Kalle Rovanperä returns to training

      Toyota Gazoo Racing announced that Kalle Rovanperä, the two-time world rally champion, has restored his health and is returning to training. Last spring, the 25-year-old Finnish driver had to abandon his plans to compete in the Japanese Super Formula series due to worsening symptoms of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), which affected his balance and vision through the inner ear.

      Shortly thereafter, one of the heads of Toyota's racing programs shared other arguments in favor of this decision: "When it comes to a championship of this level, there is no point in racing without proper preparation. When Kalle is fully ready – both physically and psychologically – then we will take the next step together."

      There is no specific information on what this step will be, but since Toyota Racing's statement appeared on social media on the pages of the Japanese corporation's rally program, it can be inferred that Rovanperä intends to return to his most familiar activity for now. However, it is likely that the plans include more than just rallying, as the text features an emoji of a red "formula" class car.

      "The two-time world rally champion Kalle Rovanperä, together with Toyota Gazoo Racing, is ready to continue pursuing his racing dreams after the progress made in recent weeks during his recovery," the TGR statement said. "Since his planned participation in Super Formula this season was put on hold for medical reasons, Kalle has dedicated all this time to improving his health. Recovery is going well; he has already resumed physical training and is now planning a gradual return to racing..."

      The recovery process was closely monitored by specialists from the Finnish KIHU center, an institute of sports medicine located in Jyväskylä. This center is responsible for training athletes of Finland's national teams, including the Olympic team, and KIHU believes that Rovanperä is fully healthy and ready to get back behind the wheel of a racing car.

      The Toyota Racing statement also mentioned that plans for the coming months, as well as for 2027, are already being developed in collaboration with Kalle, for which a comprehensive program for participation in high-level competitions will be prepared. Detailed information about this program will be released later.

      Let us remind you that Rovanperä intended to spend this season in the Japanese Super Formula to debut in Formula 2 in 2027, but life had other plans.