Rovanperä takes on new challenge with Toyota Gazoo Racing 

Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team driver Kalle Rovanperä has announced his decision to move on from rallying at the end of the 2025 season and pursue a 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 new challenge in 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. It’s a transition the like of which has never been seen before in motorsport. 

Rovanperä achieved unprecedented success for a young rally driver after 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 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 Rovanperä, co-driver Jonne Halttunen and their GR Yaris Rally1 car proved hard to beat. Rovanperä won five of the first seven rallies, and a sixth victory on Rally New Zealand was enough for him to be crowned the youngest World Rally Champion at just 22 years and one day old. 

Rovanperä and Halttunen successfully defended the championship 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, Rovanperä 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, Rovanperä 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 look forward to following and supporting him in his next challenge. In the meantime, the team, Rovanperä 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. 

Rovanperä said: “This decision has not been an easy one, but I have been thinking about it for a while. Having already achieved so much in rallying at this age, I started to think about what other possibilities I might have and what other challenges I would like to take on. It has been a tough decision, but it feels like the right one to pursue my next dreams and challenges.  

“It’s special to have the support of Toyota Gazoo Racing from the start of this new challenge and to be able to race in Super Formula. I know that it’s jumping straight into the deep end, coming from rallying, but I’m looking forward to it and together with TGR we have a good plan to prepare in the best way possible and to try to make the most of it.  

“Since I started driving as a small kid, it was my dream to be a WRC driver, to win a rally, and to become world champion. To have achieved all that at such a young age has been an incredible feeling, and a big thanks goes to TGR-WRT: we have done some great things together and it has been a pleasure to work with such an amazing team. I also can’t thank Jonne enough for his help since our first days working together. Very big thanks too to all the fans who have been supporting us through all the ups and downs. We still have three rallies to go and we will give it everything and keep pushing until the end.” 

Jari-Matti Latvala, TGR-WRT Team Principal, said: “Kalle has already enjoyed a remarkable career in the WRC with Toyota Gazoo Racing, becoming the youngest 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 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 have 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.” 

ENDS