Rovanperä is still young, only 23 years old, but the missing crown in the double champion’s career is a win in his home race. So far, Rovanperä has attempted to conquer the Central Finland gravel roads with a top-tier car three times.
In the 2021 autumn Rally Finland, Rovanperä’s fate was sealed by a hard crash into a sandbank on the Patajoki special stage. The following year, Rovanperä finished second in Jyväskylä, but Ott Tänak squeezed out a win by 6.8 seconds. Last season, he faced another exit, this time in Myhinpää.
Now, the pressure for the home rally is different, as Rovanperä doesn’t have to worry about the championship battle at all. The Finnish ace from Puuppola, near Jyväskylä, can go all in without any reservations.
“Maybe now that Kalle is driving a half-season, the starting point is a bit more relaxed. I believe that this year Kalle has really good chances,” says team principal Jari-Matti Latvala to RallyJournal.com.
“The most important thing is to remember to keep humility in mind for the home rally.”
History knows several drivers who have chased the legendary Jyväskylä victory for many years. One of them is four-time world champion Juha Kankkunen. He won his first world titles in 1986-87 but didn’t win in Jyväskylä until 1991.
It’s necessary to ask the statistics enthusiast Latvala if there is a danger that Rovanperä will pull a Kankkunen.
“Winning the home race is difficult. As you said, hopefully, he doesn’t pull a Kankkunen. Even for Juha, it took many years, despite having world championships. Was it ’86 and ’87 championships, but the first Jyväskylä win only in ’91? It shows how hard it is to win the home race,” Latvala recalls.
“There is a certain kind of pressure, which is a bit different. Especially now when coming to Jyväskylä, many drivers want to win it because the points situation is so tight.”
