Two-time World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä has completed his racing debut in single-seaters as part of the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy championship in New Zealand.
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| Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand |
Rovanperä is making the transition from rallying to circuit racing and, as preparation for a Super Formula season, is competing in the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy. The series has previously been won by drivers such as Lando Norris and Lance Stroll, with most of the races taking place on circuits across New Zealand.
Last weekend at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, he went through his first-ever single-seater race weekend with the Hitech TGR team. In the first qualifying session he finished 19th, around one second off the fastest time, while in the second qualifying he made a significant step forward, securing ninth place.
In the races themselves, he finished 17th, 12th, and 13th, while the fourth race ended early due to a collision on the opening lap. Nevertheless, he continues to view his debut positively and takes away many valuable positives from the experience.
“First race of the day I started from 18th and after some good battles and time penalties for couple of drivers I finished up in P13.
“For the weekend’s feature race I qualified ninth, but unfortunately my race ended already on the first lap after being crashed out of the track. All the four drivers involved in the crash walked away unharmed and OK which of course is the most important thing.
“Still, I gained tons of valuable experience over the weekend and I'm happy to continue from here and keep improving as CTFRTO heads to Taupo for the next week’s races!”