Kalle Rovanpera will be back behind the wheel of a rally car after confirmation he will be taking part in demonstration runs at Rally Finland this week.
The two-time world rally champion will be joined by his title winning co-driver Jonne Halttunen and the pair will drive Halttunen’s Toyota Corolla GT AE86 through the event’s Harju stage on Thursday and Friday.
Rally Finland is an event they won last year by driving a factory Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 in what was their final season in the World Rally Championship for the foreseeable future.
Rovanpera is set to get back behind the wheel on Thursday when he will drive the car through the World Rally Championship event’s opening stage. The 25-year-old will then jump into the co-driving seat on Friday as Halttunen takes over.
A Rally Finland statement read: “Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen are returning to the legendary Harju Stage! They’ll take Jonne’s Toyota Corolla GT AE86 through the stage on both Thursday and Friday.”
Rovanpera’s attendance will come after the Finn made a flying visit to Rally Estonia two weeks ago while on holiday in the region.
That was his first visit to a WRC event since calling time on his stint in the series last year, favouring a move to circuit racing for 2026.
While a medical issue forced the 25-year-old to postpone plans to contest this year’s Super Formula season in Japan, Rovanpera has kept a close eye on the WRC and has acted as mentor to his close friend and former Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta.
Toyota announced last month that Rovanpera had resumed physical training and is now in a position to plan a “phased return to driving”.
A return to competitive racing in 2027 is the objective and last month Rovanpera was back behind the wheel of his Toyota GR Supra drift car.
“Obviously now I’m declared fit again to drive so that is nice and I’m slowly getting back to everything. I don’t know what the next plans are, but something interesting for sure,” said Rovanpera when asked about his recovery at Rally Estonia.
“The wintertime was busy and we did a lot of driving and many interesting things but it was unfortunate that it ended how it ended, but let’s see what comes next.”
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
Read the full article here
