However, on Friday morning, the start list for the qualifying stage no longer included the names of Lindholm and his co-driver Reeta Hämäläinen. Later, the official entry list for Rally di Roma Capitale was updated to show that Lindholm’s name had been crossed out.
Lindholm confirmed to RallyJournal.com that he and his team had decided to postpone their participation to a later ERC round this season.
In addition to Lindholm, former Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen has also withdrawn from the event. Verstappen had contested all of the ERC rounds held so far this season.
Škoda driver Lindholm competed last weekend in the WRC2 category at the Acropolis Rally in Greece. After a weekend plagued by problems, he came away with seventh place in class.
Lindholm is next scheduled to compete at Rally Finland, which takes place at the turn of July and August.
Poland’s Mikołaj Marczyk enters the asphalt event in Rome as the ERC championship leader. After a consistent season, Marczyk holds a 16-point lead over Norwegian veteran Mads Østberg.
Roope Korhonen is third in the standings and is also competing in Rome. From his three ERC appearances this season, Korhonen has scored one win and one second-place finish.
However, Marczyk, Østberg and Korhonen are not considered the biggest favourites in Italy, as several local asphalt specialists are on the entry list – including Giandomenico Basso, Andrea Crugnola and Simone Campedelli.
Andrea Mabellini, who is tied for third in the standings with Korhonen and Sweden’s Isak Reiersen, will also be keen to succeed on home soil.
The last time a non-Italian driver won the Rally di Roma Capitale was in 2020, when Alexey Lukyanuk took victory.
The rally kicks off on Friday evening with a spectator stage held in Rome’s historic city centre, near the Colosseum.
