Gronholm believes Rovanpera is ready to win WRC title

Gronholm is the last Finn to win the WRC title after claiming his second world crown 20 years ago, in 2002, driving for the factory Peugeot operation.

Since then, the WRC has been largely dominated by Sebastien Loeb (2004-2012) and Sebastien Ogier (2013-2018, 2020-2021).

The French duo have won 17 titles between them with Petter Solberg (2003) and Ott Tanak (2019) the only other drivers to have won championships since Gronholm’s 2002 success.

Led by new star, Rovanpera, Finland remains a hotbed for the WRC, built from a rich history that has seen the nation produce seven world champions; notably Markku Alen (1978), Ari Vatanen (1981), Hannu Mikkola (1983), Timo Salonen (1985), Juha Kankkunen (1986-1987, 1991, 1993), Tommi Makinen (1996-1999) and Gronholm (2000, 2002).

The rise of Rovanpera has not gone unnoticed by Finland’s rallying royalty, with Gronholm believing that if Rovanpera continues his strong start to the season, he is favourite to win the 2022 title.

Toyota’s Rovanpera holds a 46-point lead in the championship over Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville after winning the last three WRC event in Sweden, Croatia and Portugal.

“He is very, very good,” Gronholm told Motorsport.com when asked for his thoughts on Rovanpera’s recent success.

“He is ready to win the championship I think if he continues the way he has started the season, no question. When he is under pressure he is fast and incredible, he is good.

“It must be something between the ears, of course he is a good driver,” he said when asked to pinpoint why Rovanpera is enjoying such strong form.

“He has learned since he was a small kid and he has had a lot of mileage already, but mentally he is very good.

“It has been 20 years since I won and since then it has been nearly only Frenchmen who have won the title, so now it is time to take it back to Finland,” he smiled.

Gronholm made a return to the…