WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera has decided to leave the championship in pursuit of single-seater dreams, as he will compete in Super Formula in 2026 with Toyota.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team driver Kalle Rovanpera has announced his decision to move on from rallying at the end of the 2025 season and pursue an exciting new challenge in motorsport. The two-time FIA World Rally Champion will remain part of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing family as he takes on his ambitious new challenge targeting the highest levels of circuit racing. In 2026 he will compete in the Japanese Super Formula Championship with the support of TGR, testing himself behind the wheel of one of the world’s fastest single-seater racing cars in a transition the likes of which has never been seen before in motorsport.
Rovanpera has achieved unprecedented success for a young rally driver since being handed his chance at the top level of the sport by TGR in 2020 at the age of 19. Showing his ability to quickly learn and adapt, he became the WRC’s youngest ever podium finisher when he finished third on just his second start at Rally Sweden in 2020. The following year, his triumph at Rally Estonia made him the youngest driver to win a WRC event. When the Rally1 hybrid regulations were introduced for the 2022 season, the combination of Rovanpera, co-driver Jonne Halttunen and their GR YARIS Rally1 car proved hard to beat.
Rovanpera won five of the first seven rallies, and a sixth victory on Rally New Zealand was enough for him to be crowned the youngest ever World Rally Champion at just 22 years and one day old. Rovanpera and Halttunen successfully defended his crown with an even more consistent campaign in 2023, finishing all but one of the 13 events inside the top four. In 2024, they won four times from seven starts, helping TGR-WRT to secure a fourth consecutive manufacturers’ championship. With three rallies remaining in 2025, Rovanpera remains in the hunt for a third drivers’ title in four years. A dominant win on the unfamiliar asphalt roads of Rally Islas Canarias and a long-awaited first home victory at Rally Finland – with the fastest drive in WRC history – have also contributed to a strong lead for TGR in the manufacturers’ standings.
During his time in WRC, Rovanpera has delighted fans with his speed, driving skill in demanding conditions and ice-cool composure in the heat of battle. By pushing the limits on the stages and delivering insightful feedback to his engineers, he has helped TGR to make ever-better cars. For TGR-WRT it has been a privilege to work with such a talented young driver, to watch him grow and to achieve so much success together. The team looks forward to following and supporting him in his next challenge. In the meantime, the team, Rovanpera and Halttunen are focused on closing this chapter as strongly as possible over this season’s remaining rallies. An announcement about the TGR-WRT driver line-up for 2026 will be made in due course.
Kalle Rovanpera: “I’m writing to let you know that I’ve decided to retire from the World Rally Championship. This decision wasn’t easy, but I know it’s the right one for me to pursue my other dreams in motorsports. I fell in love with rally as a kid and was fortunate to grow up surrounded by legends and idols, with the chance to start driving at a very young age. My dream back then was to become a WRC driver, win a rally, and one day become a World Champion. I’m very proud to have achieved those goals. This sport has shaped me and my skills in countless ways, and I step away from it with deep gratitude.
“I want to give a special thank you to my trusted co-driver, Jonne, whose relentless work and friendship have been a vital part of our success. To my family, my personal team and partners, thank you for standing by me. Over the past decade, we have worked hard together to reach the top, this would not have been possible without your commitment and support. And to my first co-driver, Risto, who guided and taught me when I was just a lid, trusting me to drive flat out through the forests. I will always be grateful
“I want to thank every team that has given us the opportunity and everyone who has worked with us along the way. Especially everyone at TGR-WRT, for your tireless hard work, for believing even when things didn’t go as planned, and for sharing the joy when they did. We have achieved great things together, and there is still much to fight for in 2025. I will give my all for the rest of this season to help secure the manufacturers’ championship and to fight for the drivers’ title And most importantly, to you, my fans thank you for your constant support and huge emotions. Seeing and feeling your passion and love has been simply unforgettable. I hope to see as many of you at the last rallies and support us until the very end.”
Jari-Matti Latvala: “Kalle has already enjoyed a remarkable career in the WRC with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, becoming the youngest ever winner of a rally and then the youngest world champion, and winning the drivers’ title twice. Given he has achieved so much and is still so young, it’s only natural that he would want to go for another challenge while he is able to do so. We’ve seen racing drivers come and try rallying, but very rarely have we seen it the other way around: that a rally driver goes to circuit racing and tries to challenge the best, especially not in single-seater racing.
“TGR believes in helping drivers achieve their dreams and I don’t think there are many manufacturers who could give a driver that kind of opportunity, which is very exciting one for both sides. Kalle, together with Jonne, has played a big part in our team’s success over the last few seasons and, with three rallies left, I know he will certainly want to end his rally career as world champion – though he has two team-mates who also desperately want to win. We will miss having him in our team, but TGR has been working hard to develop talented young rally drivers and we can be confident that we will be able to count on a strong line-up of drivers in 2026 and beyond.”
Here’s video note: https://x.com/KalleRovanpera/status/1976192080180326496
[The story is as per press release]
