Lappi faced a bitter disappointment in his home rally for the second consecutive year. He was in the fight for the lead, but on the second run of the Laukaa stage, the Finnish driver had to retire.
Lappi’s car began to bounce in deep ruts on a narrow section and crashed into a pine tree. The impact tore off the rear wheel of the Hyundai, forcing Lappi to pull over and retire from the rally.
Watch the video of Lappi’s incident below.
@EsapekkaLappi HIT #laukaa #SectoRallyFinland pic.twitter.com/qwimC9Pf5Q
— Jani Mäcklin (@mackljan) August 2, 2024
If the embed above is not visible, you can watch the video here.
The end of the road for @EsapekkaLappi and @Veermi on Friday.#RallyFinland #WRC pic.twitter.com/DDOogVt3l2
— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) August 2, 2024
If the embed above is not visible, you can watch the video here.
Last year, Lappi also crashed into a tree. On that occasion, his rally ended against a birch after his Hyundai slid off the road at high speed.
Lappi was in fourth place in the Rally Finland before his retirement, with less than ten seconds separating him from the leader.
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä leads the rally after seven special stages, with his teammates Elfyn Evans and Sebastien Ogier in the following positions.
On Friday, Hyundai’s Ott Tänak and Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta were also forced to retire from the competition.
