The father of three found it too difficult to balance family life with the harsh world of rallying. For this reason, the man from Finland announced well in advance last fall that he was ready to compete in only part of the 2024 rally season.
“It was a personal life decision behind it. Let’s say, the children missed their father a lot, and the father, of course, missed his children. That was the main reason. Especially in the second half of the season, when the summer was also very busy, it felt like I was in the wrong place during many of the races” Lappi tells Rallit.fi.
“It felt like I should have been at home when the missing became so intense. That’s why I made the decision. It had to be a decision made through the heart, and I feel that it’s the right decision.”
Some skeptics doubted that the decision was entirely Lappi’s. The Finnish driver dismisses these rumors with his characteristic humor.
“Maybe for the last races, it could have turned out that the team would have wanted it this way too.” Lappi sums up, referring to his crashes at the Finland WRC and later in Chile and Central Europe.
“However, I made the request at an early stage when I saw where things were heading at home. The initiative came from my direction.”
After the season ended, Lappi has been able to spend more time at home. Before Christmas, he went for a quick day of testing in Central Finland but then returned to his home in Pieksemäki.
Competing in the WRC series for Hyundai, Lappi admits that one Christmas tradition from his own childhood has already been broken because of the children.
“In my childhood, the tree was brought inside only on Christmas Eve or the evening before, but now we had to bring it in earlier because the children really wanted it. Now I’ve had to deviate from tradition” Lappi chuckles.
The WRC season kicks off at the end of January with the iconic Rally Monte Carlo. Lappi’s rally year will likely start with the next Rally Sweden in February.
