Kalle Rovanperä is leaving the World Rally Championship for Super Formula: Sebastien Ogier reacts with surprise – and draws parallels with his own Le Mans adventure
Sebastien Ogier is somewhat surprised by his teammate Kalle Rovanperä’s move from the World Rally Championship (WRC) to circuit racing, but believes the Finn can master the new challenge. “If he’s happier with that, it’s the right decision for him,” Ogier told Autosport. “We’ll be following it very closely and keeping our fingers crossed for him.”
Rovanperä announced last week that he would be leaving the World Rally Championship at the end of the season to compete in Japan’s Super Formula in 2026. The Finn’s long-term goal is Formula 1. Ogier said he had known for a while that Rovanperä was looking for a new challenge. “But I didn’t know it would be Super Formula,” said the Frenchman. “I asked my team if he might mean Super GT. But it was actually Super Formula. It’s a big step, but it’s great that he’s getting the opportunity to go down this path.“
Rovanperä’s teammate Ogier supported his decision to make this surprising change: ”I told him: If you have the opportunity, why not? You don’t have much to lose. Statistically speaking, he could continue to enjoy great success in rallying, but apparently he’s not interested in that at the moment.”
Eight-time World Rally Champion Ogier knows what it’s like to switch from rallying to circuit racing from his own experience. In 2022, he completed a program in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and finished ninth in his class in an LMP2 prototype at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Ogier therefore knows that the transition will not be easy for Rovanperä either. “It’s a big challenge. It was similar for me when I went to Le Mans,” he says. “I knew it would be difficult. For a rally driver, the easier route would probably have been Dakar, where you can quickly become competitive, but that didn’t interest me.”
“I was attracted by the challenge, just as Kalle is now attracted by Formula 1. It won’t be easy, but rally drivers usually have the ability to adapt quickly – it’s just the last few percent that are crucial,” Ogier is convinced.
