Rallying-Double world champion Rovanpera returns to WRC in expanded Toyota lineup

FILE PHOTO: Finnish driver Kalle Rovanpera at the service area of WRC Rally Finland in Jyvaskyla, Finland July 28, 2018. Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS/File Photo

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Two-time champion ⁠KalleRovanpera will return to the world rally championship ⁠with Toyota next year after leaving in 2025 ‌to try his hand at circuit racing, the Japanese manufacturer said on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Finn will do a partial season, allowing other drivers ​including France's nine-times world championSebastien Ogier ⁠to compete in selected ⁠events.

"I’m enjoying having the chance to do some different things, ⁠but ‌rallying has been a huge part of my life and I naturally started to miss the ⁠driving after a while," Rovanpera said in ​a statement.

• Rovanpera ‌became the youngest world rally champion aged 22 ⁠in 2022 and ​left last year to explore other possibilities. Medical issues put his circuit racing plans on hold.

• He will be ⁠joined by Estonia's Ott Tanak, who was ​champion with Toyota in 2019 and is returning after a year out.

• Toyota will run two distinct teams, with two ⁠different cars and a total of six drivers in a new rules era.

• The Toyota Racing team will featureBritain's 2026 champion Elfyn Evans, Sweden's OliverSolberg and Finland's SamiPajari ​and debut the new Celica Rally1 ⁠car.

• Gazoo Racing Toyota will compete with the new ​GRYaris, driven by Rovanpera, Tanak and ‌Japan's Takamoto Katsuta.

• Toyota took a ​record-equalling sixth consecutive manufacturers’ championship this year.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond)

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文件照片：芬兰车手 Kalle Rovanpera 于 2018 年 7 月 28 日在芬兰于韦斯屈莱举行的 WRC 芬兰拉力赛服务区。Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS/文件照片

11月3日（路透社）——日本汽车制造商丰田周二表示，两届世界拉力锦标赛冠军卡勒·罗万佩拉将于明年重返世界拉力锦标赛，此前他将于2025年离开赛场，尝试参加场地赛。

这位 26 岁的芬兰车手将参加部分赛季，让包括法国九届世界冠军塞巴斯蒂安·奥吉尔在内的其他车手参加部分赛事。

罗万佩拉在一份声明中表示：“我很享受有机会尝试一些不同的事情，但拉力赛一直是我生活中非常重要的一部分，过了一段时间后，我自然而然地开始想念驾驶的感觉。”

• 罗万佩拉在2022年以22岁的年龄成为最年轻的世界拉力赛冠军，并于去年退役以寻求其他发展机会。健康问题使他的场地赛计划暂时搁置。

• 他将与爱沙尼亚车手奥特·塔纳克并肩作战，塔纳克曾在 2019 年代表丰田车队夺得冠军，在缺席一年后重返赛场。

• 在新规则时代，丰田将运营两支不同的车队，使用两辆不同的赛车，共有六名车手。

•丰田赛车队将派出英国2026年冠军埃尔芬·埃文斯、瑞典的奥利弗·索尔伯格和芬兰的萨米·帕亚里，并首次亮相新款Celica Rally1赛车。

• Gazoo Racing Toyota 将驾驶由 Rovanpera、Tanak 和日本车手 Takamoto Katsuta 驾驶的全新 GRYaris 赛车参赛。

• 丰田今年获得了创纪录的六连冠，追平了厂商冠军的纪录。

（伦敦 Alan Baldwin 报道，Ed Osmond 编辑）

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