Esapekka Lappi the heir

European champion ERC In title, Esapekka Lappi is evolving this season on the events of the World Rally Championship calendar in category WRC-2 driving the all-new Skoda Fabia R5.

Already a winner in Poland, the protégé of the Czech team doubled his lead at home last weekend in Finland, well ahead of his Swedish teammate Pontus Tidemand. Author of a perfect start to the race, the 24-year-old driver was able to control the race from Saturday.

“Apart from the Ouninpohja special where I spun in a slow corner, everything went well, explains Lappi. I was hoping to get a head start throughout the first day, but I was surprised to get that much. »

Now leader of the WRC-2 championship with three points ahead of his compatriot Jari Ketomaa, hampered in one eye and absent on home soil, the Skoda driver will have a good card to play in Germany at the end of August, he who has already proven that he could go fast both on gravel and on asphalt, having notably won at Valais in Switzerland in the ERC.

Find the full report of the Rally from Finland, and our focus on Esapekka Lappi, in issue 2023 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.