Kalle Rovanperä celebrated victory with his mother – “We really had to drive fast”

This time, the two-time World Rally Champion took part in a rather unusual race, as the legendary rally boss Cesare Fiorio was honoured with the fourth running of the Fiorio Cup in Italy. Rovanperä was the fastest driver in the four-stage event held on Fiorio’s grounds.

The race featured four stages, each around four kilometres in length. Rovanperä was quickest on the first two stages, but Italian driver Andrea Crugnola set the best time on the third stage. On the final stage, Rovanperä again clocked the fastest time, winning the event by a margin of 15.8 seconds over Crugnola, who also suffered a ten-second time penalty.

“It was a amazing day. It was great fun and really great competition all the way. Crugnola was pushing pushed really hard. We really had to drive fast. Big thanks, of course, to the Fiorio family,” Rovanperä said during the live broadcast of the event on Facebook.

“If I have free time in my calendar, I’ll definitely come back,” Rovanperä added.

In the Fiorio Cup, Rovanperä, Harri Toivonen, and Turkish driver Burcu Cetinkaya formed the European team. The Italian team took victory in this contest, with Crugnola, Tamara Molinaro, and Andrea Aghini securing the next places after Rovanperä, followed by Toivonen and Cetinkaya.

However, this was mainly a light-hearted event for fun, a point Rovanperä himself emphasised. The rally champion drove in Italy alongside his mother, Tiina Rovanperä, who made her debut as a co-driver.

“Mom started her co-driving career well! We won the Fiorio Cup today,” Rovanperä enthused on his Instagram stories.

Rovanperä will not compete again in this season’s World Rally Championship. Instead, he will drive a Toyota Starlet at the traditional Killarney Historic Rally in Ireland at the end of the month.

Fiorio Cupin Results: