JYVÄSKYLÄ. Kalle Rovanperä is starting his home race from an extremely delicious situation. Rovanperä has won five out of seven races in this season’s World Championship. Rovanperä is an overwhelming top name before reaching the gravel roads of Central Finland.
In due course Timo Salonen got to celebrate in Jyväskylä in 1985 both the victory of the World Rally Championship and the world championship. At that time, Salonen had won five of the first nine races of the season.
The rally legend has admired the ride of the 21-year-old Finnish Rovanperä this season. Expectations are high in Salose for this weekend.
– I would almost dare to say that we will see by what margin Rovanperä wins. After all, it’s in such a tight spot right now. If they win abroad and not in Finland, it’s a miracle, Salonen uploads without embellishment to Urheilu.
Of course, Salonen admits that technical problems can prevent Rovanperä’s victory celebrations on Sunday.
– Based on the speed, the winner is there. It’s so tight now, Salonen says.
Rovanperä’s World Cup points lead is 83 points ahead of Hyundai Thierry Neuville.
– You can’t help but admire it. Yes, you can see that a driver will emerge from Finland after a long time. When everything is right, nobody can do anything for him. It has been seen in a few rallies, says Salonen and highlights, among other things, the Power Stage of the previous WC rally.
Rovanperä beat the others by more than 20 seconds in difficult conditions in Estonia.
– There are few such drivers in the whole world. In France, there was someone like Loeb, who pushed at the same pace, Salonen compares to the rally grandmaster, the nine-time world champion to Sebastien Loeb.
Championship coming?
The scoring methods are different, and Rovanperä cannot secure his championship in Jyväskylä like Salonen. Does Salonen still have a new Finnish rally world champion on his mind?
– Yes, it looks a bit bad. There used to be a pipe like that. Everything falls into place and there is faith in everything possible. It’s the same feeling here with Kalle. He has driven incredible times, says Salonen.
The six-time winner of the Jyväskylä Rally also smokes the same Markku Alén. The Grand Prix of Central Finland’s gravel roads has been conquered more often than him by those who have reached the highest podium seven times Marcus Grönholm and Hannu Mikkola.
– Kalle has been insane this season. If it rains, it’s an advantage for Kalle. If the weather is dry and hot, it’s not easy to be the number one car on Friday. I still believe that Kalle will win this year, Alen states.
Rovanperä’s performances have also shocked Alén.
– Kalle’s result has already been so drastic this year that one can only wonder. Kalle is fantastic, but so are the car and the team. If the backgrounds weren’t in order, the result couldn’t be like this. It’s also dark with the map reader. A good grin is on all the time, says Alén.
Lessons have been learned from last year’s mistake
However, the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä has traditionally been difficult to conquer. Juha Kankkunen tried 11 times before he won in Central Finland. Kankkunen won for the first time in Jyväskylä only in his third year at the world championship.
Kalle Rovanperä also got a taste of the difficulty of winning last year. At that time, Rovanperä crashed into a sand pile at the Patajoki special test. Before that, Rovanperä had already had time to complain that the car’s settings were not optimal.
Toyota team manager, three-time “Jyskälä” winner, Jari-Matti Latvala has been learned from last year. Then, according to Latvala, Rovanperä’s tests preparing for the race “went off the wrong track” and that caused the wrong adjustments.
– Last year, driving became a bit of a media day. The focus was not on testing. Last year, for example, we did a lot of rides. Now they were limited, Latvala admits.
According to Latvala, Rovanperä drove the test days purely as a map reader Jonne Halttunen with. There were at most one or two rides in the evening.
– I know it’s very enjoyable and great to offer rides, but you have to remember that the work has to be done first. Last year was a bit bad. Things were left untested, Latvala states.
Why is conquering Jyväskylä so difficult?
According to Latvala, the situation looks pretty straightforward before the race, although various variables, such as rain, can mix things up.
Latvala himself knows the demands of the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship. Even in Latvala, it was only the seventh time in a WRC car that it was true before he was able to take first place in Jyskälä in 2010.
