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Kalle Rovanperä. This season, he has been nothing short of phenomenal. 3 WRC wins in a row. 3 different surfaces and leading the World Rally Championship by 46 points.
So how has he managed to achieve this feat?
SWEDEN
The frozen roads of Sweden and having grown up driving on snow, Kalle was expected to perform well. But he’d struggled to find a rhythm with his Toyota Yaris at Round One in Monte Carlo, plus he would have to open the road: An unenviable position on snow that generally means matching the pace of those behind is out of the question.
But, off the bat he looked comfortable on the snow and ice.
Kalle took full advantage.
In the afternoon, when the roads had become more rutted he’d dropped to 5th, but he showed surprising maturity - he remained calm, stayed out of trouble and earned himself a good road position for the following days.
But could he make it count?
He simply showed formidable pace, climbing the leaderboard to take his first win of the year.
Rallying on the ice and snow you grew up on is one thing, but the less-familiar sealed surface of Croatia is an altogether different proposition. And his form here the previous year had been less than stellar…
CROATIA
As championship leader, Rovanperä opened the road in a Croatia beset by miserable weather. His position was favourable, but had he learned from his off the year before?
The short answer? Yes. While others were picking up punctures left, right and centre, Kalle drove with the mindset of a seasoned World Champion.
Clearly in sync with his Yaris, he focused on keeping it clean, avoiding big cuts and headed into Saturday with a commanding lead of over a minute.
When the puncture did finally come, it allowed Ott Tänak back into the fight.
It came down to the final test, and Rovanperä drove probably the best stage of his life. On arguably the wrong tyre he put it all on the line and put Tanak in his place, an undisputed rallying masterclass to win the Powerstage, and the Rally itself.
But the next rally could prove to be his toughest test yet…
PORTUGAL
Rally Portugal.
It’s every rally driver’s worst nightmare.
It is the kind of obstacle that only World Champions like Sebastiens Ogier and Loeb were able to overcome.
Unsurprisingly, Kalle lay back in 10th after the first gravel stage. But, once again, the young Finn showed maturity beyond his years and stuck to his game plan.
Not the fastest but enough to keep in touch with those ahead of him so if they ran in trouble he would be waiting.
He was letting the other drivers shoulder the pressure of needing to push.
Which can cause things to unravel…
Rovanpera steadily climbed the leaderboard to find himself lying second overall after the first day of competition. That gave him a strong road position for Day Two, he was now a real contender for the win.
The long stages of Saturday, he managed his tires well so by the penultimate stage he could take full advantage of the life left in them when tackling the long, now wet Amarante 2 stage.
The remainder of the weekend turned into a straight fight, this time with team-mate Elfyn Evans
3 consecutive wins, 3 different surfaces.
So, take one fast Finnish driver, add a sorted Toyota Yaris, mix in a mature mindset and an unbreakable ability to cope with pressure, and you go a long way to understanding why Kalle Rovanperä is untouchable right now.
And, regardless of how 2022 pans out for him, Rovanperä’s already demonstrated that he is a true rallying ATV.
#WRC #WRC2022 #rally
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