Rovanperä’s circuit debut was at least successful. He secured fourth place in the first race of the weekend and finished fifth in Sunday’s race. Additionally, he recorded the fastest lap in Saturday’s race and made a spectacular overtaking move.
The Porsche Carrera Cup races with the manufacturer’s 911 GT3 model.
“For sure it’s a quite tricky car to drive. I’m sure it’s not the easiest one to find the last tenths. It’s a nice car to drive – for me, coming from rallying, it’s a bit similar what you can do with the car in some certain ways. So, I learned the car quite quickly.” Rovanperä said.
Rovanperä now has his first race weekend behind him, and there are three more ahead for the rest of the season.
“We will be in Imola (in July), Red Bull Ring (in September), and also Zolder (in October),” Rovanperä confirmed his competition schedule.
The rally champion has an even bigger plan for circuit racing. This year he is taking his first steps on the track, but sometime in the future, the Finnish star may be seen in even larger series.
Rovanperä’s teammate Sebastien Ogier tested his skills in the World Endurance Championship in 2022 and participated in the legendary 24-hour Le Mans race. Le Mans is also among Rovanperä’s dreams.
“I have always wanted to race on the circuit and I have a few dreams, particularly 24-hour races like Le Mans or Nürburgring, but let’s first see how the races in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux go.” Rovanperä said.
The WEC series organises tests for newcomers at the end of the season. Rovanperä’s team, Toyota, has its own GR10 Hybrid racing car, which has achieved success in endurance races.
“I would really like to test it. You can see how well Toyota is doing in the WEC. We have to do a simulator test first and it depends on that: you have to be fast enough to drive the real car,” Rovanperä explained.
The driver must also pass a rookie test to get to race in Le Mans. Ogier went through the same route a couple of years ago.
Rovanperä is competing in about half of the World Rally Championship rallies this year. Next year, he is scheduled to compete in all the WRC rounds again.
