After Kalle Rovanperä’s fifth win of the season, Toyota team boss Jari-Matti Latvala is almost at a loss for words: Another gala performance in difficult conditions
After Toyota driver Kalle Rovanperä once again dominated in difficult conditions to take his fifth win of the season at last weekend’s Rally Estonia, round seven of the 2022 World Rally Championship (WRC), his team boss Jari-Matti Latvala is running out of superlatives for his 21-year-old protégé.
“With all the surprises Kalle gives us, I’m running out of words,” said Latvala. “Once again Kalle was phenomenal in difficult to extreme conditions. I don’t know where he gets it from, but when the conditions are difficult, he is like from another planet.”
A year after his maiden victory at the same venue, Rovanperä climbed to the top step of the podium in Estonia for the seventh time – after yet another world-champion performance. After a slow start, Rovanperä took the lead on Friday afternoon and gradually distanced his more experienced team-mate Elfyn Evans.
In a league of his own at the Powerstage
“The first win is always special, but since last year I have gained a lot of experience,” Rovanperä looks back. “We feel more comfortable in the car and have everything a bit more under control. “
“We were the first car on track and basically Friday morning was the only loop where we couldn’t keep up the pace. After that, we were able to keep up the whole time and had it well under control,” says the young Finn.
So well in control, in fact, that Rovanperä did not secure victory on the final power stage, which, like parts of the rally, was marked by heavy rain showers, but successfully chased the five additional points.
Title win for Latvala “a matter of time “
“We really attacked on the power stage. In this weather you can make a difference,” said Rovanperä. “I tried to push but at the same time stay on the safe side. It was fun to drive.” The result was something of a humiliation for the competitors. On the 15.95 kilometre “Kambja 2” stage, Rovanperä was 22.4 seconds faster than second fastest Evans.
In the race for the WRC, Rovanperä can only be seen by the chasers with binoculars after his fifth victory in the seventh rally. He has an 83-point lead over Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). “If he continues like this, it’s basically only a matter of time before he takes the championship,” says Latvala.
At 21 or 22, Rovanperä would then be by far the youngest world champion in history. So far, this record is held by Colin McRae, who was 27 when he won the title in 1995.
However, team boss Latvala warns: “We have already seen in the past that championships that looked like they had been won halfway through the season were lost at the very end. We have to remain realistic.” Latvala also knows: “He doesn’t have to win any more rallies to secure the championship. It’s all in his hands. “
