How a future WRC star and bizarre moments overshadowed Rovanpera's latest drubbing

Running order rules, a local hero and even an inflatable arch getting in on the action provided the talking points on the World Rally Championship's first trip to Latvia. While the title fight appears to have ignited with an intra-Hyundai tussle, Toyota star Kalle Rovanpera rose above it all to win again

When Sebastien Ogier says a driver was “untouchable”, it’s a statement that carries serious weight. That is exactly how the eight-time world champion described Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera in Latvia, as the Finn romped to victory on the World Rally Championship's maiden visit to the country.

The odds were seemingly short on a Rovanpera victory in Latvia. The Baltic nation's gravel roads are where the now two-time world champion cut his teeth; a 12-year-old fresh-faced Kalle made his rally debut here driving a Citroen C2 R2. He even calls Latvia a third home behind Finland and Estonia. So, it was perhaps no surprise that Rovanpera claimed his 14th WRC win to match fellow two-time champion Walter Rohrl and surpass the milestone of 200 stage wins in an astonishing 50 top-flight starts.

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Tom Howard

WRC

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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.