Toyota remains absolutely committed to retaining Kalle Rovanperä beyond the end of this season – that’s the word of team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.
DirtFish broke the story on Monday, confirming the defending world champion’s manager Timo Jouhki was ready to talk about Rovanperä switching from Toyota to Hyundai for next season.
An unperturbed Latvala told DirtFish: “When we are coming to the summer, it’s normal that we start to see the stories coming about [driver] contracts. It’s coming to halfway through the season so this is, let’s say, almost a normal situation.”
Asked how committed he was to keeping the 22-year-old at Toyota, Latvala replied: “Absolutely. You know, we feel we really have the complete package with Kalle. And we feel it’s the same for him. This is his home team, we are very much in the same spirit coming from this part of Finland.
“It’s about the Toyota family. We love to see Kalle’s enthusiasm for everything he does with Toyota, whether it’s winning the world championship or driving a GR Corolla drift car. He is part of the family and we’re very committed to keeping it that way.”
