When Kalle ‘met’ Bananarama
Once upon a time — a full eighteen years before Kalle Rovanperä was born, two wholly forgettable British pop bands, Bananarama and The Fun Boy Three, ‘collaborated’ to release a wholly forgettable song called ‘It Ain’t What You Do (It’s The Way That You Do It)’.
Last Saturday afternoon — whilst waiting for live timings from the final stage of Vaakuna-Ralli (second round of the 2017 Finnish Rally Championship) — that awful song sprang to mind.
As the minutes ticked by, I even found myself humming the damn thing — testament to my advancing years.
I clearly wasn’t alone in waiting to see if Master Rovenperä had won his first event (on his first event) on home soil. At that very moment, Sod’s Law suddenly and ruthlessly intervened. Just as SS9 started, the timing website crashed displaying that customary, infuriating one-liner: “Bandwidth Limit Exceeded”. There was obviously a huge amount of online interest in what was about to happen.
The glitch certainly added a big dollop of tension when it came to discovering the next step in the career path of this exciting Finnish prodigy.
Bored with refreshing the webpage, to pass the time, I decided to ‘drill-down’ into what Kalle Rovenperä had actually achieved so far in his short and exhilarating career — and how he did it.
We’re all aware of the title — “Latvian Rally Champion” — a deserved accolade he secured mostly when he just 15 years old. The world sat up and took notice. However, the manner with which he nailed his 2016 title, was in some ways, even more impressive.
In the eight rounds of the Latvian championship (LRC) last year, Rovanperä finished in P1 on three occasions and in P2 on four occasions — with no retirements.
On Rally Žemaitija last June, he finished in P2 on the podium, just 9.8 seconds behind Pontus Tidemand — yes Pontus Tidemand — both driving identical TGS-prepared Škoda Fabia R5s.
Clearly, something quite remarkable was going on.
When you look at Kalle’s hugely impressive record — it reveals something equally as important as the number of podiums he’s secured to date.
It will tell you that as well as the victories, he’s also driving well within himself — proven by the fact he rarely (if ever) puts a wheel wrong.
Add to this, his ability to ‘pick up’ the pace at those moments when he most needs it — and you start to understand the exceptional potential he has.
Last Saturday, Kalle Rovanperä was up against serious compatriot competiton in the snow around Mikkeli on Vaakuna-Ralli. The likes of Jarkko Nikara, Juha Salo and Teemu Asunmaa are all class acts. Yet on SS4, what Rovanperä achieved against such pedigree, was simply, quite astonishing.
A puncture on SS3, meant the youngster lost the lead of the rally — finishing 31.2 seconds behind a charging Asunmaa. Such a blow — to more experienced and seasoned pilots — could (and in most instances, would) have have spelt the end to any hopes of overall victory. Not Kalle Rovanperä.
On the very next stage, he stormed right back into contention — setting fastest time by a massive 15 seconds — finding himself within just 3 seconds of re-taking the lead of the rally.
By the end of SS9, the deficit was swept away and victory was secured by the margin of 10.7 seconds. Once again, the world sat up and took notice.
Don’t take my word about what Rovanperä is capable of achieving under pressure — just watch this majestic onboard on that decisive, über-fast SS4, Siikakoski stage:
It’s clear — despite his ‘salad days’, Rovanperä possesses a maturity and self-control behind the wheel that is way beyond his years.
When Messrs Mäkinen, Wilson, Matton and Nandan do come knocking — and they all most definitely will — his palmarès up to that point, will only influence a part of their judgement.
How he achieved such success — i.e. with relatively few dramas or offs and an his innate understanding of when to push at crucial moments during a rally — will steer them equally as much.
“It ain’t what he does — it’s the way that he does it”, will influence the thinking of team bosses as they form an orderly queue.
One thing for sure is — whenever that moment comes, as now part of Timo Jouhki’s ‘scuderia’, Kalle Rovanperä will be firmly in the driving seat of any negotiation about his future.
As everyone over 40 knows, the final line of that awful song by Bananarama and The Fun Boy Three goes:
‘And that’s what gets results’’.
Based on last Saturday’s drive, it shows how prescient they were.
by Steve Jones
