Great news! Kalle Rovanperä is joining the Arctic Rally

Kalle Rovanperä will be seen competing in the Finnish Rally Championship at the turn of January and February.
Kalle Rovanperä. Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing
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Rovanperä has registered to compete in the iconic event held in Rovaniemi from 30 January to 1 February, now known as the Arctic Lapland Rally. The Finnish star is using the rally to prepare for the Rally Sweden, which takes place in mid-February.

In addition to Rovanperä, the Arctic Rally will also feature Greek-Belgian gentleman driver Jourdan Serderidis in a Rally1 car, competing with M-Sport Ford equipment. This will be Rovanperä’s fourth time competing in Rovaniemi. Last year, he made a tactical withdrawal on the final stage to allow the victory to go to a Finnish Championship driver. In 2020, he celebrated victory in the event, and in 2021 he finished second when the rally was part of the WRC calendar.

A total of 140 driver-co-driver pairs have registered for the Arctic Circle event, promising a strong line-up. Jari-Matti Latvala is taking part for the second consecutive year. This time, Juho Hänninen, who co-drove for Latvala last year, is making way for Janni Hussi, who is also set to compete with Latvala in the European Historic Championship.

The SM1 class received exciting news when Esapekka Lappi confirmed he will drive all the remaining rounds of the Finnish Rally Championship season with Enni Mälkönen. Leading SM1 points scorers Teemu Asunmaa and Tuukka Kauppinen will face strong opposition, including Lauri Joona and Roope Korhonen, who are focusing on WRC2 this season and will use Rovaniemi as preparation for the Swedish WRC Rally.

The SM2 class boasts 23 entrants in Rovaniemi, with a highly competitive field. Among them is Estonia’s Romet Jürgenson, last year’s Junior World Champion.

The rally also features several Finnish WRC stars from recent years. In addition to the drivers already mentioned, Teemu Suninen will participate in his first competition as co-driver for Ville Kaukonen, better known from the drifting scene. Meanwhile, Janne Ferm, who “retired” from WRC co-driving last year after partnering Esapekka Lappi, will now co-drive for SM1 leader Teemu Asunmaa.

The Arctic Lapland Rally kicks off next Thursday with a shakedown stage. The first competitive day is Friday, featuring six special stages. The rally concludes on Saturday with another seven stages.

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