Esapekka Lappi did not hide her irritation at the end of Saturday in Sardinia.
Esapekka Lappi is second in Sardinia. PDO
Esapekka Lappi is close to his best result of the season in the World Rally Series, but despite this, the Hyundai driver was frustrated at the end of Saturday in the Sardinia World Rally.
Lapland struggled through Saturday’s gravel race for the top spot Toyota Sebastien Ogier against. Also Lapland’s stablemate Thierry Neuville joined the top fight during the day.
At best, Ogier had a lead of almost 20 seconds in Lapland, but in the afternoon run, the French champion fell into mistakes. Lappi and Neuville rose to Ogier’s position, and then there was a crunch.
Ogier took the turn long on the slippery road due to the heavy rain, and the Toyota got stuck in the bank. In the same special test, Neuville clocked a great time, thanks to which the Belgian came out on top of the race ahead of Lapland.
This completely changed the nature of the competition. Hyundai is locked in a double win, and since Neuville is the number one horse in the stable, Lapland is practically no longer allowed to fight for the win.
– We already got the information about Ogier’s exit shortly before the start. That was clear, Lappi stated.
– Nothing was said from the team’s side, but everything is clear to us. You only need to rack your brains a little bit.
“Yes, it hurts”
Lappi, who is hunting for his second World Rally Championship victory in his career, frankly admitted that the situation is, so to speak, foxing.
– Yes, it’s sad. But there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s the job description.
On Sunday, Neuville and Lapp can afford to drive around calmly during the special tests, because the third driver Kalle Rovanperä is far behind. Lappi tried to take a positive attitude to the situation, but at the same time, the Pieksämäki resident’s frustration shone through when he arrived for the evening service in Olbia.
– After all, it is a day of joy when we are second. Yes, this will turn into joy. But this situation is just like that… When you’ve worked your ass off and then you can’t win, that’s how it is, Lappi smiled.
Toyota driver Rovanperä has a seam to increase his World Series points lead even more in Sardinia. The closest threat to the world champion Ott Tänak stopped the race on Saturday, and now Rovanperä is close to the valuable third place points.
Rovanperä is planning an attack for the final Power Stage special test, which awards extra points to the fastest drivers.
– An interesting day is ahead. According to the forecast, it should rain tomorrow as well. There are a couple of quite short stretches, but then Power has more driving, Rovanperä said.