The World Rally Championship is still reeling from the shock announcement that world champion Kalle Rovanpera has gone part-time for 2024. As the dust begins to settle, one thing is clear – the title race is set to be one of the most unpredictable in recent memory.
There may only be a disappointing eight Rally1 cars on the entry list for this weekend’s Monte Carlo curtain-raiser, but the intrigue surrounding the title fight has rarely been higher thanks to Rovanpera’s mic drop at the end of 2023. The WRC’s 23-year-old superstar has seemingly forsaken the chance to go for a hat-trick of crowns to “recharge my batteries”. In the meantime, he will contest a half-season with Toyota, starting with round two in Sweden, before returning for a full-time championship attack in 2025.
This highly unusual decision has thrown the proverbial cat among the pigeons. Logic would dictate that last year’s championship runner-up, Elfyn Evans, is now the favourite to go one
