Kalle Rovanpera would prefer to live without burgers than pizzas, would rather own a private jet than a private island, and thinks the best smell in the world comes from smoking tires. Those quirky preferences set the stage for an emotional farewell alongside the French Broad River, just south of Parrottsville, where Toyota shipped its two-time world champion across the Atlantic for one final demo run in the GR Yaris Rally1.
This marked the end of the fastest era of rally cars ever, or at least the end of Rally1 as we know and love it. The post-hybrid Rally1 car delivered a crushing run from Monte Carlo last year until Sardinia this year, capturing 24 wins out of 27 rallies, taking 358 stage victories out of 508 stages, and leading for 403 stages.
Out on the gravel part of the Overmountain powerstage, I had the ultimate privilege of sharing one last tango with the Finnish star inside the cockpit. Before taking off, we traded lighthearted banter and unconventional questions to break the ice before the raw intensity of the machine took over.
"You sure we should do this interview thing?" I asked Rovanpera.
"You’ll know if it’s not. I’ll go quiet," was the reply with that wry smile.
"I just don’t want to make us crash."
"We won’t. Let’s go," he replied firmly just moments before launching.
Buckled tightly into the bucket seat, Rovanpera violently whipped the car from side to side to generate energy into the chassis and heat up the tires and brakes. That precise moment shifted the atmosphere into pure motorsport seriousness, proving his unmatched speed even without recent seat time.
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