Rovanperä surprised many when he announced his retirement from the WRC and revealed that he will switch to racing in Japan’s Super Formula series next year.
The ultimate goal, of course, is Formula One, but that is still a long way off. Many things will need to fall into place if Rovanperä is to eventually reach F1.
Far less attention has been paid to the situation of Rovanperä’s co-driver, Jonne Halttunen, who has now found himself unemployed.
Do you have any idea yet, Jonne, what you’ll be doing next?
“Well, not really yet. Of course, I’ve had discussions with the parties I’ve been able to talk to in this situation,” Halttunen reveals to RallyJournal.com.
Halttunen’s job search has been hampered by the fact that Rovanperä’s withdrawal from the WRC had been a long-kept secret that could not be disclosed.
“To be honest, it’s not that simple from a co-driver’s perspective. Kalle has been able to arrange his own matters behind the scenes for quite some time, but I haven’t been able to talk about this with anyone,” Halttunen continues.
Halttunen would be interested in continuing within the sport, though in a different role from before.
“I’d gladly continue in rallying in some capacity. I’m no longer interested in continuing as a co-driver. If I were to keep going as a co-driver, it would have to be in WRC,” Halttunen says plainly.
“I’ve already been through that path since we started with Kalle back in the Škoda days. A co-driver’s seat would have to be in the top class, but unfortunately, we don’t really have any Finnish drivers at that level right now. I’m not ruling anything out, but I don’t think it’s very likely that I’ll continue as a co-driver,” Halttunen says.
Halttunen still has a strong interest in the sport and would like to help develop it further.
“We’ve naturally had discussions with Toyota, and I could be interested in some kind of management position. We’ll see whether they have any roles available,” Halttunen reveals.
“I do intend to reach out to everyone – including the promoter. I used to be a rally fan and spectator, and later a competitor. I’d definitely be interested in helping to develop this sport to make it better from the competitors’, spectators’, and teams’ perspectives. At the moment, I’m keeping all options open,” Halttunen says.
Halttunen is also interested in a completely different career path, though that’s not something imminent.
“I’ve also dreamed about returning to the business world, but at this stage, it’s not possible to build anything quickly. It’s not worth rushing into it,” Halttunen says.
But of course, rallying can still be done even if Kalle is no longer in the same car.
“I have my own rally car, and I must admit that I’m interested in driving. It could well be that I’ll take part in a series myself next year, now that I have time. We’ll see how good a driver a co-driver can become,” Halttunen surprises.
“The F-Cup might interest me. We’ll see if we can get the budget together. The car’s already ready, and it could be quite an interesting project. You can’t really enter the Finnish Championship with a Corolla, though,” Halttunen laughs.
