Having had a long career in the World Rally Championship, Lappi is now making a return to the Finnish Rally Championship. He will begin his season at the Arctic Lapland Rally, held in the Rovaniemi region, starting on Friday.
Lappi has to adapt to a couple of major changes. Firstly, he no longer has Hyundai’s powerful Rally1 machinery at his disposal but instead will be driving a Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo – which is not even the latest development version of the Škoda Fabia Rally2 car.
Additionally, Janne Ferm will no longer be sitting alongside him. From now on, Lappi’s pace notes will be read by Enni Mälkönen, who previously co-drove for Sami Pajari until the end of last season.
Lappi and Mälkönen sat together in the Škoda’s cockpit for the first time on Monday when they tested the car in preparation for the Arctic Rally.
“It felt strange when a female voice called the notes. But it went well,” Lappi smiled.
Lappi has very little experience with co-driver changes, as he had worked with Janne Ferm for 15 years.
“I have a lot of personal routines that developed over the years with Janne Ferm. Now I’ll probably have to let go of some of them, but I’m sure it’s the same for both of us. This is a learning process, but we’ll try to stay positive all the time,” Lappi reflected.
According to Lappi, the pair are still getting to know each other and learning each other’s ways. However, they are already starting to find a rhythm together.
A quick decision
Lappi was hoping for a part-time extension with Hyundai in the WRC this season, but no offer came from the team. Hyundai currently has three full-time drivers, whereas last season they rotated three different drivers in their third car.
In the end, Lappi decided to embark on a new project and return to Finland’s rally stages. Lappi expressed his gratitude to his partners, who stepped in at very short notice to support his participation in the Finnish Rally Championship.
Within the Lappi family, emotions fluctuated.
“The kids were excited that daddy would be rallying again, but when they heard that I’d be away for a week straight, they weren’t so excited anymore. But luckily, the rest of the events will be shorter.”
Lappi enters as the clear favourite in the SM1 class at the Arctic Lapland Rally, which features a total of 13 special stages on Friday and Saturday.
