Double World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä said on Monday that he will only drive for half the season next season. Father of a Finnish driver Harri Rovanperä says that he gave a double thumbs up when the boy told his father about his solution.
– I understand Kalle’s state of will very well in the sense that he has been twisting the wheel for a long time. A young jantter, who is constantly being ripped off all over the world. I definitely agree with him that the decision was absolutely right, says Harri Rovanperä.
The reigning world champion’s early season was colored, among other things, by driving as a plowman, i.e. as the first driver of special tests. The 23-year-old Rovanperä was even described as bored with his role. According to the father, it was useless speculation.
– From the beginning of the season, there were things about starting places and others. Still, Kalle kept up with the pace all the time, and there was nothing different in the spring winter (compared to previous years). In the end, this year went as Kalle had planned.
At the age of 12, Kalle Rovanperä left the rally car in the garage for a year when he got tired of driving. According to Harri Rovanperä, the decision published now does not compare to that situation.
– He was still just a boy back then. They have nothing to do with each other. However, he has now been rallying for years and has gone around the world with his coat flying without a moment’s peace anywhere. This was a damn good decision.
Kalle Rovanperä said that the terms of his contract include the possibility to participate in drifting competitions and other motorsport events. Drifting in particular has been Rovanpera’s favorite pastime.
According to Harri Rovanperä, other forms of motorsport are also important to Kalle.
– They are, so to speak, a way to clear the head, even though they are brutal species. Kalle should take it easy and see what will be invented in the coming year. I guess the ideas are endless.
Read also: Kalle Rovanperä openly tells how the rally disappears from his life in his spare time
“Burning to the end would be more dangerous”
Kalle Rovanperä’s manager Timo Jouhki says that at the beginning of the year, the driver expressed “a certain boredom with driving”.
– If there was some sort of burnout, it would be even more dangerous than taking it easy for one year. After that, you can continue fully again, says Jouhki.
According to him, the contract was discussed for a long time with Toyota. Jouhki and Rovanperä’s original proposal was that half a year would be run in 2025. However, with his current contract, Rovanperä will run about half, or approximately seven races, next year.
– I feel that this is better this way. There was a certain kind of boredom at the beginning of the year. The rest of the season didn’t look the same at all. He drove a mature season, didn’t try too hard and knew how to take it a little more relaxed.
– When he already knew that the year 2024 will be a little easier mentally, he was able to take a more relaxed attitude, Jouhki continues.
According to Jouhki, there were no discussions of any kind with Rovanperä or Toyota about a possible gap year.
– This solution is good for both Kalle and Toyota. If Toyota had forcefully wanted to continue with a full-time contract, it’s possible that driving would have stopped after a few years – at least in the way that there could have been a total gap year or something.
Rovanperä said that his contract is for many years. Toyota does not disclose the contracts or their lengths, but manager Jouhki can describe it a bit.
– All I can say is that I usually don’t sign three- or four-year contracts at a time, but the maximum is two years. In addition to that, there is an option for a continuation, says Jouhki.
The basis for the two-year contracts is that Jouhki wants assurance that the technical development of the car and the competitiveness of the team are sufficient. According to him, these things can be seen two years ahead.
– At least the year is going well. If there is any deterioration in the following year, it will also show. That’s why two years is quite suitable.
Jouhki says that Rovanperä’s new contract is, in a financial sense, the same as it has been for years. The contract includes a basic fee, competition-specific fees for places 1–3 and, in addition, championship fees, i.e. separate compensations for both individual and team championships.
– The structure is exactly the same, but of course the world champion always gets a slightly improved whole. In that sense, the deal is better than this year’s deal, which wasn’t weak either.
Will Kalle Rovanperä be world champion in 2025?
– Who else? Well, this was a bit roundabout, but why not, sure. I believe so, says Harri Rovanperä.
– I consider it reasonably certain. When Kalle started at Skoda in 2017, I said he would be world champion in five years. It went wrong one year – the championship came earlier, says Timo Jouhki.