The Finnish duo, who had to retire on Saturday, did finish the rally but ended up 24th in the final WRC2 standings.
Competing in CHL Sport Auto’s Hyundai i20 N Rally2, Lindholm and Hämäläinen admitted that the event was a major disappointment. Despite high hopes, the rally did not unfold as anticipated.
The difficulties began on the opening day, Friday, when a sharp rock dislodged from the road surface punctured their tyre on the third special stage. The subsequent tyre change cost them nearly two minutes, dropping their position to 20th in the WRC2 class, which Lindholm improved by three places on the day’s final stage.
The bad luck continued on Saturday. In addition to another tyre change, the Finnish pair had to retire on the fourth stage of the day due to a radiator failure. The Hyundai’s front bumper scraped the ground, broke upon impact, and a piece of it hit the radiator, causing a leak.
The duo stopped to patch the radiator, but their day ended due to a lack of cooling water.
“We sealed the leak on the special stage, but we didn’t have enough water for the radiator, so we had to retire. The conditions here were really rough this year,” Lindholm noted.
On the rally’s final day, the Finnish duo finished without any issues. While they did not score any championship points, they gained valuable experience.
“This was our first rough and slow gravel rally with Hyundai. It was really important to finish such a rally and gain experience for us and our team. Now that we had two cars in the race, we gathered various insights and experience for the future,” Lindholm stated.
“Our car’s handling was good and balanced throughout the rally, and I enjoyed driving it. Especially on the first pass through the technical and slow sections of the special stages, we were strong. Unfortunately, we had exceptionally bad luck this year,” Lindholm added.
