Toyota’s Finnish star will step away from the special stages after this week’s Rally Saudi Arabia. Next year Rovanperä will test his skills on the circuit, as he moves to the Japanese Super Formula series.
Rovanperä is guaranteed a place on the podium this season. He still has an outside chance of becoming champion, but the task in Saudi Arabia borders on the impossible. The Finn trails team-mate and championship leader Elfyn Evans by 24 points, while Sebastien Ogier – chasing his ninth title – also sits ahead of him.
Check the full WRC standings here!
Rovanperä has claimed three rally wins this year. At times – such as in the Canary Islands and Finland – flashes of his top speed have been clearly visible, but his season has often been marked by setbacks with the car and the tyres.
Before the start of Rally Saudi Arabia, Rovanperä was asked to give his own season a school grade. He didn’t go easy on himself.
“I would say maybe a seven. Or yeah, maybe a six and a half,” Rovanperä declared.
He listed his victories as the highlights of the year. The list of disappointments and frustrations, however, was longer.
“We had quite a few disappointments this year. A crazy amount of punctures and bad luck in some places. Some of those moments were entirely our fault, but many were caused by other things,” he admitted.
“This really hasn’t been our year.”
Rovanperä now wants to end his rally career on a positive note. The brand-new Saudi Arabian round of the championship will at least provide a serious test.
“The conditions here look really extreme. Lots of stones, soft sand and the roads break up quickly. There will definitely be surprises for everyone. This weekend you will surely need more luck than usual to avoid any major setbacks,” Rovanperä assessed.
Rally Saudi Arabia gets properly underway on Thursday with seven special stages on the schedule.
