From Las Vegas to Killarney, that’s Kalle Rovanperä’s journey this week as the two-time World Rally champion makes his way from Formula 1 to one of the finest historic rallies around.
The Finn, who drives Jason Black’s Toyota Starlet, is making his Irish rallying debut on Saturday and former WRC rival and Killarney local Paul Nagle says the town is ready for the arrival of rallying royalty.
Ranged against the factory Toyota driver is a record-breaking capacity entry, with 165 cars lining up at the start on Saturday morning.
“The town is absolutely jumping,” Nagle told DirtFish. “To have a World Rally champion competing in Ireland and in Killarney is something very special. We’ve had 240 entries in total, but the regulations only allow us to run 165 – that’s still going to be a record. That’s some number of cars.
“The whole weekend is going to be massive. But at the same time, the boys are coming here to race – and the competition is going to be wild as well.”
Nagle knows what it takes to win a rally his father Maurice helped create and he knows how tricky stages like Moll’s Gap and Caragh Lake can be.
“We’ve a bit of weather coming in on Friday,” said Nagle, “and even in the dry these roads can be difficult to learn and read. Kalle and Jonne [Halttunen, co-driver] will have some work to do on the recce and with the videos. And, don’t forget, Kalle’s in right-hand drive with Jason’s Starlet – that’s also something new.
Rovanperä's chariot is a proven winner, but he'll be up against drivers with bags more experience
“But, come on, they’ve done rallies around the world – they know what it’s all about. It’ll be really interesting to see how they run, the locals will take some beating around there though.”
The Toyota Starlet Rovanperä’s driving won’t be short on power with the 2.5-liter engine developing around 380bhp – but it will be up against some quality four-wheel drive machinery, including last year’s winner Jonny Greer in his Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4×4.
The entry is packed with quality, with a BMW M3 apiece for Donagh and Eamonn Kelly, Ray Breen wheels out his stunning Group A Subaru Legacy RS and there’s Escort after Escort in both original trim and the modified class.
Rovanperä’s Toyota team-mate Aaron Johnston will also be in town, fresh from his season-closing fourth overall co-driving Takamoto Katsuta in Japan last weekend.
Aaron Johnston is looking forward to seeing what Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen can do
“It’s going to be something special to have Kalle in Killarney,” said Johnston. “I think everybody knows he likes the vintage and historic cars and to have him in a two-wheel drive car up against the best in Ireland is going to be a lot of fun.
“It’s fair to say, the last weekend in November in Killarney, the weather will play a fairly big part – but Kalle loves a bit of drifting and the low-grip nature of the rally won’t be a problem for him. And the car’s a very good one; when he’s driving his Starlet, Jason is one of the guys to beat in the modified class. He wins the two-wheel drive class in pretty much every event he starts, so the car’s good. It’s going to be a challenge for Kalle, he’ll be up against drivers who have done this event 10 or more times. But I’ve no doubt it’s a challenge he’ll be up for.”
The event starts at 7.30am on Saturday with two loops of three stages before two runs through Kilcummin, the second of which will be in the dark.
