WRC
Kalle Rovanpera co-driver Jonne Halttunen lands Toyota rally management role
The two-time world rally championship winning co-driver is set to swap calling pace notes for a move into team management
Tom Howard
Published: Feb 5, 2026, 5:33 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Gazoo Racing
Toyota has named Jonne Halttunen, former co-driver to Kalle Rovanpera, as project manager for the brand’s move into the American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship this year.
The Japanese marque announced plans to contest the championship last year with its newly developed GR Corolla RC2 rally car, which will be piloted by Toyota’s World Rally Raid Championship star Seth Quintero and co-driver Topi Luhtinen.
This project will now be overseen by Halttunen, whose World Rally Championship co-driver career has been put on hold for now following Rovanpera's decision to leave the WRC in pursuit of a career in single seater racing. Halttunen claimed back-to-back WRC titles with Rovanpera in 2022 and 2023 in a partnership that yielded 18 WRC wins.
Halttunen is now looking forward to a move into team management with Toyota in the ARA, which will begin with the 100 Acre Wood Rally on 13-14 March. Toyota has opted to miss the Sno*Drift Rally ARA opener held in Michigan this weekend.
Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
“My job is to manage the project and also to try to help the team in the best possible way, using all the knowledge I have gathered from my career in WRC, and to give my feedback,” said Halttunen, who will also take part as a driver in Finland's domestic F-Cup rally series this year.
“I haven’t had the chance to meet everyone involved yet, but we have had a lot of meetings, and there are a lot of people who have been involved in WRC too. I know that they’re all professionals and everything I’ve heard about the team is positive, so I’m looking forward to working with everyone.
“I don’t know if my WRC career will continue in the future or not, but for now at least I wanted to have a new challenge, and this is just what I wanted. I wanted to stay inside the sport, but also to have some kind of management role where I can influence things somehow. I always like to try to make things better or somehow develop things, so this is a good fit for me.”
Rovanpera, meanwhile, is continuing preparations for his Super Formula debut ahead of the season opener in Motegi on 4 April.
Read Also:
F3How did WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera’s single-seater debut go?
WRCWhat Kalle Rovanpera will miss most now he’s called time on WRC
WRCKalle Rovanpera completes maiden F2 test ahead of single-seater switch
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Iconic Ouninpohja stage dropped from 2026 WRC Rally Finland route
Next article Esapekka Lappi thought his WRC career was over, but he’s back
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Tom Howard
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
WRC
WRC 22 h
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
Adrien Fourmaux confident of WRC drive despite 2027 uncertainty
WRC
WRC 1 d
Adrien Fourmaux confident of WRC drive despite 2027 uncertainty
More from
Kalle Rovanperä
Kalle Rovanpera "open" on 2027 motorsport future ahead of talks with Toyota
WRC
WRC
Rally Finland
2 mo
Kalle Rovanpera "open" on 2027 motorsport future ahead of talks with Toyota
Kalle Rovanpera to conduct demo run at WRC Rally Finland
WRC
WRC
Rally Finland
2 mo
Kalle Rovanpera to conduct demo run at WRC Rally Finland
Kalle Rovanpera provides comeback update during Rally Estonia visit
WRC
WRC
Rally Estonia
2 mo
Kalle Rovanpera provides comeback update during Rally Estonia visit
More from
Toyota Racing
Toyota: BMW has advantage in Barcelona WEC after private test
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
1 d
Toyota: BMW has advantage in Barcelona WEC after private test
Where Sami Pajari can improve after WRC title near miss
WRC
WRC
Rally Italy
5 d
Where Sami Pajari can improve after WRC title near miss
Latest news
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 19 min
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Spire, Chris Gabehart reject Joe Gibbs Racing premise on deleted texts
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
6 h
Spire, Chris Gabehart reject Joe Gibbs Racing premise on deleted texts
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
10 h
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 11 h
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe