Rovanperä's beginnings are reminiscent of Ogier's according to Jari-Matti Latvala

Since the start of the season, Kalle Rovanperä has left only crumbs to his competitors. Debuts which have similarities with those Sébastien Ogier in 2013 for Jari-Matti Latvala.

Published on 06/06/2022 à 16:59

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Rovanperä's beginnings are reminiscent of Ogier's according to Jari-Matti Latvala

This season, Kalle Rovanperä crushes the competition after 5 rounds on the calendar. © Photo Nikos Katikis / DPPI

While Sébastien Loeb et Sébastien Ogier are becoming more and more rare on the different rounds of the WRC, the next generation already seems to be responding with Kalle Rovanperä. At the age of 21, the pilot Toyota mate the competition this season. After 5 rounds, the Finn almost has double the points of his runner-up, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). A performance that recalls the beginnings of another domination in the World Rally Championship.

Rovanperä in Ogier's footsteps

« It's like 2013, says Jari-Matti Latvala. This was the time when Sébastien Ogier began to dominate with Volkswagen. Kalle is putting up the same performance so far this season, but to do it at only twenty-one is really special. » That season (2013), the Frenchman managed to accumulate 9 victories including 4 successes in a row. At the wheel of his Volkswagen Polo, the 29-year-old driver at the time had won his first world title ahead of Thierry Neuville (Ford). But where Kalle Rovanperä surprises everyone is his precocity. “ We haven't seen this kind of performance from such a young driver before », confirms his Finnish boss Latvala.

Job done for @KalleRovanpera and @JonneHalttunen 😎#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #RallyItaliaSardegna pic.twitter.com/ZmcSQqpSNd

- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) June 5, 2022

Although in Sardinia Kalle Rovanperä failed to extend his domination and had to settle for 5th place, the Finn is still one of the big favorites before each rally. « I remember when Sébastien did that at Volkswagen, recalls Jari-Matti Latvala, who experienced from the inside the Frenchman's domination at VW between 2013 and 2016.

His results put everyone under pressure, including me! Each time he won a new rally, the pressure on the rivals increased. That's how it is now. The other drivers are under pressure to try to beat Kalle, but it's so difficult as he is so strong at the moment. » This season in Portugal, Kalle Rovanperä had also managed to beat the legends Sébastien Ogier and Sébastien Loeb, victims of road trips and mechanical problems. A victory which allows him to further assert himself as one of the next leaders of the WRC.

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