The duo will compete in Croatia using the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car from the French team CHL Sport Auto. Lindholm and Hämäläinen are also contesting for points in the WRC2 category, making it an important event for the Finnish pair.
Last weekend in Spain, at the Rallye Festival Hoznayo, Lindholm took the opportunity to get a feel for asphalt. This was a demonstration event where nine special stages and 130 special stage kilometres were driven without timekeeping.
Lindholm conducted tests in Croatia on Monday in preparation for the upcoming WRC round.
“The race in Spain was an interesting event that helped shake off any rust. Of course, the roads in Spain are different from those in Croatia. And the weather was too good to us. Rain is forecasted for the weekend, and we drove all our tests on dry tarmac under 30-degree sunshine. But the car feels good,” Lindholm smiles.
Hyundai has classified a new engine update for Lindholm’s i20 N Rally2 car.
“There was a minor update to our car’s engine. Hopefully, it will help us achieve a good result in Croatia. The update is definitely a positive step forward,” Lindholm sums up.
The Croatia Rally is known to be a challenging event, one that Lindholm has always enjoyed.
“Croatia is a very different asphalt rally, somewhat reminiscent of the Central European Rally last autumn. The special stages have a lot of cutting, so a lot of dirt gets on the road. You constantly have to judge the grip and stay alert. Grip usually varies in every corner,” Lindholm reflects.
“The Croatian special stages are also narrow, technical, and challenging, but that makes this rally interesting. We are starting the event with pretty much the same settings as in the Central European Rally,” Lindholm continues.
The first day of the rally, Friday, is immediately the longest day of the competition. An additional challenge on the opening day is that there is no service opportunity during the day’s eight special stages.
“It doesn’t change much, but if something happens with the car, then there’s nothing that can be done afterwards. It’s a long and decisive day right from the start, and you just have to go with it. We hope everything works. Our goal is to drive our best, enjoy the rally with Reeta, and then see where we stand on Sunday,” Lindholm states.
The Croatia Rally kicked off on Thursday morning with a shakedown, followed by the ceremonial start in the evening outside the National and University Library in Zagreb.
