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Finland’s Kalle Rovanpera is the winner of the just-concluded 2022 WRC Safari Rally champion!
It was a conquering moment for the 21-year-old boy after completing a dominant victory at the 2022 Safari Rally on Sunday to increase his chances of lifting the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship title.
Rovanpera led a top-four sweep for his Toyota Gazoo Racing Team, the first time in 29 years that a single manufacturer has achieved that feat at the “world’s toughest rally.”
He achieved victory in a cumulative time of 3:40:24.9 for his fourth victory of the WRC season.
“It feels great. I have to say, this was the hardest rally I have ever done and if I am honest, we just have to thank the team. To have four cars like this with no issues means it is the strongest and fastest car. The team did a fantastic job,” the jovial Rovanpera said.
Despite being unwell, he managed to hold his positions on Saturday and thrived in waterlogged conditions as downpours derailed many of his rivals’ hopes.
Rovanpera managed to beat his father’s record, Harri, who finished second in the 2002 Safari Rally before Kenya went into a 19-year hiatus from the world championships.