An eighth-place finish in the WRC2 class was not what the Finnish duo had aimed for in Croatia. Things started to go wrong during the night between Monday and Tuesday when Lindholm fell ill with gastroenteritis.
The Finnish driver had to start the event in less than optimal condition and was never able to find his best form at any point over the weekend.
“I wasn’t really in shape at any point, and I still feel that I am not at my best. A positive aspect was that the updates we received for this event seemed to work well. At times, our pace was better than last time,” Lindholm summarized after the event.
“All experiences are valuable, aren’t they? I haven’t had such a difficult rally weekend in a while, and hopefully, it won’t happen again soon.”
Lindholm admitted he was very ill before the start of the event. Hence, a disappointment remains as a good and important rally was compromised by his half-strength performance.
“This could have been a great race, but our chances to perform well were already diminished between Tuesday and Wednesday. I was really sick, and I couldn’t keep food down. I was tired and drained, so I couldn’t focus during the pacenote preparation as well as I would have needed to. Making pacenotes was difficult,” Lindholm acknowledges.
Lindholm mentions that driving the rally car has never been as challenging as it was in Croatia.
“Even with a flu, driving is usually automatic. But this time, I felt exceptionally unwell. I’m still feeling shaky. When I got up this morning, I felt utterly drained. On the opening day of the rally, unfortunate tyre punctures completely disrupted our race. I can’t say what should have been done differently. Just bad luck.”
Lindholm has competed in two World Rally Championship events this season, with the third scheduled for the turn of May to June.
“We are planning for the Rally Italia Sardegna next,” Lindholm reveals.
