The child prodigy who almost missed out on a race due to military service: This is Kalle Rovanpera, the historic first winner of the WRC Rally Islas Canarias.

 

At the age of 8 he was already driving rally cars in the snow. Under the watchful eye of his father, Finnish driver Harri Rovanpera. A few years later, he not only followed in his footsteps but surpassed his legacy, becoming the youngest world champion in history.

 

It's Kalle Rovanperä, who has become the great revolution of the historic debut of the WRC Rally Islas Canarias, which celebrated its first day this Saturday with six timed stages. Six challenges for the best drivers in the world that the 24-year-old Rovanperä knew how to trace as if he had known the island's roads all his life.

 

The Finn made history by setting the fastest time on 12 consecutive stages, equaling the record set by nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb at the 9 Tour de Corse. He was unable to beat the record after backing off on the show stage, which was won by his teammate and current world championship leader, Welshman Elfyn Evans.

 

A technique that worked for the Finn, who managed to win the Super Sunday and the WOLF Power Stage, achieving the milestone of winning the race and setting the best time in 15 of the 18 stages contested.

 

However, Rovanperä's self-importance and innate talent (he hails from Jyväskylä, home of the legendary 1000 Lakes Rally and birthplace of the sadly deceased Henri Toivonen) put him on track to win the first world championship held on the island from Friday onwards. 

 

At 24 years old, Rovanperä was able to gain 53.5 seconds in the standings on his teammate, Sébastien Ogier, eight-time world champion and who finished second on his first visit to the island. A visit that will not be his last, according to the eight-time world champion himself. social media. 

 

The lead over third-placed rider Elfyn Evans, world championship leader and recent Rally Kenya winner, was 1:17.10.

 

 

Kalle has the motor world in his blood, son of the legendary Harri Rovanpera (who marked an era in the 90s aboard classic cars) Seat Ibiza Kit Car y Seat Cordoba WRC), Kalle holds the record for being the youngest WRC champion in history, having won the world crown on October 2, 2022, at the age of 21. 

 

A feat he would repeat in 2023, thus becoming a two-time world champion and also the new Finnish star of the WRC, thus continuing a national lineage closely linked to the world of rallying and which includes names such as Juha Kankkunen (his current team principal), Tommi Makkinen or Marcus Grönholm, the last Finnish champion before Kalle, who took over from him years later, becoming the country's first world champion in two decades.

 

However, despite his precocity, Kalle does not dream of breaking records or racing until he is 40 like his teammate Sébastien Ogier. In a interview prior to the 2022 Catalonia Rally, shortly after winning his first title, the Finn stated that “he just wants to enjoy himself” and that he doesn't see himself competing until he's 38. For Rovanperä his main objective is "to have a nice career, to get more victories and “go see”.

 

In 2024, at the height of his career, there was speculation that the young talent could see his career put on an involuntary hiatus due to having to complete his mandatory military service in Finland. 

 

Rovanperä had already been called up in 2019 and had completed 10 days of service, but his contract with the Toyota Gazoo Racing team "saved" the driver, and Nordic country legislation allowed him, due to his status as an elite athlete, to postpone his service. 

 

Despite this, Kalle will have to complete his military service before turning 30, so he'll have to find the best way to accommodate this "break" in his career so that it's minimally affected.

 

In love with the drifting, had the opportunity to try a Formula 1 at the Spielberg circuit (Austria) thanks to his sponsorship with Red Bull. Despite this, he claims he's not particularly interested in Formula 1, although his compatriot Kimi Raikkonen (the last Finnish Formula 1 champion) seems like "a decent guy."

 

Another of Rovanperä's hobbies is collecting; in his homeland, he has an enviable collection of classic models such as a BMW E30 M Tour de Corse, of which only 50 units were produced. Furthermore, the young man can boast of having his own own customized version of a Toyota Yaris GR which was marketed under his surname, a special edition by Toyota in conjunction with Sébastien Ogier and limited to only 100 units of each vehicle.

 

With this victory, Kalle Rovanperä has written his name into the history of the Canary Islands Rally, an event he entered in sixth place in the world championship and from which he finished second after scoring 35 points following a weekend that bordered on perfection.