Reigning two-time world rally champion Kalle Rovanpera swapped a rally automotive for a Pink Bull RB8 Method 1 automotive in a take a look at on the Pink Bull Ring.
Strategies the 15-time WRC rally winner may drive an F1 automotive emerged earlier this season whereas an image posted on his Instagram of a go to to the Pink Bull Racing workshop in Milton Keynes final month additional fanned hypothesis.
To organize for the outing, Rovanpera visited Pink Bull Racing’s headquarters for a seat becoming earlier than collaborating in a session on the group’s simulator.
“We did the seat becoming for the automotive to verify I’ve all the things nicely within the cockpit for the take a look at after which we did a morning session on the simulator attempting completely different smaller class formulation automobiles constructing as much as the larger ones. I used to be capable of get a hold of the monitor and stuff,” Rovanpera instructed Motorsport.com previous to the occasion.
“I’m nonetheless a race driver so I wish to present my potential and attempt to do nicely.”
Final week, Rovanpera headed to the Austrian Grand Prix venue, the place he made his single-seater debut – first driving Method 4 and Method Renault 3.5 equipment, earlier than stepping as much as an older-generation Pink Bull F1 automotive.
Kalle Rovanpera take a look at in a Pink Bull Method 1 automotive on the Pink Bull Ring
Picture by: Pink Bull Content material Pool
The Finn accomplished between 40 and 50 laps on the circuit the place he raced within the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux sequence this yr.
“It was a fantastic day, I received to drive three completely different formulation automobiles. I received fairly a number of laps in and, after all, the F1 was one thing I had been trying ahead to for a very long time, so it was actually cool to lastly get to drive it. The day went nicely, and I used to be left with excellent emotions,” mentioned Rovanpera.
“The largest variations between rally and F1 are clearly {that a} rally automotive strikes much more from the physique – F1 is a bit like a karting automotive, it does not transfer a lot from its suspension, but it surely has an unbelievable quantity of grip – and naturally, F1 has an enormous quantity of downforce, which lets you drive a lot quicker in corners. It is also bodily fairly completely different.
“There’s much more lateral G-force, the automotive stops rather more and turns extra – it feels very completely different to the driving force, there are much more G-forces and the automotive has an unbelievable quantity of grip.
Kalle Rovanpera take a look at in a Pink Bull Method 1 automotive on the Pink Bull Ring
Picture by: Pink Bull Content material Pool
“Certainly, the primary time you sit in there, it feels fairly completely different than in a rally automotive – you additionally sit in such a special place that it feels fairly completely different – but it surely was actually cool to get to really feel it at the moment.”
This yr Rovanpera has expanded his motorsport horizons by venturing into circuit racing having opted to contest a partial World Rally Championship marketing campaign for Toyota, forward of a return to full-time competitors subsequent yr.
Rovanpera’s circuit racing exploits have included a component marketing campaign within the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux sequence, which has yielded three race wins. The Finn additionally contested a spherical of the Italian Carrera Cup sequence at Monza final month.
The 24-year-old can be an everyday on the drifting scene, performing everywhere in the world, and has revealed ambitions to sooner or later compete on the Le Mans 24 Hours World Endurance Championship occasion.
Kalle Rovanpera take a look at in a Pink Bull Method 1 automotive on the Pink Bull Ring
Picture by: Pink Bull Content material Pool
Rovanpera isn’t the primary WRC star to pilot an F1 automotive, with 1995 champion Colin McRae and nine-time champion Sebastien Loeb famously having fun with outings.
McRae piloted a 1996 Jordan F1 automotive at Silverstone as a part of a automotive swap stunt that noticed then-Jordan driver Martin Brundle drive McRae’s WRC Subaru Impreza.
In 2007, Loeb drove a Renault F1 present automotive on the Paul Ricard Circuit earlier than becoming a member of Pink Bull at an F1 winter take a look at in Barcelona 2008, the place he set the eighth-fastest time driving a Pink Bull RB4.