– There can sometimes be a curse from the home team. Even if the drive goes well, various problems will occur. There will be technical problems or flat tires. This race is a race of speed. There’s no time to rush here. When we start to pull, we run the gas at the bottom. When you’re racing for victory here, you can’t stand any problems here, Latvala lists the reasons for the demandingness of the race.
According to Latvala, even a small problem can destroy dreams of winning.
– Winning the competition requires driving a perfect weekend. But you also have to have a bit of luck, Latvala reminded.
Rovanperä got a pretty hard jolt last year when he ran into a pile of sand on the way out. At that time, the Finnish star only made it through the final days.
Does such an outing leave traces?
Konkari Salonen and Alén do not believe in such a possibility.
– When you put the helmet on, all the past is forgotten. Driving should be relaxed. Even from Kalle’s cabin, you can see that Kalle is like on the sofa in the living room. It’s so peaceful. Others are hustling and hazing. Kalle just turns the wheel a little. There won’t be a single wasted movement. Kello likes it, Salonen praises.
– Absolutely zero effect (last year’s run-out). It’s a new year and new tricks. I believe that everyone follows Kalle. However, if someone goes harder than Kalle, it doesn’t get on his nerves. Let’s move forward one day at a time, Alén emphasizes.
According to Salonen, the difficulty of the Jyväskylä World Rally Championship is based on the fast roads.
– Jyväskylä is one of the most difficult World Cup rallies to drive. There are so many pimple crossings. Let’s go in the air. Gotta find the lines. You also have to have faith in finding the way, even if the bump throws you a little to the left, Salonen illustrates.
Urheilu’s expert in Jyskälä is on the same lines Mikko Hirvonen. He was first in the home competition once in 2009.
– It’s such a fast rally. There are so many lightening spots on the route that require a corner. You have to have really good credit, how much you can slow down the speed from the bumps, how hard you can go over the bumps and where you can cut. You have to plow a lot of ditches to know where you can straighten and where you can’t, says Hirvonen.
Hirvonen emphasizes the importance of self-confidence when chasing victory in Central Finland.
– A couple of years before my victory, Grönholm won in 2007. I myself was second then. That’s when I started to feel that I could challenge Marcus a bit. The following year, Loeb went on a spending spree. On the Saturday morning of the winning year 2009, we were at Vaher’s stop and the first car on the route. There was a little moisture on the road surface. I got the feeling that Loeb can’t do anything and I will win. It was a feeling that there was such a good grip and starting point, Hirvonen recalls.
Like Latvala, Hirvonen also states that success in Jyväskylä can depend on small things.
– Three or four years after my victory, I was quite sure that I would win the race. My car was so good. Something always came up. A small technical problem or your own mistake. With the Citroën, I was damn sure I would win. Loeb just agreed, Hirvonen describes.
In Central Finland, we are looking for victory, not thinking about the championship
Hirvonen expects an even competition this year, but believes that it will be difficult for others to challenge the Finnish star, who is cooling off in a wild mood.
– Surely everyone expects that the same praise will continue. However, it cannot be said that Kalle will definitely win. Everything can happen along the way, Hirvonen states and also reminds us of things in the spirit world.
– Kalle says that he doesn’t take pressure. He certainly doesn’t take the pressure as much as many others, but he certainly has a little more butterflies in his stomach.
Before the race, there was also speculation about the impact of the championship situation on Rovanperä’s driving in Jyväskylä this year. However, Rovanperä has assured that he will go with the same setup for his home race as for the other races of the season.
Team manager Jari-Matti Latvala also says so.
– This is an important home competition for Kalle. You should go the same way as all other competitions. In Belgium, the situation may be different. Neuville can be extremely strong there, because then it’s his home match, Latvala states.
Hirvonen does not think that the championship fight will weigh on the young Finn’s mind unless it goes the same way as last year.
– If Kalle has problems with the car and is forced to crash, you can think that you will only take the points with you. If the car feels good and the rally gets going, I don’t think he’s only thinking about points, says Hirvonen.
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