.
– Yes, it has been possible to tighten it in quite a few rallies when it has been necessary to race. Fortunately, momentum has still been found.
– Maybe I’m a little surprised by how few problems we’ve had. Of course, I’ve tried to drive smart and succeeded well.
The year 2022 will be remembered as Rovanperä’s first championship season. More to come, as the main lines of the Rally1 rules are now locked in for three years ahead.
The cars presented this year demanded a lot from the drivers, as the central lock was removed from the previous generation versions, the suspension and aerodynamics were tweaked, and the additional horsepower of hybrid technology was introduced.
Rovanperä has taken the changes much better than its competitors.
– I would say that the hybrid has been the biggest change. After all, other drivers have driven this type of car, Rovanperä reflects.
The Finn’s superiority is so staggering that it is difficult to see how the competitors would be able to keep up, at least before the new rule overhaul in 2025.
– After Monte’s difficulties, I am with you with the car. I found my own style and adjustments. Through that, I have raised my basic pace to a slightly higher level than others.
– I have been able to perform consistently without risks.
In the Finnish World Rally Championship starting on Thursday, it means that Rovanperä will make up for the missing victory, if only the tricks hold.
The probability of your own driving error is extremely small.