Rovanpera makes his bid to join the legends
On a weekend when past champions and icons gathered to celebrate the World Rally Championship’s 50th anniversary season, it was Kalle Rovanpera who again outlined the potential to one day join the pantheon of rally legends.
The revered gravel roads of Portugal have been almost everpresent since the WRC’s inaugural season in 1973, providing a perfect backdrop to mark 50 years of rich history. It was a festival of rallying that didn’t disappoint, either on or away from the stages. Thirty historic cars from the beautiful Alpine A110, the Group B monsters from Audi and Lancia, to the Group A Subaru Impreza and Toyota Celica icons were on show, accompanied by a glittering cast list that amassed 28 of the 50 drivers’ titles to date. Champions Walter Rohrl (1980, 1982), Ari Vatanen (1981), Miki Biasion (1988, 1989), Carlos Sainz (1990, 1992), Marcus Gronholm (2000, 2002) and Petter Solberg (2003) made the trip to attend a gala dinner, and there were of course the modern day heroes Sebastien Loeb (2004-12), Ott Tanak (2019) and Sebastien Ogier (2013-18, 2020-21).
That list of world title winners doesn’t yet feature the name Kalle Rovanpera but, if
