Last year, victory was quite literally just one stage away, but his dream was dashed at the end of the penultimate special stage.
The image is still fresh in the minds of Finnish rally fans: Rovanperä’s Toyota launched off a loose rock on the road and crashed into the forest, ending his pursuit of a first Rally Finland victory in an instant.
This year, Rovanperä is not among the favourites, even through the most patriotic lens. He has struggled all season with Hankook tyres, and there’s little to suggest the tide will suddenly turn in Central Finland.
Still, Rovanperä heads into his home rally with excitement. The support from the Finnish crowd brings some much-needed comfort in the face of adversity.
“As our home event, going into Rally Finland always feels special with a lot of excitement and support from the fans,” Rovanperä said.
“We’ve had good chances to win there with good pace in the last two years and didn’t quite manage to do it,” he added.
Rovanperä has traditionally been very strong on fast gravel rallies, but even on high-speed surfaces this year, he’s been facing difficulties. In Estonia, where he’s dominated in the past, Rovanperä could only manage fourth place. The only consolation was a strong Sunday performance and a Power Stage win.
“We continue to work hard with the team to improve upon the pace that we’ve had on gravel so far this year, and we’ve been trying some more new ideas in testing for this event,” Rovanperä revealed.
Time will tell whether those ideas bear fruit, but returning home always feels good.
“Of course, we will try to enjoy the whole week, keep pushing as much as we can and do our maximum to get a top result,” Rovanperä concluded.
Rovanperä enters his home event sitting fourth in the championship. The gap to the new WRC points leader is still within reach – just 24 points.
Rally Finland takes place from 31 July to 3 August.
