As previously reported by RallyJournal.com, Kauppinen will compete this year in the Italian Tarmac Championship as well as the Junior category of the European Rally Championship. He will be driving a Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF, maintained by the Italian team MS Munaretto.
After a long hiatus, a Finnish driver will once again be behind the wheel of a Lancia. The Italian manufacturer celebrated world championship titles with Juha Kankkunen in 1987 and 1991 – and coincidentally, just like Kankkunen, Kauppinen hails from Lankamaa in Laukaa, Finland.
Kauppinen’s season in Italy will begin this coming weekend at the Rally Il Ciocco, where he will be co-driven by Veli-Pekka Karttunen in a Peugeot 208 Rally4. His debut in the Lancia is expected to take place at the first round of the ERC, which is scheduled for early April in Spain.
Despite his young age, Kauppinen already has considerable rally experience. However, he now faces a new challenge as he transitions from snow and gravel stages to tarmac rallies. That said, he will not be heading into the unknown, as last year he attended Vittorio Caneva’s renowned rally school to refine his tarmac driving skills.
“I have hardly any experience on tarmac, except for some short sections during gravel rallies where we used gravel tyres. I have done a bit of circuit driving, but that’s completely different from rallying,” Kauppinen explains.
“I already have a rough idea of the driving style, and many people have told me that tarmac rallying becomes really enjoyable once you get into the rhythm. Soon we will see how it all comes together. Vittorio’s lessons have already helped on gravel, and I think the biggest challenge will be finding the fastest racing lines,” he adds.
The first round of the Italian Championship will take place this weekend in the Tuscany region. The two-day rally consists of 12 special stages with a total competitive distance of just over 105 kilometres.
Kauppinen is keeping his expectations realistic.
“The main goal is, of course, to finish the rally and improve stage by stage. Hopefully, we can quickly get into the rhythm of driving on tarmac, which would make the upcoming events easier.”
This year, Kauppinen will contest six rounds of the Italian Rally Championship. He also has a six-round programme in the European Rally Championship.
Additionally, he will take part in the Finnish Rally Championship, driving a Toyota Rally2 car. His packed schedule also includes the WRC rounds in Estonia and Finland.
At just 18 years old, Kauppinen has already been competing at an extremely high rate in recent seasons. This year alone, he has already started in nine rallies.
