It was already known that Lappi would get back behind the wheel of Hyundai’s Rally1 car after a long break at the upcoming WRC Rally Latvia in just over two weeks. Late on Monday evening, Lappi revealed that he will be competing even before the gravel event in Latvia.
Lappi is set to participate in a national rally in Lithuania a week before Latvia.
“Long time no see! But now back to the passion! After a long break, we’re taking part in the national rally in Lithuania on 12-13 July before heading to WRC Rally Latvia,” Lappi announced on his social media channels.
“This is a great opportunity to get used to the very fast Baltic roads again, and maybe find some new set-ups to help us and Hyundai Motorsport in the next rallies.”
The Lietuva Rally takes place around the town of Mažeikiai in northern Lithuania, near the Latvian border. The roads in the competition are similar to those in the WRC Rally Latvia.
In recent years, WRC teams have been leveraging smaller national rallies for testing purposes. Teams have a limited number of test days available throughout the season, but competing in rallies does not count as official testing.
It has been a while since Lappi’s last competition, as he last raced in the Kenyan Safari Rally at the end of March. In February, he won in Sweden.
Lappi’s calendar now features more rally events, as he will compete in the Lithuanian and Latvian rallies, and also in the Rally Finland at the beginning of August.
