Korhonen had a slow start to the season at the Arctic Lapland Rally in late January and early February, where he was clearly outpaced by his new teammate Tuukka Kauppinen. The 18-year-old Kauppinen caused a major sensation by winning the legendary event in Rovaniemi.
Korhonen responded a few weeks later at Rally Sweden, where he finished second in the WRC2 category, right behind the dominant winner Oliver Solberg.
Korhonen was very pleased with his performance in Sweden.
“This is a great way to continue the season,” Korhonen told RallyJournal.com.
The new Hankook tyres, introduced this season in the WRC, caused headaches for many drivers in Sweden. However, Korhonen adapted to them quickly, despite having had very little time to test them beforehand. He had only completed a short tyre test before the Arctic Lapland Rally.
“It’s a bit of a slipperier tyre, so maybe it suits my driving style better. I always try to drive clean and tidy,” Korhonen explained.
Korhonen delivered a strong performance at Rally Sweden, with just one aspect he would have changed.
“I’d leave out that half-spin. But otherwise, this was pretty much a perfect rally from us,” he said.
Korhonen also revealed in Sweden that his next WRC event has already been decided.
“Our next WRC rally will be in Portugal,” he said.
However, Korhonen plans to compete before then as well.
“We’ll see if we can fit in an asphalt rally in Italy before that. I don’t know yet which car we would use there,” revealed Korhonen, who competes in the WRC with a Toyota Rally2 car.
