Kalle Rovanperä facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kalle Rovanperä |
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Rovanperä at the 2023 Central European Rally
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| Born | 1 October 2000 Jyväskylä, Finland |
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| Related to | Harri Rovanperä (father) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kalle Rovanperä (born 1 October 2000) is a Finnish professional rally driver. He competes in the World Rally Championship (WRC) for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT. His co-driver is Jonne Halttunen. Kalle is a two-time World Champion, winning in 2022 and 2023. His father, Harri Rovanperä, was also a WRC driver. Kalle became famous at a very young age for his rallying skills.
Rovanperä won two championships in Latvia. He then made his WRC debut in 2017. In 2019, he won the World Rally Championship-2 Pro title. After that, Toyota promoted him to their main team in 2020. In 2021, Kalle became the youngest driver to win a WRC event. He achieved this at the 2021 Rally Estonia. In 2022, he became the youngest ever World Champion. He won the title at the 2022 Rally New Zealand, just one day after his 22nd birthday.
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Kalle's Early Life and Family
Kalle Rovanperä was born in Jyväskylä, Finland. His father, Harri Rovanperä, was a well-known WRC driver. Harri won a WRC race in Sweden in 2001. Kalle gained international attention when he was only eight years old. Videos of him driving a rally car were shared online. He took part in his first rally race at just ten years old. Many experienced Finnish drivers helped coach him. One of them, Esapekka Lappi, said that young Kalle already knew a lot about rallying.
Kalle's Rally Career Journey
Starting Strong in Latvia (2015–2017)
In 2015, when Kalle was 14, he started racing in Latvia. In Latvia, you don't need a driver's license to compete in rallying. He won the Latvian rally championship in the R2 class with his Citroën C2 R2 Max car.
In 2016, Kalle drove a powerful Škoda Fabia S2000 car. He won his first rally that year, setting the fastest time in every stage. He later switched to a new Škoda Fabia R5. Kalle earned four more podium finishes, including two wins. He won the championship, becoming the youngest driver ever to win a national rally championship at 16.
In January 2017, Kalle received special permission to race in Finland. He competed in the Finnish Rally Championship. He also raced in Latvia and Italy. Kalle made his European Rally Championship debut in 2017. He finished second overall at the Rally Liepāja. He also successfully defended his title in Latvia.
After getting his official driving license, Kalle made his WRC debut. This was at the 2017 Wales Rally GB. He drove a Ford Fiesta R5. He also competed at the 2017 Rally Australia. He won the WRC-2 category at the Australian event. This made him the youngest winner of a WRC-2 round.
Climbing the Ranks (2018–2019)
Kalle joined Škoda Motorsport for the 2018 season. He won two races: the 2018 Wales Rally GB and the 2018 Rally Catalunya. He finished third in the championship that year.
Škoda Motorsport kept Kalle for the 2019 season. He won his first race of 2019 at the 2019 Rally Chile. He then took the championship lead at the 2019 Rally de Portugal. Kalle went on to win three more rallies that season. He secured the title at the 2019 Wales Rally GB. His only time not finishing a race was at the 2019 Tour de Corse, where he crashed.
In November 2019, Toyota announced Kalle would join their team for 2020. He would race alongside world champion Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans.
Becoming a WRC Star (2020–2021)
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Kalle chose the number 69 for his car. He earned his first podium finish in his second top-class race. This was at the 2020 Rally Sweden, where he finished third. At 19 years, 4 months, and 16 days old, Kalle became the youngest WRC driver to reach the podium. He finished fifth overall at the end of the 2020 season.
Kalle's 2021 season started well. He finished fourth at the 2021 Monte Carlo Rally and second at the 2021 Arctic Rally Finland. These results put him in the lead of the WRC championship for the first time. After some challenging races, Kalle achieved his first WRC victory. This happened at the 2021 Rally Estonia. He became the youngest driver to win a World Rally Championship event. He was 20 years and 289 days old. This broke the record held by his team boss, Jari-Matti Latvala. Later in 2021, Kalle also won the 2021 Acropolis Rally. He finished fourth in the championship that year.
Youngest World Rally Champion (2022–2023)
Kalle started 2022 with a fourth place at the 2022 Monte Carlo Rally. Then, he won three events in a row. After finishing fifth at the 2022 Rally Italia Sardegna, he secured two more victories. This gave him a big lead in the championship. Despite some tough rallies, he returned to top form. He claimed his sixth rally win of the season at the 2022 Rally New Zealand. This performance was enough to win his first world title. At 22 years and 1 day old, Kalle became the youngest World Rally Champion. He broke the record set by Colin McRae in 1995. Kalle also became the first Finnish World Rally Champion since Marcus Grönholm in 2002.
In 2023, Kalle did not win a rally until the fifth race, the 2023 Rally de Portugal. This win helped him take the championship lead. He won two more events later in the year, strengthening his lead. At the 2023 Central European Rally, his main rival, Elfyn Evans, was out of the running. Kalle finished second, which was enough to win his second world title in a row.
Kalle signed a new contract with Toyota after the 2023 season. However, it was announced that he would only compete in some races in 2024. He plans to return to full-time racing in 2025.
Other Racing Activities
In 2022, Kalle Rovanperä tried drift racing. He competed in the Drift Masters European Championship with a Toyota Supra. He reached the round of 16. In 2023, he entered two rounds of Formula Drift Japan. He won a race at Ebisu and came second at Okayama. He also competed in three rounds of the Drift Masters European Championship.
Kalle also announced he would race in four rounds of the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux. He finished fourth and fifth in his first race weekend in Zandvoort. Then, he got his first circuit victory in Imola, finishing second and first. He also won a race at the Red Bull Ring and finished third and first at Circuit Zolder.
In November 2024, Kalle got to test an F1 car. He drove for Red Bull Racing at the Austrian Red Bull Ring.
Kalle also shared on Christmas Eve that he would race in the Dubai 24 Hour race from January 10 to 12, 2025.
Personal Life
In June 2017, Kalle received special permission to apply for a driver's license when he turned 17. On October 2, 2017, the day after his 17th birthday, Kalle passed his driving test.
In 2020, Kalle moved to Estonia. Since 2022, he has been living in Monaco.
Awards and Honours
- Autosport Awards International Rally Driver of the Year: 2022–2023
WRC Victories
Kalle Rovanperä has won many races in the World Rally Championship. Here are his WRC victories:
| # | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  2021 Rally Estonia |
2021 |  Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota Yaris WRC | |
| 2 |  2021 Acropolis Rally |
2021 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota Yaris WRC | |
| 3 |  2022 Rally Sweden |
2022 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 4 |  2022 Croatia Rally |
2022 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 5 |  2022 Rally de Portugal |
2022 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 6 |  2022 Safari Rally |
2022 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 7 | 2022 Rally Estonia |
2022 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 8 |  2022 Rally New Zealand |
2022 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 9 | 2023 Rally de Portugal |
2023 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 10 | 2023 Rally Estonia |
2023 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 11 | 2023 Acropolis Rally |
2023 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 12 | 2024 Safari Rally |
2024 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 13 |  2024 Rally Poland |
2024 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 14 |  2024 Rally Latvia |
2024 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 15 |  2024 Rally Chile |
2024 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | |
| 16 |  2025 Rally Islas Canarias |
2025 | Jonne Halttunen |
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 |
See also
In Spanish: Kalle Rovanperä para niños
