WRC has a new champion! Kalle Rovanperä breaks historic World Rally record, Finland celebrates huge success

Finnish driver Kalle Rovanperä has become the new WRC champion, the youngest ever World Champion! With this, Rovanperä has broken a major World Rally record, having recently celebrated only his 22nd birthday. He secured the championship title in New Zealand.

And it’s clear – the Finnish driver in the service of Toyota Gazoo Racing, and therefore the twenty-two-year-old Rovanperä, has finally decided in New Zealand who will win the 2022 championship title.

It was Rovanperä who dominated the New Zealand Rally, becoming the youngest ever WRC champion. The Jyväskylä native broke a major world rally record when he surpassed Colin McRae’s 1995 World Rally Championship title at the age of 27 years and 89 days.

Finland on top again

But that’s not all Rovanperä accomplished. Finland finally has its world champion again after twenty years, and the Toyota driver has now recorded the country of a thousand lakes’ eighth world title overall.

The last Finnish world champion was Marcus Grönholm, who won the title in 2002.

Others include Tommy Mäkinen, who won four titles with Mitsubishi between 1996 and 1999, Juha Kankkunen (1993, 1991, 1987 and 1986 – Lancia and Peugeot), Timo Salonen (1985, Peugeot), Hannu Mikola (1983, Audi) and Ari Vatanen (1981, Ford).

Rovanperä currently has 237 points and has an unassailable 64-point lead over second-placed Otto Tänak. The Finnish driver dominated the New Zealand rally with a lead of over half a minute over second-placed Sébastien Ogier, with the Estonian Tänak accompanying him on the podium.

It should be noted that from 2004 until now, apart from the 2019 season when Tänak dominated the World Championship, there has never been a championship title won by a non-French driver. In fact, Sébastien Loeb has won nine titles, while Ogier has won eight overall.

Rovanperä won three events in a row in the first half of the season, namely rallies in Sweden, Croatia and Portugal.

He added further triumphs in Kenya and Estonia. In the previous two rallies in Belgium and Greece, he did not confirm his chances of clinching the title, but he did not throw away his third in New Zealand.

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