Lappi’s long-time co-driver Ferm announced after the event that he is retiring. Before that, the Finnish Hyundai duo was forced to retire just before the Power Stage of Rally Chile.
“It would have been nice to finish the Power Stage with Janne, but that didn’t happen,” a disappointed Lappi told RallyJournal.com.
Lappi’s performance in South America was off the mark overall. The Finn struggled with pace, and they couldn’t find the right setup for the car. On the final day of the rally, Lappi made an attempt to push harder, but it ended during the penultimate stage when he damaged his Hyundai’s radiator after hitting something.
“I didn’t plan for it to go like this. I wanted to be a bit faster over the weekend. I didn’t expect to be in the top five, but somewhere close. On Sunday, the task was to attack and get between the Toyotas to mix up the points. But I just didn’t have the speed,” Lappi said.
“I really attacked on the penultimate stage where I also lost the bumper. But in the end, we were quite useless on Sunday as well. So, not much positive came from the weekend.”
Ferm has wrapped up his career, but Lappi’s future remains uncertain. Lappi has expressed a desire to continue as a part-time driver, but Hyundai has not confirmed who will drive the team’s third car in the 2025 season.
After Rally Chile, Lappi’s plan was simply to head back home to Finland. Despite not being able to put on a strong performance in South America, he wasn’t completely downbeat.
“On the other hand, we played the team game pretty well. We didn’t really do the job we should have. But then on Sunday, we stopped the car before the Power Stage for future benefit, which is also part of the team game,” Lappi emphasised.
The WRC season continues in two months with the Central European Rally, where Andreas Mikkelsen will drive Hyundai’s third Rally1 car.
