Kalle Rovanpera is being proud of himself to make WRC history as he achieved many things after being crowned WRC Champion of 2022 in New Zealand today.
The Finn driver broke Jari-Matti Latvala's record in 2021 as he became the youngest driver who won a WRC event while he broked Colin McRae's record after securing his maiden WRC title in New Zealand today at the age of 22 years and one day old.
Moreover, the last time that a Finn clinched a WRC title was twenty years ago when Marcus Gronholm became a WRC Champion that year, but ever since no one managed to continue the Finnish tradition as Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala lost their chances to write their names in the champions' list.
Last but not least, Rovanpera took the lead of Rally New Zealand at the end of Saturday morning and managed to score 30 points today as he was the fastest driver in Powerstage resulting in taking the five bonus points from that stage and outscoring Ott Tanak for 11 points.
"I feel very happy and proud as it has been a long break since Finland has a world champion", Rovanpera said.
"I don’t think about the age too much but it’s still special to know we could achieve this.
"I’m really proud of the team, myself and Jonne.
"I don’t have enough time to thank everybody but Jonne is making a big difference to the job also.
"We both have the same mindset, which makes it easy.
"We both know what works.
"We know not to stress too much and push when we can and he is really good at his job, which is the most important thing.
"The biggest thanks goes to the team - they made this rocket this year. Even after all the difficult rallies, they were believing in us and giving us all the support.
"Of course being the first Finnish champion for 20 years means a lot.
"There is huge support from all the Finnish fans and it has been nice to see that the sport has been gaining a bit more traction again, especially with the younger people, which is quite important to get new fans for the sport.
"It is really nice to see and nice to have good results for them.
"I was a bit surprised even this morning I didn’t feel nervous or anything.
"On the start line for the powerstage, for sure, I felt a bit tense just wanting to get it started".
Source: Motorsport.com
Photo Credits: Red Bull Content Pool
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