Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi is now very close to the second World Rally victory of his career.
Esapekka Lappi takes the second WRC victory of his career. Aki Hietavala
Esapekka Lappi leads the Swedish Rally by more than a minute after Saturday’s race day and is tied for 18 conditional World Championship points.
Lappi drove Saturday with the factory warranty. You had to be quiet so as not to slip out and ruin your chances. The situation has been quite foreign to Finns in recent years and it takes time to get used to everything new.
– That kind of running around is annoying. It is of course a personal choice, and I don’t want to take any risks either. That driving is slow, and I don’t enjoy it one bit. But let’s accept it knowing this situation. Of course, it’s a little disappointing when you don’t have that kind of driving pleasure, Lappi said.
When you deliberately try to avoid mistakes, it is usually easier to make them.
– Now we’re coming so quietly that we can’t go to the yard at that speed. I know what you mean, but now we’re going so quietly that nothing can happen, Lappi said a little amused.
Permission to attack?
Lapland will not run a full season this year. It ensures that there is no need to change tactics tomorrow, Sunday. Even on Sunday, there would still be a big point pot available.
– It’s a pretty clear pattern when we’re not thinking about any championship points. We won’t do anything with those Sunday points. Then we’ll see on the Power Stage what the situation is, whether we can attack or not. That must be tonight’s conversation, Lappi thought.
On Saturday, the conditions of the World Rally Championship in Sweden were significantly better than on Friday. At least for the weather.
– The clips weren’t that difficult. It was more about the fact that they ate a lot of tires. The middle bit was fine because there was more ice. The first and third were again quite a bit on gravel, which was aggressive towards the tires. I’m sure there are riders who are missing studs, but I have them all in storage. I just tried to keep the studs in the tires and I think I succeeded quite well in that, Lappi said.
Time has passed since the victory
Lapland has won only one World Cup rally in his career. This happened in 2017 at the Finnish World Rally Championship with Toyota. The current Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala the interruption dropped the keys to victory at that time.
– It’s been six and a half years now. It won’t change life in any way, but it would be nice, Lappi said about a possible second victory in his career.
– I have had the opportunity to win in the interim as well. I’ve done some of it myself, and then some have gone because of the team’s regulations, Lappi continued.