Kalle Rovanperä will start as the number one favorite in the Finnish World Rally Championship starting on Thursday, but Toyota’s Finnish star has yet another challenging task.
20220803, Jyväskylä, Secto Rally Finland, Team PR. Pictured is Kalle Rovanperä. Vesa Pöppönen / All Over Press Vesa Pöppönen / All Over Press
Rovanperä, who leads the World Series by far, will again have to be the first to draw the driving lines for Friday’s special forest tests. Of course, there is not as much plowing as in southern European gravel rallies, but the first starting point is not optimal in Central Finland either.
It remains to be seen whether the weather will help the Finnish star on his home roads.
– It was dry in Pätki during the notation, but the forecast promises that it may rain at night and on Friday as well. It wouldn’t hurt at all if it was a little damp on the plowing day, Rovanperä thought on the eve of the competition.
Rovanperä was especially worried about the Lankamaa special test to be run on Friday, which makes a return to rallying after a five-year break. The driving direction also differs from the old familiar Lankamaa speedway.
Rovanperä has never raced at the track located in Laukaa.
– Lankamaa was a great, technical and difficult section, but it would seem that there is quite a lot of plowing there. There is loose gravel, and it’s a sandy patch anyway, Rovanperä estimates.
– It’s not the best place to leave as the first car on Friday.
Rovanperä has already won five World Cup competitions this season. The legendary Jyskälä victory is still missing from the Toyota driver, who crashed into a pile of sand in his home rally last year.
– Hopefully this year I will get a better feeling with the car, so that I can immediately get to a good pace. Then it would definitely be a good weekend.
Rovanperä plans to leave unnecessary risks out of his driving. A lead of no less than 83 points in the World Series is taking him towards the world championship.
– You have to think about the situation smartly. If it looks like you have to go wild to fight for victory, then it’s not worth it. We have to run sensibly through the races during the rest of the season and bring good points from each race with the championship in mind, Rovanperä said.