Kalle Rovanpera says wins will be required from the final rounds of the World Rally Championship season to stand any chance of lifting a third world title.
The Toyota driver headed into last weekend’s Rally Chile sitting second in the standings seven points adrift, but left South America 21 points behind Sebastien Ogier, who shot into the championship lead after taking a fifth win of the season.
Rovanpera had started the rally on a positive note, moving into an early lead before a rare mistake resulted in the Finn swiping a bank which knocked a rear-left tyre off the rim, costing him more than a minute.
The 2024 Chile winner managed to recover to sixth, picking up 12 points in total, but was hampered by road position in changeable conditions, and continual lack of confidence with the Hankook tyre, to make further progress.
“At this point of the season [two stage wins] that is not what we need, we need some results,” said Rovanpera.
“I think that [road position] was affecting more than expected and also there is no good pace in many conditions and only in the wet did we have the pace. As soon as it dried up there was no good pace.
Kalle Rovanperä, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Photo by: Toyota Racing
“It is quite clear, it is most of the time like this [not working with the tyre]. Let’s say something decent can be done but when you start to push, and if you are a bit early on the road and you need to push a lot, it is not going as it should. If you need to push a lot it is just not working.”
When asked about his title prospects ahead of asphalt rallies in Central Europe and Japan, followed by a gravel season finale in Saudi Arabia, he added: “Obviously it is starting to get more difficult all of the time. We needed some good results here, especially before the tarmac rallies, but we didn’t get them.
“He [Sebastien Ogier] is doing a proper job this year and he is leading the championship as he should, he has done good results. It is quite clear we will need a few wins if we want to have any chance.”
The last time the WRC competed on asphalt Rovanpera dominated the field to win on the smooth tarmac roads in the Canary Islands in April, but the 24-year-old is expecting a challenge when the series heads to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic next month.
“It will be a very different kind of rally. There is a lot of pollution and cuts and stuff, it will not be the same, but we will try to do the same as there [in the Canary Islands],” he said.
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