The Good, The Bad and the emergence of a future legend

Top Performer – Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen

Kalle Rovanpera was described as a “miracle kid” after pulling off an against the odds win in Croatia last month, and now he’s being likened to the WRC’s all-time greats Sebastien Ogier and Sebastien Loeb. That is the level Rovanpera is operating at currently.

At only 21-years-old the Finn has five WRC wins to his name and has won five of the last 10 WRC events, stretching back to his maiden win in Estonia last year. It’s a frightening statistic. Only Hyundai duo Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak of the current crop have accrued more career wins. 

Before Portugal, Rovanpera ticked off two crucial requirements in a quest to become a world champion; those being scoring wins on tarmac, gravel and snow, and winning from starting first on the road, which he achieved on Croatia’s asphalt in April.

That left one final element that has been turned into an art form by Loeb and Ogier – winning a gravel rally from opening the road. In Portugal this objective seemed unlikely especially given Ogier and Loeb were among the 12 Rally1 car field, with the pair boasting a far more favourable road position.

However, Rovanpera is so at one with his driving and the GR Yaris, he surprised himself and his team to emerge victorious in Portugal. Granted, several of his rivals suffered from punctures and mechanical issues from extremely punishing stages, Rovanpera did have to see off Toyota teammate and long time leader Elfyn Evans, no mean feat there.

Evans produced his best showing of the season to date and last year’s Portugal winner looked in a good potion to score back-to-back wins, until Rovanpera pulled of a masterstroke when rain fell in the second pass of the rally’s longest stage. Here, Rovanpera was able to transform a 9.9s deficit, that had earlier blown out to 18.4s, into a 4.0s lead. From there, he was…