Lappi is still only ninth in the rally, but the Finn now enjoyed driving. On Friday, enjoyment was far from reality.
“This day was definitely ten times better than yesterday. I had confidence now, and although it may sound unrealistic, there was also much more grip than yesterday. All in all, a positive day,” Lappi summarised.
Lappi improved the car in Friday’s evening service, which had a significant impact.
“We found some really good improvements. We moved forward and now in the afternoon, we tried to take an even bigger step in the same direction. It wasn’t perfect yet, but quite interesting. Now we just need to find a setting for tomorrow and start building on that,” Lappi planned for Sunday.
Lappi described the car as “quirky” on the last loop of the afternoon. Besides the quirky car, he also gained valuable lessons for the future.
“You could say we learned a lot, and this day was not wasted. In the afternoon, we went quite extreme with the car, and now we’ll see if we can use any of that in the future,” Lappi revealed.
Days are not brothers, as Esapekka Lappi has realised in the Rally Latvia. On Friday, Lappi felt like crying, while by Saturday evening, he was as radiant as the evening sun. The Finn was asked how he managed to overcome his woes.
“With booze,” Lappi responded without a moment’s hesitation.
The answer didn’t sit well with the reporters, so Lappi had to come up with a better answer.
“You just had to think that the day was over. You had to start fresh from the beginning and find motivation from getting that good feeling back in driving. You just had to avoid thinking about others and times. The main thing was to feel good about yourself. At the same time, of course, the Rally Finland was also in the back of my mind,” Lappi explained as an alternative answer.
