Kalle Rovanperä, the two-time WRC champion known for his blistering speed and natural talent, has encountered a rare stumbling block at this year’s Monte Carlo Rally. Despite flashes of brilliance, including a fastest stage time on icy roads Friday morning, the Finnish driver finds himself adrift in fourth overall, unable to match the pace of former teammates Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans, as well as Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux.
A Tire Trouble Story: Slicks Hold Rovanperä Back
Rovanperä’s struggles have a clear culprit—his inability to adapt to Hankook’s soft compound tires on dry Tarmac. Having tested in full snow conditions ahead of the rally, the Finn is finding the transition to dry roads particularly challenging.
“It seems that now it’s quite clear when we can put some snow or studded tires under the car, it seems to work much better,” Rovanperä admitted. “When there are slicks under the car, the balance and the feeling go much more difficult. I think the slick just doesn’t work for my driving style so well yet. I need to change something.”
The problem, he explained, lies in how the soft tires handle the load during cornering and braking—a mismatch with his natural driving instincts.
“I think it’s just how much you can load and what kind of load you can do with the tire, like combining the corners and braking. It’s different amounts and different places that you can do it,” Rovanperä said. “So I think that’s the thing.”
Missed Development Opportunities
Part of the issue stems from limited development in dry Tarmac conditions. Rovanperä candidly noted that his pre-rally preparation didn’t include enough running on dry surfaces with the soft tires, leaving him and the Toyota Gazoo Racing team scrambling to adapt.
“We need to try to compensate with the car as much as we can,” he said. “And then I just need to try to learn to drive differently, because I think my natural driving style doesn’t work with this tire so well.”
Avoiding Drama Amidst Chaos
While Rovanperä is battling setup and style adjustments, he has managed to avoid the costly errors that have plagued other championship-caliber drivers. Thierry Neuville shockingly went off at the same corner twice on different runs, while Ott Tänak’s Hyundai lost its trunk after a wild excursion through a ditch and into a telegraph pole. Even the frontrunners weren’t immune to missteps—Ogier went wide into a ditch, and Evans suffered a half-spin.
Rovanperä, however, joked that his clean runs might come down to being “too slow.”
The Path Forward: Adapting to Dry Conditions
With drier conditions expected for Saturday, Rovanperä knows he must unlock more pace on the soft tires to stay competitive. The challenge lies not only in understanding the tire dynamics but also in fundamentally shifting his driving style mid-rally—no small feat for even the most adaptable drivers.
“I hope [I can be faster] because tomorrow seems to be a bit drier,” Rovanperä said, cautiously optimistic. “I know where the issue is, but I don’t know how to change it at the moment.”
The Champion’s Dilemma
Rovanperä’s candid reflections underscore the complexity of adapting to new tire dynamics and the relentless learning curve of rally driving. While he may be struggling to find his rhythm at Monte Carlo, his ability to diagnose the problem and his willingness to evolve could prove pivotal as the season progresses.
For now, the reigning champion is focused on learning from the challenge, knowing that even the best drivers face moments when raw talent alone isn’t enough.