Kankkunen, 66, began his new role at the start of this year. His task has been to stand in for Jari-Matti Latvala at the World Rally Championship rounds where Toyota’s main team principal has been absent due to his own rallying commitments.
It has turned into quite a workload. Latvala has acted as team boss at only three WRC rallies this season, meaning Kankkunen has been in charge at nine events. He will also be leading the team at next week’s Rally Japan, while Latvala competes in a round of the European Historic Rally Championship in Portugal.
Kankkunen admits the job has kept him busy throughout the year.
“If Jari-Matti had been able to help a bit more, it would have made things a little easier – I could have taken a breather from one of the rallies in between,” Kankkunen told RallyJournal.com.
In August and September, Kankkunen spent almost a full month on the road as the WRC headed to Paraguay and Chile. He managed a brief holiday in Chile between the rallies, but there was no time to return home.
Kankkunen has also had to attend numerous promotional events wearing Toyota colours. During the summer, for example, he represented the team for several days at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.
“These seasons are pretty demanding because for every free weekend between rallies, there’s always something else arranged,. I counted that I’ve basically worked around 250 days this year, so there’s not much personal time left,” Kankkunen revealed.
“But it hasn’t really been a problem – the kids are grown up and the missus doesn’t miss me anymore. That’s when it all works well,” Kankkunen laughed.
Toyota boss Latvala has already said he would like to continue driving next season. That could suggest Kankkunen will also have plenty of work next year.
However, nothing has been signed yet.
“There hasn’t been any talk about next year so far, but maybe we’ll discuss it a bit in Japan. We’ll see. It’s been pretty demanding, but I’ll need to talk with them about it,” Kankkunen said.
The penultimate round of the World Rally Championship takes place next week in Japan. The team is expected to announce its 2026 plans and driver line-up after the rally. At the same time, Toyota can also celebrate its manufacturers’ title, which was sealed at the Central European Rally.
“I think we’ll celebrate a bit in Japan. But once this season is over, I’m heading somewhere on holiday,” Kankkunen concluded.
