We’ve known for many years that young Finnish rally driver, Kalle Rovanpera, was going to be good, but it’s now becoming obvious just HOW good he’s going to be!
The 21-year old is now a clear leader in the World Rally Championship after a dominant performance at Rally Sweden in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 hybrid.
Yet, according to the man himself, it was all in a day’s work.
“I would say in some places I was (on the limit) but surprisingly it was quite a good pace all weekend.
“I didn’t need to push over the limit, I didn’t feel at any point I needed to do something crazy, so it was a bit of a surprise even for me.
“Other than that we always have small moments here and there where you are a bit over the limit. But the whole weekend we didn’t have any big mistakes and I’m really happy for that.”
The fact that he started the rally in the disadvantageous position as the first car on the road should be especially worrying for his rivals, many of whom made small mistakes or simply couldn’t match his pace.
After just two of 13 rounds, Rovanpera is now the hot favourite for this year’s championship, a title that he would secure at just 22 years of age.
And that’s the scary part. Take these statistics as proof…
1. Colin McRae is the youngest ever World Rally Champion. He was 27.
2. Sebastien Ogier has won the WRC eight times. His first title came when he was 29.
3. The sport’s most successful driver is Sebastien Loeb. He was 30 when he won the first of his nine WRC crowns.
4. Kalle Rovanpera is still ONLY 21.
I doubt that you need any more proof, and even though he has only won three WRC rallies (77 behind Loeb), it’s pretty clear to see that the Finnish star is already on track to beat the records set so majestically by Loeb and Ogier.
Is there anyone in the field that looks like they could challenge Rovanpera over the coming decade though?
At the moment, apart from perhaps Oliver Solberg (20), the answer is an emphatic no.
Ott Tanak, Thierry Neuville, Craig Breen and Elfyn Evans are all 32 years of age and above, and Gus Greensmith, Adrien Fourmaux and Takamoto Katsuta are all north of 25.
Even if any of them were as good as Rovanpera – and this is not to say they aren’t, or won’t be – they don’t have time on their side.
We’re set for a decade of Finnish dominance.
Kalle Rovanpera is rallying’s future, and will be for many, many years. For the sake of the sport, let’s hope his domination doesn’t become Sebastien-esque!
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