Kalle Rovanpera, the double world rally champion from Finland, has announced that he will be taking a break next season after reaching a multi-year agreement with Toyota. Rovanpera, who became the youngest world rally champion at the age of 22 and won a second successive crown this season, stated in a Toyota statement on Monday that he will only be driving some of the events next year.
Rovanpera explained that he has been driving rally cars for 15 years and the previous seasons have been demanding both mentally and physically. He expressed that it is a good moment to take a year off to recharge and come back to fight for the championship once more. During his break, Rovanpera also mentioned that he is looking forward to doing some drifting and other forms of motorsport.
Sebastien Ogier, an eight-time world champion from France, will also continue part-time with the Toyota manufacturer. The full-time drivers for 2024 will be Welshman Elfyn Evans and Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta. Evans has been a runner-up three times in the last four years and he stated that he is keen to build on his progress and be even better in the next season. This news was reported by Alan Baldwin in London, edited by Ken Ferris.