Rovanperä, a laborious recovery in Monte-Carlo: "Let's see in Sweden if we remember how to drive a rally car or not"

It's no secret: Kalle Rovanperä is not the biggest fan of Rally Monte Carlo. The double world champion WRC has only achieved one podium – a 2nd place in 2023 – since his debut in the premier class in 2020. This year again, the Finn has not really found his comfort on the winding and sometimes icy roads of the event alpine. Even though he managed to set a scratch time on Friday morning in SS4, the Finn was unable to keep up with the pace of the leading trio, made up of Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Adrien fourmaux.

A weekend "disappointing" et "quite difficult"

Regularly slower than his two teammates at Toyota – especially on Saturday, where he finished in the top three only once out of the day’s six stages – Kalle Rovanperä has long spoken of a lack of feeling and connection with his Yaris and the new Hankook tyres. On Saturday night, the 3-year-old seemed incredulous at his mixed performances. "I found myself quite slow again. I have no answer...", he said laconically.

The next day, thanks to an inspired choice of tires (four super-soft and two studded, like Adrien Fourmaux), Kalle Rovanperä was able to steal 4th place from Ott Tänak in the Power Stage. A small consolation for the Nordic. “It was a disappointing weekend, we didn't get the result we wanted, nor the pace we wanted, he confided at the arrival of the Power Stage. At least we scored points, big thanks to the team. We will see in Sweden if we can remember how to drive a rally car or not."

"The Monte Carlo Rally is always difficult and it was even more so this year. For me personally, it was quite a difficult weekend, he later admits, after arriving in Monaco. We didn't get the result we wanted or the pace we wanted, but we have to be happy to have gotten some good points. Today wasn't a bad day for us: we did our best, we stayed consistent and it paid off."

Good points for Rovanperä

While the recovery was not easy for Kalle Rovanperä, who had not competed in the Rallye Monte-Carlo in 2024 during his part-time season, the Finn finds himself quite well rewarded at the end of this first round of the season. With the 12 points for 4th place and the 6 points gleaned on Sunday (4 on the Super Sunday, 2 on the Power Stage), the double world champion has collected 18 points at the end of this Alpine weekend.

A decent score, especially against their main rivals for the title, Thierry Neuville (9 points) and Ott Tänak (11 points). In Sweden, he will not have the heavy task of opening the road, since it is his teammate Elfyn Evans who will take care of it ahead of Adrien Fourmaux. In Scandinavia, Kalle Rovanperä will have to show that his year spent discovering new disciplines has not made him lose his rally driving skills…

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