He might be a two-time world champion who’s already taken half a year out, but Kalle Rovanperä is still only 24. And still very much a Gen Zer.
That, apparently, makes him a digital native – a character shaped by cyberspace and tech. Yes and no. Anybody who had the privilege of watching the Finn take on a sodden Molls Gap aboard a beautifully balanced but very mechanical 380bhp Toyota Starlet would understand he’s not all about the fly-by-wire.
He was, however, quite a fan of hybrid and the accompanying electro-gadgetry.
“For sure,” he said, “I will miss the hybrid boost off the line. But I think it was more than that: for me it was more interesting when we had hybrid with the cars. It was another challenge, who could make the best solution with the mapping? Which driver was the best at using it and the strategy for regen and deploying it… I think we used it quite well for a few years. We were fast with that car.”
The flip-side of losing the occasional 134 brake horsepower is the return to lighterweight rally cars. With no motors to turn, the 100-kilo battery has been binned too.
“It’s nice to have less weight,” added Rovanperä, who won two titles in a three-year hybrid era, “but in a way, it’s a bit more boring. You have one less thing to make differences to other drivers.”
