Kauppinen and his co-driver Sebastian Virtanen put on a spectacular display, securing their first-ever Finnish Rally Championship event victory in Rovaniemi. For Kauppinen, this was only his second event in the championship’s top category.
His achievement is even more impressive considering he managed to beat Esapekka Lappi outright. Lappi, returning to Finland’s special stages after competing in the WRC, made a costly mistake on Saturday. However, even before that, Kauppinen had already been ahead of the experienced driver.
To make things even more remarkable, Kauppinen was battling flu symptoms at the start of the rally – though that certainly didn’t show in his stage times.
“It was a great rally. Friday morning was a bit tricky, but we managed to pull ourselves together and found a good rhythm,” Kauppinen reflected.
“A fantastic event, and hopefully, things continue like this.”
Kauppinen, 18, from Laukaa, has been driving various types of vehicles almost his entire life. Despite his young age, he has already gained significant rallying experience, gradually climbing his way to the top of the Finnish scene.
Just last year, he racked up 20 rally starts, claimed the SM3 class title, and made his WRC debut at Rally Finland.
For 2025, he stepped up to the SM1 category, and his results with the Toyota Rally2 car have been outstanding. He finished second in Kuopio Rally, and now he has claimed his maiden victory – earning the traditional reindeer antlers as a trophy.
“We’ve always just done our own thing, and now it’s showing even with these cars. The results are coming, even if it might not look that fast from the outside,” Kauppinen noted.
After his dominant Arctic Lapland Rally performance, Kauppinen had a simple explanation for how he has managed to make such an impressive leap to the top level of the Finnish series.
“It’s funny – I haven’t done that many kilometres in this car, but it just suits me perfectly. Apparently, that’s all it takes,” he said, praising Toyota’s Rally2 machine.
Next, Kauppinen will compete in Rally Sweden in the WRC2 category in two weeks. The Finnish Rally Championship continues in early March in Savonlinna.
“We’ll take in all the kilometres we can in Sweden and learn a bit more about the new tyres (Hankook). That part will be a bit more challenging. But of course, we’re heading to Savonlinna to win,” said Kauppinen, who now leads the Finnish championship.
