The father and son duo of Rovanperä – Harri and Kalle – have both experienced setbacks in this place, just when they were on the verge of etching their names in the annals of Finnish rallying history.
Let us rewind to the year 2002. The elder of the two had overtaken his Peugeot teammate Marcus Grönholm with a remarkable performance on the Ouninpohja stage. However, while traversing the road through Moksi, he veered slightly off track and damaged the front-right corner of his 206 WRC. Moments later, he had to retire his vehicle at the side of the E63. It was a devastating blow.
Harri Rovanperä had taken the lead in Rally Finland 2002, only for disaster to strike.
Fast forward twenty-two years, and the same road dashed Kalle’s hopes in an even more dramatic fashion. Rovanperä Jr. was tantalizingly close to achieving his family’s first victory in Finland when Sunday took a turn for the worse.
Just as Harri had overcome his disappointment to explain his downfall in 2002, Kalle did the same. Having led from the third stage until the final corner of the penultimate test, the reigning world champion was still coming to terms with his fate. When I saw him on Sunday, he appeared more dejected than I had ever seen him before. He was utterly crushed, and rightfully so. He and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen deserved the win. They had earned it over three days of challenging conditions in recent Secto Rally Finland memory.
This victory seemed destined for them. However, it now belongs to Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais – deserving winners in their own right.
Kalle, being too young and too astute, did not struggle to find words, but he chose them with care. The pain etched on his face told the true story, more so than his words.
“We encountered a large loose stone on the road during a fast corner,” he said. “We veered straight off the road. It was quite an unbelievable feeling. This time, Jonne and I did nothing wrong. We had a perfect weekend until this point. We had a substantial lead and were poised for the win, but we were struck by really bad luck with the stone.”
Rovanperä is not one to display deep emotions. He is known as rallying’s “ice man,” much like another individual with the same initials. However, this defeat hurt. Last year, he was at fault for a mishap in Myhinpää: he entered a right-hander too fast, causing the car to slide wide on the subsequent left turn, collide with a rock, and roll over. The year before that, he lost a fierce battle with Ott Tänak, and prior to that, he crashed into a heap of gravel after a significant tank-slapper in Patajoki.
This was meant to be his year, without a doubt. Back-to-back victories in Poland and Latvia demonstrated that the early season struggles in Sweden and Portugal were a thing of the past. When I spoke to him before the event, he seemed different. A year ago, the pressure weighed heavily on him, and it was evident. It had been six years since a Finnish driver had won, and the nation’s expectations burdened the 22-year-old.
However, this time around, none of that was apparent. Of course, he cared about public opinion, but he did not dwell on it too much. No one desired a Finnish victory more than the two Finns sitting inside the Toyota #69.
They were in good spirits and ready for a battle with their teammate Elfyn Evans on Friday. When the Welshman fell behind due to a driveshaft issue, KR felt genuine disappointment. He wanted to compete, he wanted to challenge the man who had achieved what he himself had failed to do twice in the past three years.
Rovanperä had everything under control last weekend.
But with Evans out of the picture, Saturday and Ouninpohja were there to be enjoyed. Once again, there was a family feud to settle. During his time, Harri had truly mastered the legendary Ouninpohja stage. In 2001, he outpaced Grönholm by 8.3 seconds on that stage, and a year later, he bested “Bosse” by 6.3 seconds.
“My dad was always exceptional on this stage,” Rovanperä remarked on Sunday morning, and there was no stress. There was no need to rush; victory awaited them. Finland had been waiting for a win since 2017, when Esapekka Lappi achieved a breakthrough success in Jyväskylä. It had been a long seven years, and the agonizing wait would continue.
The people in and around Moksi would feel the pain just as acutely as fans across the country. Standing among the villagers on Sunday afternoon, the atmosphere was almost funereal. Children cried, while others simply stood and stared at the wreckage of the car that had seemed unstoppable in its march toward history.
Just moments earlier, these same individuals had waved their flags – the blue and white of Finland and the red, white, and black of Toyota – one in each hand. With one corner and one stage remaining, Kalle and Jonne were on their way.
And then, there was that rock. That rock that ended Rovanperä’s near-certain victory in Rally Finland.
As they approached a square left turn, pressing hard on the accelerator and shifting gears out of the junction, the Yaris was met with a rock. That rock. In the blink of an eye, the Toyota was sent hurtling towards the trees. The rally was over. Hearts shattered throughout the village and across the country.
Sitting in the grass, staring at his phone, Rovanperä struggled to comprehend what had just happened. How could he? It made no sense. A mere inch or two in either direction, and he would have narrowly avoided the rock, speaking of a close call. Instead, he sat there, contemplating another year of waiting for the victory he desires most.
Harri arrived, descending from a helicopter. His son needed a shoulder to lean on. Now, they shared the story of the one that slipped away in the fields surrounding Moksi.
Photo from Kalle Rovanperä (X)
