Yamamoto, 28, reached the podium for the first time in the Finnish Rally Championship, finishing third in Savonlinna. Only two true veterans finished ahead of him – rally winner Esapekka Lappi and runner-up Jari-Matti Latvala.
Latvala, who now serves as Toyota’s part-time team principal, had to work hard to stay ahead of Yamamoto. The Finn suffered a turbo issue on the opening stage of the rally, forcing him to launch a comeback drive.
Before the final stage, Yamamoto held an 8.7-second lead over Latvala. On the last stage, Latvala pushed to the limit, setting the fastest time with a ten-second margin over Yamamoto and securing second place by just 1.4 seconds.
However, losing to Latvala did not seem to bother Yamamoto too much.
“I’m really happy to finish on the podium, it’s a special result for me. In the beginning I was surprised by the tricky conditions and I took too much care, but after that I managed to adjust my driving and my mindset,” Yamamoto said.
“Going into the last stage I knew the gaps were tight, but I just tried to continue what I had been doing, and it worked well. It was really fun battling with Jari-Matti and Juho (Hänninen), who were still giving us many tips between the stages. This time, Jari-Matti was faster but I can learn from him to improve for the future,” Yamamoto added.
Toyota Challenge Program’s head coach Mikko Hirvonen was also competing as a co-driver in Savonlinna, but he kept an eye on his protégés’ performances in the event. Hirvonen gave well-deserved praise to Yamamoto, who secured third place by 6.3 seconds ahead of Teemu Asunmaa.
“Yuki did very well to finish third overall between some very experienced drivers, and this result will be good for his confidence,” Hirvonen said.
Yamamoto’s teammate Hikaru Kogure finished fifth in the rally. Meanwhile, Takumi Matsushita, part of Toyota’s next-generation challenge program, finished third in the SM2 class and ninth overall.
