Kalle Rovanpera finally wins maiden home event at WRC Rally Finland
3rd August 2025Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera has secured his maiden win at the World Rally Championship’s Rally Finland and redeemed himself from last year’s drama.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
Rovanpera has finally secured his elusive win at Rally Finland after failed attempts in failed years. This win means the two-time world champion has righted his wrong from last year, which saw him crash out on the penultimate stage.
In 2024, the Finn was running in the lead, but a rogue rock on the penultimate stage sent him into the forest. In 2023, he rolled his Rally1 Yaris through the event and retired. Victory increased his previous best of second, which he obtained in 2022, behind Hyundai’s then-winner Ott Tanak.
This year’s edition has not been without issue for the two-time world champion as Rovanpera picked up a puncture on Saturday morning’s loop. Even though he lost time to Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who was second before a puncture dropped him down the field, the Finnish driver retained the rally lead.
On the final stage of the event, Tanak suffered a spin on the power stage as M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster had a puncture on his front-right to finish the stage below teammate Martins Sesks.
Fourmaux had his very own puncture, on the front-left, and the Frenchman bled time on the power stage, limping his car to an access road near the finish and off the stage.
But, after a commanding weekend, the Power Stage was no different as Rovanpera stormed to the stage win, pipping Takamoto Katsuta by two seconds. The run also improved his standings in the Super Sunday classification as he moved to the top of the timing boards.
It means Rovanpera takes home the maximum points haul after Rally Finland with 35 points. In turn, Toyota will take home yet another maximum points finish this season after occupying the top three in the Rally, Super Sunday and the Power Stage.
How it finished…
- Kalle Rovanpera, Toyota – 2 hours, 21 minutes and 51.4 seconds
- Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota +39.2s
- Sebastien Ogier, Toyota +45.1s
- Elfyn Evans, Toyota +48.1s
- Sami Pajari, Toyota +1m 18.8s
- Thierry Neuville, Hyundai +2m 1.5s
- Joshua McErlean, M-Sport Ford +4m 7.4s
- Martins Sesks, M-Sport Ford +5m 17.2s
- Gregoire Munster, M-Sport Ford +5m 24.9s
- Ott Tanak, Hyundai +7m 38.4s
Super Sunday…
- Kalle Rovanpera, Toyota – 20 minutes and 22.6 seconds
- Sebastien Ogier, Toyota +2.2s
- Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota +3.1s
- Elfyn Evans, Toyota +3.7s
- Thierry Neuville, Hyundai +6.8s
- Sami Pajari, Toyota +19.6s
- Ott Tanak, Hyundai +34.9s
- Martins Sesks, M-Sport Ford +38.5s
- Joshua McErlean, M-Sport Ford +39.1s
- Gregoire Munster, M-Sport Ford +57s
Read more WRC here:
- Kalle Rovanpera on cusp of WRC Rally Finland victory
- Kalle Rovanpera continues WRC Rally Finland lead as Hyundai falter
- Neuville and Fourmaux lose Rally Finland top three to punctures
- Kalle Rovanpera extends WRC Rally Finland lead despite puncture
- Kalle Rovanpera takes the lead at Rally Finland
- Ott Tanak takes overnight lead at WRC Rally Finland
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
