The World Rally Championship starts on Thursday in Monte Carlo. The world championship is defended by Kalle Rovanperä, whose favorite rally is not Monte Carlo.
Sakari Lund,
Simo Leinonen
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The Rally World Series was last season Kalle Rovanperän from the screen. The Toyota driver drove to an overwhelming championship and was the youngest World Rally Champion of all time.
Now it’s time to defend the championship when the season starts on Thursday in Monte Carlo. Rovanperä, 22, doesn’t think the starting point for the season is any more amazing than before.
– Of course, you can have good feelings after last season. You don’t need to start doing anything amazing at this point. Let’s start the season the same way as before and go for the championship just like last year. Everyone starts from the zero point and the same line. Rovanperä stated.
– It seems that renewing the championship is usually more difficult than getting the first one, he admitted, however.
The season is expected to be even between the three teams. In addition to Toyota, M-Sport and Hyundai have strong teams. Ott Tänak moved from Hyundai to M-Sport. Driving a Hyundai Thierry Neuville and also transferred from Toyota Esapekka Lappi. Rovanperä also believes in an even season.
– Everyone now has a year’s experience with new cars. It is definitely much more even, the other teams are closer to us. The competition is tougher.
There will be only minor changes to the cars this season.
– It is a good thing for the sport that all teams have winning drivers. Certainly, M-Sport raises the level a lot with Tänak, and Hyundai already raised its level at the end of the season.
Rovanperä also believes in Lapland’s potential to challenge the top drivers. Last season, Lappi only drove part of the season for Toyota, but now he gets to drive for Hyundai for a full season.
– The possibilities are quite good. Esapekka drove really good results last year as well. If the new car fits, I don’t see any obstacle that he wouldn’t be a tough opponent for all of us.
“Probably one of the most unpleasant rallies for me”
The season starts with the legendary Monte Carlo rally, where the conditions can be difficult. It is not one of Rovanperä’s favorite rallies.
– Definitely not a favorite. Probably one of the most unpleasant rallies on the calendar for me and my driving style.
The rally begins challengingly on Thursday evening with two special stages, which are run in the dark.
– Thursday is the hardest part for me. We ride summer tires late at night, when it’s freezing and there might be ice. Thursday night in Monte Carlo is special every year, Rovanperä said.
– The rally is usually not scary, but maybe this is the only race where the excitement can almost be counted as fear.
The results also show that Monte Carlo has not been a good rally for Rovanpera. He has never been there in the top three. In the last two years, the ranking has been fourth. What does success require?
– It requires consistency, you have to be consistent throughout the weekend, and also speed and good tire choices. We’re trying to improve from last year’s start, which was really miserable.
The first special stage of the Monte Carlo rally starts on Thursday evening at 21:05.