Lappi last competed in a World Rally Championship (WRC) event at the end of March in Kenya. Over the past few months, he has focused on family life, but this weekend marks his return to the rally scene.
Lappi is competing in a national rally in Lithuania as a test run with Hyundai’s Rally1 hybrid car. The Lietuva Rally provides him with the opportunity to find peak performance and optimal settings under competitive conditions in preparation for next week’s WRC event in Latvia.
“It feels like you’re a small child, and you get the toy again,” Lappi quipped to RallyJournal.com during Friday’s shakedown.
“I missed driving a lot, actually, and especially this kind of driving. The last time I was in the cockpit was in Kenya. It’s quite the other end of the driving styles and conditions compared to where we are at the moment. Kenya is really slow and rough, but here it’s really smooth and fast, which I like a lot. So it feels great!”
By testing in national rallies, teams do not use up their official test days. Hyundai also has its own test area in Central Finland that it can use without restrictions. However, according to Lappi, this weekend’s rally in Lithuania offers excellent preparation for the upcoming WRC round in Latvia.
“It is much more valuable to drive on new roads. And this rally was perfectly timed, just before next week and close by (Latvia). So it’s a very good opportunity,” Lappi explained.
During the shakedown, there were occasional rain showers. Lappi, from Finland, hoped to drive in various conditions throughout Friday and Saturday.
“It could be wet next week as well. I hope it won’t be fully wet so that we can do some stages in dry conditions. For sure, wet conditions will make it really slippery, really muddy, and with a lot of surprising corners. The grip level will change a lot if it gets damp or wet. So, maybe in those kinds of conditions, it doesn’t really matter what kind of setup you have.”
The Lietuva Rally features a total of 13 special stages on Friday and Saturday.
