Esapekka Lappi shares the third Rally1 car of the Korean manufacturer with Spanish veteran Dani Sordo and Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen, who is returning to the top level of the WRC for the first time since the 2019 season.
The driver from Pieksämäki will not participate in the season-opening Monte Carlo rally at the end of January, but he is expected to compete on the snow of Sweden from February 15th to 18th. In this year’s Rally Sweden, Lappi was competing at the front but his race ended in unfortunate retirement when a tire failed before the last corner of the 13th special stage.
Before his troubles, Lappi was in third place in this year’s event, but the tire puncture and subsequent crash dropped him to seventh.
“Rally Sweden should be pretty clear in the sense that the rally has suited us, and we were in good pace there with Hyundai this year. We will definitely start there, unless something extraordinary happens.” Lappi discussed with Rallit.fi during his tests before Christmas.
“As for the rest of the season, you can probably guess that I can’t say anything about it because the team will announce the rallies in due time”.
Come on, tell us something! About how many races do you plan to compete in the 2024 season?
“Less than 13 races” Lappi said, laughing.
Lappi made the decision to become a “part-time” rally driver based on his family’s needs. However, before making his decision, it was not known that Hyundai’s third factory car would be shared by three different drivers.
Many expected veteran Sordo to end his career, but it turned out otherwise. The Spaniard crashed out on the opening stage of the Japan WRC in November. However, according to Lappi, that incident alone did not change Sordo’s mind.
“There was no information about (three drivers sharing a car). It’s quite a fun new thing that came up. I didn’t take that decision negatively at all” Lappi explained.
“Maybe it was more like we were all probably more prepared for Dani to end his career this year. He didn’t want to end it in Japan, but he said that even before the first stage. His decision didn’t come after that. We’ll see where he decides to end his career.”
Hyundai has planned for Sordo to drive the team’s third car in the slower gravel rallies next year.
