This past weekend Kalle Rovanperä would win the 2022 World Rally Championship Drivers’ Championship. Becoming the youngest to do so. But is Rovanperä the start of a new era in the WRC?
The Facts
Kalle Rovanperä is just the fourth World Rally Champion since 2004. With Sebastian Loeb winning a record nine straight times since then. Along with Sebastian Ogier who won eight times. The fourth driver to win a championship since 2004 is Ott Tänak who won in 2019. Fortunately for Rovanperä both Loeb and Ogier are only racing part-time now. Giving Rovanperä the opportunity to become the start of a new WRC era. Rovanperä would win six rallies in 2022 (so far). Winning the majority with a lead of over 30 seconds.
Why Rovanperä Could Be
It’s not easy to win a World Rally Championship. It’s even harder to do when you just have three seasons of experience under your belt. With two of those seasons being during a pandemic. Rovanperä smashed the youngest drivers’ champion record. Beating legendary rally driver Colin McRae by over five years. That takes some serious skill. Especially in an era where the competition is only getting faster and stronger. Rovanperä set the pace most of this season, and when he did it was nearly unbeatable. It also helps to have a car and a team who support you fully.
Why Rovanperä Probably Won’t Be
Unfortunately for Rovanperä the WRC is ever-changing, making it harder to be dominant for a long period of time. That added on to the previously mentioned fact that the competition is only getting faster and stronger. As well as this year being a bit of an off year considering this is the first year with Hybrid Rally1 cars. Teams and drivers weren’t necessarily prepared. Toyota’s car showed to be the better car early on. As the Hyundai’s would have issues with the rear end and the Ford’s would have no luck. Thus giving Toyota and Rovanperä a bit of an easier playing field. Rovanperä would begin to get heavily challenged in Finland, Belgium and Greece. With Rovanperä crashing in Belgium just two stages in. That could be caused by multiple different reasons ranging from pressure put on by Tänak or the fact it may not have been Rovanperä’s weekend.
My name is Joe Moore. I am a writer for Belly Up Hockey, Belly Up Racing, and Belly Up Sports. You can find me on Twitter.
