The World Rally Championship will feature the return of two of its prominent champions in 2027, as Kalle Rovanpera and Ott Tanak join Toyota’s six-car line-up. Both drivers are making comebacks after sitting out the 2026 campaign under very different circumstances.
Rovanpera’s Health Battle and Circuit Racing Ambitions
Two-time world champion Rovanpera stepped away from the WRC at the end of 2025 to pursue a single-seater career in Super Formula. However, the Finnish driver was forced to abandon those plans due to health reasons after suffering from Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, which sidelined him from competitive driving.
Now declared fit to drive, the 26-year-old admitted to Autosport that he did not expect to return to the WRC, but is pleased to agree to a partial campaign driving a new GR Yaris. While single-seater racing is currently off the agenda, Rovanpera hopes to incorporate some circuit racing, likely in GT cars, into his 2027 season.
“It’s exciting to be back, happy to be back,” Rovanpera told Autosport, noting that the situation was not originally planned. “Life happens and sometimes there are things you cannot control so I’m just really happy that we could make a good plan with Toyota for the upcoming years and still stay with the Toyota team and also come back to driving a rally car after a year of not driving anything.”
Reflecting on canceling his Super Formula season, Rovanpera stated it was the correct call because health takes priority, and he expressed satisfaction with how well his recovery has progressed.
Tanak’s Full-Time Comeback with Toyota
Like Rovanpera, Tanak left the WRC at the conclusion of 2025 following a difficult season with Hyundai. Although the 2019 world champion did not rule out a comeback at the time, he will return to the championship full-time in 2027 behind the wheel of a new GR Yaris.
Tanak’s potential return gained momentum when the Estonian driver accepted a development driver role at Toyota, contributing significantly to the development of both the GR Yaris and GR Celica machinery. According to the 39-year-old, this role rekindled his desire to race again with the squad that secured his WRC title.
“It was good in a way that I had time for myself, but still I had quite a bit driving and I could enjoy driving the rally car,” Tanak told Autosport, adding that he eventually began to miss the competition and the work environment.
Tanak noted that Toyota has grown considerably and become much more competitive since he was first with the team in 2019, leaving him with no other choice than to launch a full attack for the upcoming season.
