Fifth place in the WRC2 category is the best result so far in the World Rally Championship for the 28-year-old Japanese driver. A couple of weeks earlier, Yamamoto had finished seventh in his class at Rally Estonia.
Yamamoto has clearly taken a step forward, as evidenced by his third place at the Savonlinna Finnish Championship rally during the winter. The head coach of the challenge programme, Mikko Hirvonen, has also noticed the progress in his Japanese protégé.
“This was an excellent rally for Yuki. He’s really been stepping up recently like we were hoping he could and to narrow the gap to the top. He already did a good step in Estonia and continued with another one here in Finland. It was a very strong result with good stage times, so we’re very happy for him,” says Hirvonen.
Yamamoto himself also felt that Rally Finland had been the best rally of his career so far.
“This has definitely been the best rally ever for me. It’s good to finish with such a nice result in my second home rally here in Jyväskylä. I had a very good feeling with good and consistent pace, especially on Friday, when I got my first stage win. I was also happy with my pace on the second pass of Ouninpohja on Sunday,” Yamamoto summarises.
“I think I can be very happy with my performance as well as the improvement from Estonia in a very short space of time. I feel things are getting better and better all the time, and without pushing too hard and just driving naturally the good times are coming. So I’m feeling good confidence for the future.”
