Kalle Rovanpera expressed that achieving a fast time on the renowned Ouninpohja stage of the World Rally Championship, similar to his father Harri Rovanpera, fueled his remarkable performance.
The two-time world champion showcased his skills on Saturday at Rally Finland, clinching victory in five of the day’s six stages and establishing a 44.2s lead over his Toyota teammate Sebastien Ogier, with just four stages left on Sunday.
Rovanpera’s strong push towards his potential first Rally Finland victory was supported by two stage wins on the legendary 32.98km Ouninpohja test, which had made its return to the schedule for the first time since 2016.
Rovanpera clocked in the fastest time during the first pass, navigating tricky wet conditions just 0.1s ahead of Ogier, then improved his run during the second pass in dry conditions, achieving an average speed of 136 km/h.
The 23-year-old finished with a time of 14m32.6s, which was 23.9s quicker than the stage record set by Kris Meeke in 2016, although this year’s stage was run in reverse and utilized hybrid power.
According to Rovanpera, his father’s WRC achievements on Ouninpohja served as part of his motivation.
“Of course it’s cool [to win the Ouninpohja stage],” Rovanpera shared with Motorsport.com.
“I remember [my dad] often discussing his strong times there, so naturally, I had to push a bit faster so he wouldn’t be the only speedy one on Ouninpohja in the family!”
Harri Rovanpera (FIN) finished 4th in his Peugeot 206
Photo by: Ralph Hardwick
“My engineer has already figured out that – of course, they didn’t have any chicanes [in my father’s era], and I believe it was two kilometers longer – if you deduct those two kilometers, the cars back then were like 30 or 40 seconds slower than us now.
“It’s intriguing, they were similar to Rally2 speeds today. The technology of the cars has advanced significantly since those times.”
Reflecting on his commanding performance, Rovanpera stated that maintaining a lead was crucial in his mind, as even minor errors or issues can be detrimental.
“The strategy was to keep pushing while feeling good, and when I noticed and sensed I could set competitive times,” he explained.
“Naturally, I always aim to log some good times to create a cushion, because you never know what might occur.
“An unfortunate puncture or other issues can arise, so it’s wise to have a bit of a buffer, and tomorrow we’ll aim to finish the task.”
“Tomorrow will be a challenging day, particularly if the conditions become uncharacteristic for Finnish stages, so anything is possible. We will stay focused and keep things steady.”
While Rovanpera experienced a nearly flawless day, his teammate and rival for the title, Elfyn Evans, encountered a driveshaft failure, causing him to fall from being Rovanpera’s closest challenger to 12th place overall.
Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The Welsh driver also faced a 2m40s penalty for being 16 minutes late leaving the midday service.
“Clearly, it was a driveshaft issue, and unfortunately when that breaks, it tends to cause a lot of damage in its wake,” Evans shared with Motorsport.com.
“There ended up being more damage than we anticipated, turning it into quite a significant job.
“To be honest, I realized that closing the gap for points was not feasible, plus we encountered some really heavy rain.”
