WRC Rally Finland
Rovanpera reflects on "unreal" Rally Finland exit
The reigning world rally champion won 11 Rally Finland stages before rolling out of the lead
Tom Howard
Edited: Aug 4, 2024, 4:31 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Kalle Rovanpera says losing a likely maiden World Rally Championship victory on home soil on the penultimate stage is “quite an unreal feeling” after a near perfect Rally Finland.
The two-time world champion was on course to become the first Finn to win the event since 2015, having won 11 stages that helped the Toyota driver into 45.8s lead over team-mate Sebastien Ogier heading into stage 19.
However, Rovanpera was unable to avoid a rock in the road that pitched his GR Yaris into a roll that ended his rally on the spot, handing the victory to Ogier.
It was the second Rally Finland in a row where Rovanpera has rolled out of a lead at his home event. The Finn said there was “no chance” to avoid the rock.
“Basically, the last proper corner of the stage, quite high-speed, a fourth-gear corner, and when you go into the driving line a bit later on, the middle of the corner, there was some rocks and there was no chance to avoid it in any way,” Rovanpera told Motorsport.com.
“We just took the hit and that was really big, then we saw the rock later and it as a really big one.
“There was no rock for the guys in front of us, I only saw the onboard and there was nothing.”
Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
After losing out on a likely victory after dominating the rally, Rovanpera, added: “It is a quite unbelievable feeling when you do the whole weekend perfectly, the team and everybody has done a great job and we were so fast and had no moments or issues, all the time we were in control.
“Then something like this happens and you cannot avoid it yourself, it is quite an unreal feeling.”
Read Also:
Rovanpera’s team-mate Elfyn Evans, who crashed out on the first corner of the same stage moments before the incident admitted it was “super unlucky”.
“I really feel for him there is nothing you can do in that situation,” Evans told Motorsport.com.
“We've seen so many guys have accidents like this in the past Seb [Ogier] has had one in testing, [Hayden] Paddon had one here one year and couldn’t start the rally.
“It's probably the one of the biggest risks, let's say in Rally Finland, is like having a loose stone on top of a rut like that. At high speed the car is low and you're just a passenger.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Ogier: No “feeling” yet for WRC title push as points system “devalues” championship
Next article Evans’ WRC title hopes “difficult” after Finland crash
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Tom Howard
New WRC constructor offers update on 2027 car development
WRC
WRC
Rally Saudi Arabia
New WRC constructor offers update on 2027 car development
Sebastien Ogier tipped for partial WRC 2027 programme
WRC
WRC
Sebastien Ogier tipped for partial WRC 2027 programme
Latest news
Casey Mears makes milestone 500th NASCAR Cup start he never meant to reach
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
42 min
Casey Mears makes milestone 500th NASCAR Cup start he never meant to reach
MotoGP Qatar GP: Marco Bezzecchi wins as Marc Marquez has title triumph delayed
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
53 min
MotoGP Qatar GP: Marco Bezzecchi wins as Marc Marquez has title triumph delayed
LIVE: F1 Brazilian GP – Lando Norris leads after Kimi Antonelli spins, Max Verstappen charging
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
LIVE: F1 Brazilian GP – Lando Norris leads after Kimi Antonelli spins, Max Verstappen charging
WEC Monza: Cadillac wins chaotic finale, #8 Toyota seals drivers’ title
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
1 h
WEC Monza: Cadillac wins chaotic finale, #8 Toyota seals drivers’ title
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe