Two-time World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä made his single-seater racing debut early this morning, competing in the first two races of the Formula Regional Oceania season in New Zealand.
In qualifying, which determined the grid for the first race, the Finn posted the 16th fastest time, just over a second behind Hugo Ugochukwu, who secured pole position. In the opening race, Rovanperä dropped one spot to finish 17th, which was also his starting position for the second race. He performed stronger in the second outing, narrowly missing a top-10 finish by placing 11th, just 1.5 seconds behind tenth-placed teammate Fion McLoughlin from the Hitech team.
The Formula Regional Oceania season continues tonight with two more races at the Hampton Downs circuit. The championship calendar features a total of four rounds over four consecutive weekends at four different tracks across New Zealand.
Photos: TGR NZ