Kalle Rovanperä takes on exciting new challenge with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in 2026

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team driver Kalle Rovanperä has announced his decision to move on from rallying at the end of the 2025 season and pursue an exciting new challenge in motorsport. 

The two-time FIA World Rally Champion will remain part of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing family as he takes on his ambitious new challenge targeting the highest levels of circuit racing. In 2026 he will compete in the Japanese Super Formula Championship with the support of TGR, testing himself behind the wheel of one of the world’s fastest single-seater racing cars in a transition the likes of which has never been seen before in motorsport.

Rovanperä has achieved unprecedented success for a young rally driver since being handed his chance at the top level of the sport by TGR in 2020 at the age of 19. Showing his ability to quickly learn and adapt, he became the WRC’s youngest ever podium finisher when he finished third on just his second start at Rally Sweden in 2020. The following year, his triumph at Rally Estonia made him the youngest driver to win a WRC event.

When the Rally1 hybrid regulations were introduced for the 2022 season, the combination of Rovanperä, co-driver Jonne Halttunen and their GR YARIS Rally1 car proved hard to beat. Rovanperä won five of the first seven rallies, and a sixth victory on Rally New Zealand was enough for him to be crowned the youngest ever World Rally Champion at just 22 years and one day old.

Rovanperä and Halttunen successfully defended his crown with an even more consistent campaign in 2023, finishing all but one of the 13 events inside the top four. In 2024, they won four times from seven starts, helping TGR-WRT to secure a fourth consecutive manufacturers’ championship.

With three rallies remaining in 2025, Rovanperä remains in the hunt for a third drivers’ title in four years. A dominant win on the unfamiliar asphalt roads of Rally Islas Canarias and a long-awaited first home victory at Rally Finland – with the fastest drive in WRC history – have also contributed to a strong lead for TGR in the manufacturers’ standings.

During his time in WRC, Rovanperä has delighted fans with his speed, driving skill in demanding conditions and ice-cool composure in the heat of battle. By pushing the limits on the stages and delivering insightful feedback to his engineers, he has helped TGR to make ever-better cars.

For TGR-WRT it has been a privilege to work with such a talented young driver, to watch him grow and to achieve so much success together. The team looks forward to following and supporting him in his next challenge. In the meantime, the team, Rovanperä and Halttunen are focused on closing this chapter as strongly as possible over this season’s remaining rallies. An announcement about the TGR-WRT driver line-up for 2026 will be made in due course.