Rovanperä won the small Group A Finnish Rally Championship title in 1995 at the wheel of an Opel Astra.

The 2002 season began as usual with the Monte Carlo Rally, and Rovanperä competed in a privateer Bozian Racing run Peugeot 206 WRC.

He retired on the 7th stage with broken steering after an off; Tommi Mäkinen won the race in front of a penalised Sébastien Loeb, while Carlos Sainz finished third.

In San Remo, Rovanperä returned to the Bozian team, but on asphalt the Finnish driver struggled and finished ninth, whilst Gilles Panizzi took a stunning win after his shoulder injury just three weeks before.

Rovanperä continued to drive for Peugeot on loose surface events during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, obtaining a further three podium places, one in 2003, and two in 2004.

In 2007, Rovanperä was a regular competitor of the SRC Finnish Rallycross Championship with a rear-wheel driven Ford Focus as well as a Volvo S40, but finished only 11th overall.

In October 2010 Rovanperä and his co-driver Jouni Närhi got the first overall in La Carrera Panamericana in a Studebaker 1953 just 12.9 seconds ahead from the Mexican driver Michel Jourdain Jr.