How Rovanpera has reignited Finland's rallying obsession

Finland may have a small population, but it has long enjoyed rallying success. Now that the nation has a new star to cheer in the form of Kalle Rovanpera, interest in the discipline is surging once again.

Rally cars launching over jumps while blasting through Finnish forest roads is for many the iconic image that the World Rally Championship conjures, such is the legend created by Rally Finland.

Finland and rallying go hand in hand. It’s a relationship that has blossomed since the inaugural event in 1951. The event’s current “more than a rally” tagline is an apt one, as rallying is a national obsession that's now entering a new chapter thanks to the nation’s latest superstar, Kalle Rovanpera.

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Author Tom Howard

Tom Howard is a News Editor working across both Autosport.com and Motorsport.com websites. Starting out as a sports reporter in local newspapers, Tom focussed on motorsport covering several national championships in the UK, including the BTCC.

After a period working as a freelance journalist, Tom moved to Australia in 2013 landing a job at leading Australian motorsport news outlet speedcafe.com, covering international motorsport events including F1, WRC and Supercars. Progressing to Editor in 2017, Tom was named Motorsport Australia Journalist of the Year for his work. He is also a two-time winner of Supercars Journalist of The Year (2017,2019) and a Supercars Championship Media Award winner in 2019.

Tom moved back to his native UK in 2020, firstly working in BTCC, before joining Autosport and motorsport.com in 2021.