Has Rovanpera turned a corner in WRC title fight?

Kalle Rovanpera says he now has a “good idea” on how to be fast for the remaining gravel events of the World Rally Championship season, beginning in Paraguay this weekend.

The two-time world rally champion has struggled adapting to new gravel tyres, supplied by Hankook this season, that has forced the Finn to alter his tried and tested driving style. After struggling to produce his usual pace on gravel in Portugal, Sardinia, Greece and Estonia, Rovanpera claimed a first gravel rally win of the season at his native rally Finland earlier this month, while Toyota locked out the top five positions.

An emotional maiden WRC win on home soil has ignited his title charge, with Rovanpera now only three points adrift of Toyota team-mate and championship leader Elfyn Evans, with five rounds remaining.

This week the WRC heads to South America for its inaugural round in Paraguay, which will see crews tackle 19 brand new stages, held on the nation’s famous red gravel roads.

“The result in Finland was amazing for us and for the team, and the points we got were really valuable for the championship,” said Rovanpera.

“Now we need to try to keep going like this with a good feeling and continue the fight until the end of the season.

“We are working hard with the team to try and keep the pace that we had in Finland for these next gravel rallies, and I think we have a good idea now as to how we can be fast.

“Paraguay will be a new rally for everyone and we don’t really know what to expect, so it’s not an easy one to prepare for, but hopefully it can suit us well.”

Toyota deputy team principal and four-time WRC champion Juha Kankkunen believes Rovanpera is now back to his best after revealing that a set up change on his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 car was key to his success in Finland. Looking ahead to the title fight, he expects Rovanpera to pose a serious threat.

“I think Kalle has changed quite a lot I think his mind and feeling and everything, and the fact he managed to win in Finland by 36 seconds, that is a lot,” said Kankkunen.

“I think Kalle is back to his normal speed and he will be a quite a dangerous guy [in the title fight] at the end of the season as well. He found the confidence in the car and he changed the driving style a little bit and the set up to something that was a little bit different to what he is used to, but that seems to work very well.”

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