Everything is ready for the Monte-Carlo Rallye, the traditional opening round of the World Rally Championship which has had a new owner since 2022. The ‘child prodigy’ Calle Rovanpera has finally conquered the first world title in his career on the first occasion ‘without’ the two sacred monsters Sebastien Ogier and Sebastien Loeb, who did not participate in all the rallies scheduled, however immediately giving a show to the ‘Monte’ with a very close duel which finally rewarded the M-Sport standard bearer.
Rovanpera, born in 2000, is ready to defend the world championship crown won last season, even if he knows it won’t be easy at all: “We know it won’t be easy to defend the title. We have seen that the level of competition is getting higher and higher, so we have to try to improve and keep pushing hard – his words spoken at the press conference to present the Monte-Carlo Rally – I still have the same desire to win and the sensations are positive, I can’t say I’m as hungry as last yearbut I want to start the season better than 2022 to immediately point the championship in the right direction”.
A year ago Rovanpera finished fourth in the Monte-Carlo Rally, a better placement than his direct rivals for the title this season. Thierry Neuville‘captain’ Hyundai, was sixth, while Ott Tanak, new cover face of M-Sport had to retire. The Finnish driver, who brought back to Scandinavia a title that had been missing since 2002 when Marcus Gronholm won with Peugeot, will not race with the number #1, but has decided to keep the #69: “It was an easy choice. It’s better than the number one,” Rovanpera said of the choice of race number.
Speaking of opponents, the reigning champion ‘hopes’ to experience a Finnish derby with his compatriot Esapekka Lappi under Hyundai: “He will have a full season compared to last year and I hope there is more than one Finnish flag fighting for the title. In any case, we all start from zero points, it is obvious that the most successful and experienced riders are the most dangerous ones”.
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