Rovanperä's Super Formula Debut Ends Early Due to Vertigo

Kalle Rovanperä, the two-time World Rally champion, saw his debut test in Japan's Super Formula series end abruptly after the first morning session at Suzuka Circuit this week, sidelined by a diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

The 24-year-old Finnish driver, who completed 32 laps in Team KCMG's No. 8 Dallara-Toyota car on Wednesday, reported balance and vision issues toward the end of the session. Focused on aerodynamic data collection rather than competitive times, Rovanperä posted a best lap 7.173 seconds off the morning's fastest effort, set by Nakajima Racing's Igor Fraga at 1 minute, 37.158 seconds. He did not participate in the afternoon running and, following a medical evaluation during the lunch break, was cleared by doctors to resume driving only after recovery.

Rovanperä shared the details on social media, stating, "During midday break, I got symptoms of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, which affects balance and vision through the inner ear. I got banned 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...