Rovanperä leaves WRC after 2025 to race in Super Formula in 2026

Kalle Rovanperä, the 25-year-old two-time World Rally Champion, announced he will leave the World Rally Championship at the end of the 2025 season to pursue a career in circuit racing. Toyota Gazoo Racing said Rovanperä will compete in the Japanese Super Formula championship in 2026 with support from the manufacturer as he aims for the highest levels of single-seater and circuit racing.

Rovanperä, who joined Toyota’s factory WRC team in 2020 and has since become the youngest ever WRC winner and world champion, said the decision was carefully considered. "This decision has not been an easy one, but itʼs one that I have been thinking about for a while," he said. "Having already achieved so much in rallying at this age, I started to think about what other possibilities I might have and what other challenges I would like to take on." He thanked Toyota Gazoo Racing and his long-time codriver Jonne Halttunen, and pledged to continue pushing through the remaining events of the 2025 season.

Rovanperä’s move follows a period in which he broadened his motorsport experience. Last year he balanced a partial WRC campaign with outings in Porsche Carrera Cup series in Benelux and Italy, where...