The Finnish driver leading the rally did not regret the luck of the Estonian.
Esapekka Lapland leads the World Rally Championship in Sardinia. AOP
Quiz question to the top: when was Esapekka Lappi last leading the World Rally Championship at the end of a decent day?
Let the Toyota driver leading the World Rally Championship in Sardinia answer the question himself.
– In Turkey in 2019. We drove after Friday and also on Saturday, but then we had to let go Seppo (Sebastien Ogier), Lapland recalled on Friday night in the Alghero service area.
Even today, a monk
Lapland was in a huge blow with the special stages of the Sardinian World Rally Championship on Friday. Pieksämäki drove two base times and arrived for evening maintenance in a 0.7-second lead before Hyundai Ott Tänakia.
The last two special stages of the afternoon run had to be canceled. If the sections had been run, Lapland’s management could have been even bigger, as Tänak had a technical problem.
– I could still have run those two sections. And I don’t mean because Ott had a problem, but I had a good tat on it at all. I could have made more of a difference anyway. But everything feels good now, so what’s here, Lapland muttered.
According to Lapland, the rear lock on the car had also broken. An Estonian would have lost a considerable amount of time if the driving day had continued according to plan.
– Was that annoying? Depends on how you want to take it. If you think about your own ass, then yeah, it was a shame. In the bigger picture, if Hyundai starts pigleting all the time, they won’t be driving here for long. In that sense, maybe it’s good that this happened, Lapland weighs.
Tänak admitted that the shortening of the race day suited him very well.
– Tonight, luck was indeed on our side. Sure, the car was able to drive, but now was a good place to get in for service and get the car repaired.
– It’s hard to say how much time we’d lost. It is said that it was indeed better to come to service, Tänak said.
Lapland is shining
Lapland, which has returned to the main stage of the World Rally Championship this season, has shown that his place is at the top of the sport. Now he is fighting for the second race win of his career.
– Of course they try to stay on top, but I know that the guys will start driving hard tomorrow, when they have equally good starting points. For me, getting up to speed is not very easy. If tomorrow you can drive at the same pace as in the last section of today, then maybe you will be able to fight for victory, Lapland said.
The World Rally Championship in Sardinia will continue on Saturday, when there will be eight special stages. The race ends on Sunday.