In a way, it marked the closing of a full circle for the Finnish driver. Lappi dominated the Finnish Championship in 2012 before moving on to the international rally scene. Now, after a long hiatus, he’s back competing in Finland’s top class.
Last week, Lappi switched to a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, with which he competed in the Arctic Lapland Rally. He finished second in the SM1 class, with young sensation Tuukka Kauppinen claiming victory.
Lappi spent the past two seasons driving for Hyundai in the World Rally Championship. His hope was to continue with the team as a part-time driver this year, but a contract never materialised.
Hyundai hasn’t officially ruled out running a fourth car in selected WRC rounds this year. However, it’s clear that Lappi won’t be part of the team’s plans.
“That train has left the station. Now I’m enjoying rallying with my own team,” Lappi told RallyJournal.com in Rovaniemi.
Lappi only decided around mid-January to compete in the Finnish Rally Championship this season. Even at that point, he was still in contact with Hyundai to see if they had any interest in continuing their collaboration.
“I proposed a few ideas related to the Finnish Championship, suggesting I could do some Rally2 programmes. But that didn’t really go anywhere either. At that point, I couldn’t keep waiting because the idea of driving my own car with my own team came up. I couldn’t keep asking how the Hyundai project would fit into that,” Lappi explained.
“I’m not here to prove myself “
Lappi has two WRC victories to his name, the most recent being at Rally Sweden last year. It’s likely that this will remain his final WRC win, as competing professionally at the highest level doesn’t seem to be a priority for him at the moment.
“I guess you can never say never. Who knows? But I’m not here to prove myself or to keep my name relevant in rally circles,” Lappi stated.
“I’ve done what I’ve done, and my career speaks for itself. I’m not chasing that anymore.”
The WRC’s top-class cars are set to undergo major changes in 2027. The FIA introduced new guidelines in December for the future Rally1 cars, which are expected to be up to 50% cheaper than the current models.
The goal of these changes is to attract new manufacturers to the championship. If more teams join, there could be opportunities for drivers like Lappi.
But the real question is whether Lappi would be interested.
“Maybe testing could be interesting. Development work is great, fun, and engaging. That could be something. But am I interested in doing a full WRC season? Right now, that feels like a distant idea. I don’t want to rule it out completely, but I see it as highly unlikely.”
It’s clear that Lappi enjoys rallying as a hobby in his home country. So, could this include competing against WRC2’s top drivers at Rally Finland this summer?
“I don’t think so,” Lappi laughed.
“But I might be working there. I’ve received so many job offers for that rally that I can actually choose which one to take. I just need to decide what I’d like to do there. I don’t think you’ll see me on the starting line.”