It was confirmed on Friday that Lappi will compete next season as a part-time driver for Hyundai. Dani Sordo and Hayden Paddon have also been hired as part-time drivers to share the team’s third Rally1 car.
Lappi last drove in Hyundai colours in the 2024 season. Earlier this year Hyundai introduced major upgrades to its car, and Lappi will need to familiarise himself with the package before the opening round of his WRC season.
Hyundai plans to carry out pre-Christmas testing at its test base in Jämsä, Finland. However, if temperatures remain above zero and proper winter conditions do not arrive, the tests are at risk.
“I can’t say when we’ll be able to test, because this winter is what it is at these latitudes. It’s not very snowy in Jämsä either. Of course, winter can arrive quickly, but the forecast doesn’t look good in that respect,” Lappi admitted to RallyJournal.com.
“So we don’t know whether we will test at all this year or whether we’ll have to wait until next year.”
Lappi will still get some seat time in the Finnish Rally Championship before his first WRC round. He will contest the full Finnish Championship season in a Škoda, and the opening rounds in Mikkeli and Rovaniemi take place before Rally Sweden.
“It’s a positive thing that I’ll get to drive two Finnish Championship rallies, and with a seven-millimetre stud. The championship now runs the same stud length as Hankook’s tyre. I won’t be driving the same tyre brand in the Finnish series, but it’s closer to Hankook’s operating window than it would have been before.”
“This year you were allowed to run a longer stud in the Finnish Championship, and the difference in grip is quite big. Now it should be closer,” Lappi underlined.
