Rovanperä heads into his home event with a two-win streak. At the end of June, he made a last-minute entry to win the Rally Poland, and last weekend the Finnish star claimed victory in Latvia.
Rovanperä was fine-tuning his car during a test at Toyota’s test area. From the roadside, the reigning world champion’s speed looked excellent as the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 car zoomed along the gravel road in the heart of the Central Finnish forest.
Toyota’s car has been developed on similar roads, making it ideally suited for the Rally Finland’s special stages. However, Rovanperä is concerned about one particular aspect before his home rally.
“Our test road is a bit different compared to the road surface in the rally. Our roads are repaired between tests, so there is a lot more loose gravel than in the rally,” Rovanperä explained to RallyJournal.com.
“It’s the only question mark we can’t influence. It’s a shame that we can’t test on hard-packed roads now. We’ll still try to find the best possible settings.”
Watch the video of Rovanperä’s test below.
Toyota is conducting its pre-rally test session at its own test area due to the WRC’s strict testing regulations. If Rovanperä were to test the car elsewhere, it would consume the team’s valuable test days.
Rovanperä is still missing a win at his home event. Last year, he took control of the rally right from the start but ultimately had to retire after going off the road on the Myhinpää special stage on Friday afternoon.
The Rally Finland will take place next week from 1st to 4th August.
