To seek an answer to this major question, Rallyjournal.com turned to Rovanperä’s good friend and long-time co-driver, Jonne Halttunen.
It goes without saying that any sport suffers when its biggest young star leaves. That said, how radical the consequences are is another matter entirely.
“It certainly isn’t a good thing,” Jonne Halttunen says frankly.
“You have to be completely honest. I think the sport itself needs to take a good look in the mirror. If they lose one of their biggest stars in his prime, then clearly something is wrong. For some reason, he’s now become interested in other disciplines,” Halttunen continues.
Rovanperä will compete next year in Japan’s highly competitive Super Formula series. He himself has said that the main reason for the change is his desire to test his wings in other forms of motorsport and to challenge himself. When announcing his decision, the Finn did not directly criticise the World Rally Championship.
However, Rovanperä has openly voiced criticism about how rally days have become far too long. The driving days usually start early in the morning and continue late into the evening. On top of that, crews still watch videos back at the hotel. Many old-school drivers have often reminded people that rallying has always involved long days.
“People often say that rally days have always been long. But you have to remember that there weren’t as many rallies back then as there are now. These days, the rally weeks are far more intense than they used to be. You hardly sleep at all during rally week – maybe only about five hours a night, if that,” Halttunen points out.
“I do think all this affects how enjoyable it is. It’s incredibly tough work. I’ve talked with other drivers too, and they also feel that the whole thing can be quite exhausting at times,” Halttunen continues.
“You can get through it – that’s not the issue. But it’s another matter how much you actually enjoy it when you’re out there late into the night with ridiculously long road sections. Sometimes it feels like we’re some sort of circus animals,” Halttunen states bluntly.
There’s been much speculation that this year’s Rally Portugal was the final straw that led Rovanperä to make the ultimate decision to leave the sport. Halttunen doesn’t confirm that, but Portugal’s rally does once again come up in his comments.
“Many rallies this year have been quite good, but for example that Rally Portugal, which was heavily criticised, was just insane,” Halttunen says plainly.
“It feels like they don’t think at all that we’re human beings too. We need to eat and go to the toilet as well. It feels like they think there are just two robots sitting in that car,” Halttunen exclaims.
Halttunen doesn’t believe that the abovementioned problems in the World Rally Championship are the only reason behind Rovanperä’s decision to walk away from the sport.
“That might not be the reason as such, but all of it has certainly affected how enjoyable the whole thing feels. It’s been all of our dreams to be in those cars and compete, but after some of these rallies I’ve honestly felt like I’ve just come back from an army training camp. That’s been the feeling after nearly every rally,” Halttunen fires.
