Todeschini, 28, was competing in Finland for the first time in his career, and it was also his first time behind the wheel of a rear-wheel-drive Ford Escort. The French driver maintained surprisingly high speed throughout the weekend, and he was initially crowned the winner ahead of Jari Huttunen, who has shown his skills even in the WRC.
However, during the post-race technical inspection, it was discovered that the Ford Escort RS driven by Todeschini did not fully comply with the homologation certificate. In the French series, the car uses power steering and specific solutions for the rear axle’s Watt linkage, which do not meet international historic regulations. As a result, Todeschini was disqualified, and Huttunen was declared the official winner of the historic rally.
Todeschini has now shared his side of the disqualification with the French magazine Autohebdo. According to Todeschini, in France, it is permissible to use electric power steering in the Escort, but in Lahti, it was not functioning because the servo motor had been removed.
“Its location was sealed off with a plate during preparation, thinking that would suffice to comply. Except that visually, the metal casing of the servo motor remained, and therefore visually, the steering column did not comply with the homologation sheet, making the steering column appear non-compliant with the homologation papers,” Todeschini explained.
“The stewards confirmed that there was no power steering installed on our Escort and noted this in the Stewart Decision, but the regulation was applied in a strict and disciplined manner, and we were disqualified.”
In the Autohebdo article, there are hints that double standards might have been applied at the Lahti Historic Rally to ensure a Finnish driver won the event. According to Todeschini, Huttunen’s car also had rule violations, for which the Finn only received a warning.
“His car is running with upper front shock absorber mounts made of aluminium, allowing the adjustment of caster and camber, whereas the homologation sheet states that the mounts are made of rubber and are non-adjustable,” Todeschini said.
Losing the win didn’t bother Todeschini for too long. He delivered a strong performance and enjoyed the experience of driving on Finland’s fast gravel roads.
After his disqualification, Todeschini even had a chat with the Finnish driver.
“I still congratulated Huttunen and invited him to come and compete in a rally in France.”
Todeschini has been actively competing in rallies in his home country in recent years. In the 2023 season, he finished second in the French gravel rally championship with a Hyundai Rally2 car.
