About Kalle Rovanperä
Kalle Rovanperä’s journey to the top of world rallying started long before he was old enough to hold a driving licence. Aged just eight, a video of him expertly drifting a small rally car through snowy Finnish forests went viral. Fast forward, and he is now one of the sport’s biggest stars — with two world titles to prove it.
Rallying runs in Rovanperä’s blood. His father, Harri, was a factory driver for several teams and claimed victory at Rally Sweden in 2001. But while most young Finns wait until 18 to start their competitive careers, Kalle took a different route. To sidestep Finnish age restrictions, he began competing in Latvia, entering rally sprints at just 12 years old.
With Harri’s former co-driver, Risto Pietiläinen, driving the road sections, Rovanperä wasted no time making his mark. He won the Latvian Junior Championship in 2015 before stepping up to claim back-to-back national titles in 2016 and 2017 behind the wheel of a Škoda Fabia. Legendary manager Timo Jouhki then guided him towards the Italian Championship to gain crucial asphalt experience.
By 2017, Rovanperä was ready for the world stage. Just a day after his 17th birthday, he passed his driving test — granted a special waiver by the Finnish government — and made his WRC debut at Rally GB. A few weeks later, he became the youngest driver ever to win a WRC2 round at Rally Australia.
Škoda Motorsport signed him for 2018, and he quickly repaid their faith, finishing third in WRC2 with two wins. The following season, he made history once again, becoming the youngest driver to win a WRC title by topping the WRC2 Pro standings.
Toyota came calling in 2020, and on just his second top-level start in Sweden, Rovanperä became the youngest podium finisher in WRC history at 19 years and 139 days. A year later, he took things a step further — securing his first WRC win in Estonia and adding another victory in Greece before ending the season fourth overall.
But it was 2022 that cemented Rovanperä’s status as a WRC superstar. Aged just 22 years and one day, he rewrote the record books by becoming the youngest WRC champion in history, clinching the title with his sixth win of the season at Repco Rally New Zealand. The achievement shattered Colin McRae’s previous record, set when the Brit was 27 in 1995.
Defending the title in 2023 proved an even greater challenge. After four rounds without a win, some questioned whether Rovanperä could go back-to-back. But a victory in Portugal reignited his campaign, and while he added further wins in Estonia and Greece, it was his relentless consistency that secured him title number two. Aside from a high-speed crash at home in Finland, he finished every rally inside the top four.
A part-time programme followed in 2024, as Rovanperä explored circuit racing and drifting alongside his WRC commitments. Despite the reduced schedule, he continued to add to his rallying legacy, claiming four victories in Kenya, Poland, Latvia, and Chile. A home win, however, remained elusive — his bid for Secto Rally Finland glory ended in dramatic fashion when he clipped a rock on the final corner of the penultimate stage, rolling his Yaris Rally1 Hybrid into the foliage.
Returning full-time in 2025, Rovanperä has his sights set on reclaiming his WRC crown from Hyundai rival Thierry Neuville. And with Finland still missing from his list of triumphs, he will be more determined than ever to finally conquer his home rally.
