Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera, a 23-year-old double world rally champion from Finland, is taking a break next season after signing a multi-year agreement with the Japanese manufacturer. Rovanpera won his second successive crown this season and became the youngest world rally champion at the age of 22. In a statement released on Monday, Rovanpera revealed that he will only be driving some of the events next year due to the demanding nature of rally cars, which he has been driving for 15 years.

Rovanpera expressed that he felt it was time to recharge and come back stronger in pursuit of another championship title. He also mentioned that he is looking forward to trying out other forms of motorsport during his break, including drifting. Another eight-time world champion from France, Sebastien Ogier, will also continue part-time with Toyota. The full-time drivers for 2024 will be Welshman Elfyn Evans and Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta. Evans, who has been a runner-up three times in the last four years, stated that he is excited to build on his progress and perform even better in the next season. This news was reported by Alan Baldwin in London and edited by Ken Ferris.