It takes a lot to be able to stop Kalle Rovanperä from a second straight WC title. New for this year is that there are sharp contenders in two different stables.
Step by step, the super-promise Kalle Rovanperä has built up his hyped rally career. Last year, the time was ripe to take the first WC title – as by far the youngest driver of all time.
The question was whether it wasn’t the first of several titles in the coming years, many wondered.
But there is no point in putting pressure on Finland’s big star. Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala confirms this before this week’s premiere rally in Monte Carlo.
– Kalle has no pressure, he is already a champion. Monte is not his favorite race and I don’t expect him to overtake the win there. It is important to bet on a successful start to the season and then focus on Sweden, where Kalle is usually strong, means Latvala for Yle.
The hunger remains
Yle Urheilu’s expert Henri Haapamäki does not believe that Rovanperä would feel any saturation after last season. Rather, the shooting star will be on the tag from the first stage.
– What motivates is being able to beat the others, and on that front there is probably hunger.
– Everything is at stake again. Losing feels equally terrible regardless of whether you drive with champion status or not, the expert states.
Rovanperä’s main challenger last year was Ott Tänak. It seems the Estonian will be this year as well – but this time in M-Sport’s car instead of Hyundai’s.
Ott Tänak is chasing Kalle Rovanperä with a new car brand.
Photo: HANNU RAINAMO
Rally WC, rally, Ott Tänak
– Tänak’s enthusiasm for the WC title is great. Kalle just needs to be able to maintain the same level as last year. Fortunately, he is so young that it is easier to do it than when you are over 30, Latvala thinks.
Haapamäki raises a warning finger for Tänak’s new car.
– Ford’s car has not been bad. They just lacked a driver who has that little something extra. With Tänak’s routine, you manage to squeeze out everything there is to get out of the car.
The “leak” Lappi gives Neuville flank support
At the same time, Tänak’s move gives the WC series a rather rare twist. Now there are clear champion candidates in three different stables: Rovanperä at Toyota, M-Sport’s new acquisition Tänak and then Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.
Neuville has a new stablemate in the form of Esapekka Lappi from Toyota. That means it’s leaking information from his old stable.
– I also know that myself because I have driven for different teams, information always accompanies the driver. You can’t do anything about it, you just have to accept it, says Lappi’s old boss Latvala.
In Rovanperä’s own stable, there may also be a veteran who wants to have a hand in the game. Sebastien Ogier shares a car with Takamoto Katsuta.
The multiple champion lines up in the premiere competition in Monte Carlo. And if the Frenchman finds the flow, he can keep up with the WC series as long as he wants without much pressure, Haapamäki believes.
Latvala has predicted that Ogier will drive in half of the races.
– When a 22-year-old guy won the title last year, you could see the thirst for victory in Ogier’s eyes. It has not disappeared. You could see that he was a little disappointed at the end of the season. The hunger is kept at bay in another way, as he drives fewer rallies this year, explains the Toyota manager.
The premier competition in Monte Carlo starts on Thursday and runs until Sunday.
The WC calendar
19–22.1 Monte Carlo
9–12.2 Sweden
16–19.3 Mexico
20–23.4 Croatia
11–14.5 Portugal
1–4.6 Italy
22–25.6 Kenya
20–23.7 Estonia
3–6.8 Finland
7–10.9 Greece
28.9–1.10 Chile
26–29.9 Central Europe (Czech Republic, Germany and Austria)
16–19.11 Japan
