Rovanperä’s single seater switch interrupted by illness

Two-time World Rally champion Kalle Rovanperä’s first steps into the world of professional single seater racing have been interrupted by illness, forcing him to withdraw from the Super Formula post-season collective test at Suzuka.

Rovanperä opted to retire from rallying at the end of the 2025 season and pursue a pathway towards Formula 1, which will begin with a full season competing in the Japanese-based Super Formula series next year.

The Finn was set to run with the KCMG team during all three days of the test (December 10-12) but only managed to complete the opening morning session before feeling unwell and withdrawing from the afternoon’s running.

He went on to reveal he was suffering from Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), so is no longer cleared to drive until the illness is resolved.

“During midday break I got symptoms of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which affects balance and vision through the inner ear,” said Rovanperä in an Instagram story.

“I got a ban from the doctor to drive this week. Really disappointed as we didn’t have a chance to do any proper driving other than our aero test this morning.

“Bad luck to have this in our first outing. Now it’s time to heal up and I can only wait for the next time.”

BPPV creates a false sensation of spinning or movement, usually triggered by movement of the head.

Due to his limited track time Rovanperä finished last in the timesheets at Suzuka.

Though his WRC career has come to a close, interest in Rovanperä’s new venture remains high: former Toyota team-mate and circuit racer turned rally driver Takamoto Katsuta followed his testing in real time.

Due to timezone differences, that meant Katsuta was staying awake overnight in Europe to follow Rovanperä’s morning test running in Japan.

“I can’t go to sleep bro!” Katsuta posted to Instagram with a screenshot of Rovanperä’s onboard at approximately 1am.