WITH THE TITLE WON WHAT’S NEXT FOR ROVANPERA?
Kalle Rovanpera only made his World championship debut on Wales Rally GB in 2017, a handful of weeks after his first European championship start in Latvia.
But Rally New Zealand, his 50th appearance in the sport’s top tier, was arguably his most significant event yet as he beat Colin McRae’s record to become the youngest World champion aged 22 years and one day.
“I don’t think about the age too much but it’s still special to know we could achieve this,” Rovanpera said after taking the WRC’s top prize in New Zealand. “It means a lot, to become champion is the only goal we ever had. We have had such a good season, then a few difficult rallies and now finally we could do it.
“I was actually more nervous on Friday than I was today. Then we needed to push hard to stay in the fight, but today we could just enjoy it [although] I felt a bit tense for the last few minutes [before the Powerstage], just wanting to get started and do your job.”
Rovanpera was cruising to the World championship after he finished second in Finland in early August, having won in Sweden, Croatia, Portugal, Kenya and Estonia. But crashes in Belgium and Greece knocked him off his stride before he hit back in style to win in New Zealand.
“The biggest feeling right now is that it’s quite a big relief,” Rovanpera said. “I want to say a big thanks to the team who made such a fast and reliable car. In the more difficult moments they were always believing in us and supporting us.”
Rovanpera will go back in time next when he contests the Rallylegend event in San Marino (October 13-16) driving a Latvala Motorsport Toyota Celica ST185. He will then return to WRC duty on Rally Spain from October 20-23, the penultimate event of the season.