WRC News: Rovanpera Braces for ‘Big Challenge’ Ahead of Unexpected Rally Poland Debut
Toyota has called upon reigning WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera to replace the injured Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais at this week’s Rally Poland, a last-minute decision that the young Finnish driver admits will pose “a big challenge.”
Ogier and Landais were forced to withdraw from the event after being involved in a road traffic accident while preparing pace notes, though the Toyota team confirmed that the pair suffered no serious injuries. With their withdrawal, the team has drafted in Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen to pilot the third Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 car.
“It was a strange day yesterday, but first of all, it was good to hear by midday that Seb and Vincent were fine, which is the main thing,” said Rovanpera, who was preparing to take his jet ski out on the lake when he received the call from the team to head to Poland.
The double world champion, who is contesting a partial WRC schedule this season, acknowledged the immense challenge of having to prepare for the rally in such a short timeframe. Rovanpera and Halttunen will need to complete the entire recce process in just over 24 hours before the event kicks off on Thursday night.
“We basically need to do a whole rally almost in one day, and, of course, not watching any videos before will be quite a tough evening and tomorrow trying to learn what we can. It will not be easy with this schedule,” Rovanpera explained.
Despite the daunting task, the young Finn remains focused on doing his best to score valuable points for the Toyota team in the manufacturers’ championship.
“Normally in a rally like this, I would like to fight for the win, but maybe this weekend, it is not so easy to do. Of course, we will try to do our best and bring some good points for the team.”
Rally Poland returns to the WRC calendar for the first time since 2017, and Rovanpera’s late call-up to replace the injured Ogier and Landais will undoubtedly add an extra layer of excitement to the event. Fans and enthusiasts will be eager to see how the reigning champion navigates this unexpected challenge.
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