Six years and 6 months. That's how long Esapekka Lappi's abstinence from victory lasted. Today, finally, the wait is over. The Finn from Hyundai Motorsport triumphed at the Swedish Rally in an edition in which the snow was a great protagonist, but certainly no more than him.
Chosen by Hyundai as one of the three drivers to alternate on the third i20 N Rally1 to support Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak, Lappi immediately hit the mark on his debut in this new guise. A deserved success, because it was flawless from start to finish. Everyone who tried to chase him made decisive mistakes, while he only had to push when required, when necessary.
A victory resulting from an excellent starting position in the Friday specials, of course, but in the past Lappi had thrown away several similar opportunities. This time he was perfect from start to finish, taking his second WRC win after his first which came soon after his debut at the 2017 Rally Finland when he was still racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing and had his third Yaris at his disposal. WRC Plus.
Lappi's real rival this weekend was Takamoto Katsuta, but the Japanese lasted just over half the race. On SS10, in an attempt to catch up with his friend-rival, he made a mistake and crashed into a snowbank and was left stuck, with the radiator also damaged. At that point it was a countdown for Lappi where his only rival was himself. Only one mistake on his part could have made him lose the rally, but that didn't happen.
For Hyundai Motorsport this is the second consecutive victory after the one achieved at the end of January at the Rallye Monte-Carlo with Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe. If in the Principality the i20 had given the impression of being the best performing car, at least in the hands of the Belgian, this time it was not repeated. And perhaps for this reason the value of success is even higher. This is the best start in history for the Korean team, but the season is still long and Toyota is such a strong rival that it cannot be underestimated.
Proof of this is the second place overall taken by Elfyn Evans after a good comeback which culminated this morning against Adrien Fourmaux. The Welshman, Toyota's spearhead this season, managed to overtake his rival and take second place, also being the fastest driver in Sunday's stage. This earned him extra points which are good for his ranking ambitions.
Adrien Fourmaux deserves a special mention. The Frenchman, after the good performance in Monte-Carlo, had another consistent weekend and was rewarded with the conquest of the first podium of his career in the WRC. A great satisfaction not so much for the first Top 3 of his career, but for having demonstrated that he has grown exponentially compared to recent seasons, where his talent was shown in flashes, interspersed with a series of errors that had made him relegated to WRC2.
M-Sport has the right to celebrate, because going from Ott Tanak to two risk-taking drivers is not easy. Fourmaux is repaying the trust placed in him but he will still need support when and if things go less well. It's clear that the rider's base is good, but we'll need to be patient for a little while longer. meanwhile the start of the season was more than satisfactory. Indeed, perhaps beyond expectations.
The person who managed to patch up a complicated situation this weekend was Thierry Neuville. The Belgian had to deal with an engine problem on his i20 N Rally1 (fuel pressure) on Friday which sent him well outside the Top 10. Having slipped to 14th place, Neuville began the comeback, completing it on Saturday evening. The fourth place finish is an important result given the complexity of his weekend, without forgetting the third overall time achieved in Sunday's stage which still saw him as a protagonist despite everything.
The big disappointments of the weekend were linked to two unsuspected people and a habitué of mistakes at the most inopportune moments. Kalle Rovanpera and Ott Tanak, the only two WRC world champions at the start of Rally Sweden, both went out on the same special stage, PS4, just one corner apart. Both lost control of their cars, ending up crashing into a snowdrift and breaking the radiator. This ended their race. An unusual situation for two riders who have made regularity – – combined with formidable race pace – their strong point.
The one who is more accustomed to making mistakes is Takamoto Katsuta, but this time the mistake was much more serious than usual, not so much in the dynamics of the accident that forced him to retire, but in terms of the ranking situation he was in when he remained stuck in the snowdrift. The Japanese driver from Toyota Gazoo Racing was fighting for the victory with Lappi and was just a few tenths behind him. In the midst of a comeback, perhaps too much enthusiasm led him to make mistakes, when instead he should have done everything to prolong the duel and, perhaps, induce his opponent to make a mistake.
Thanks to the withdrawal of three Rally1s and the difficulties encountered by Gregoire Munster with the second Ford Puma, there are 5 Rally2s in the Top 10. The first of these is the Skoda Fabia RS which dominated the category rankings, that of Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson. The Norwegian has defeated the competition since Friday, leaving no escape for his opponents. Or rather, he left them only crumbs, with 4 Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 competing for the podium.
Sami Pajari beat Georg Linnamae by a whisker, author of a good comeback after a spin on Saturday which caused him to lose several positions. Behind them are the two Finns Roope Korhonen and Mikko Heikkila, eighth and ninth overall respectively, but also fourth and fifth among the Rally2.
Special mention for Lorenzo Bertelli. The Italian gentleman driver, navigated by Simone Scattolin, had said on the eve of the event that he was aiming for the Top 10, and therefore the points zone. And so it was. Bertelli struggled on the first day, but on Saturday he began his comeback which led him to finish in tenth place overall, thus returning to take world championship points after the seventh place obtained in 2022 at the New Zealand Rally.
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