Esapekka Lappi will return to the wheel of the World Rally Car this weekend in the Swedish World Rally Championship. The race is closely monitored on ‘s channels and digital services.
You can’t go wrong with a hearty laugh. It belongs to the co-driver Janne Fermille, who clearly tells his acquaintances who arrived on the scene something succulent about the rally. After a while, the maintenance truck steps on the scene as well Esapekka Lapland. Lapland and Ferm are driving their first test with a Toyota Rally1 car in the snow in Central Finland.
There is enthusiasm in the air, as the duo will face the Swedish World Rally Championship, which is Lapland’s first race in more than a year as a contract driver for the WRC team.
– It’s nice to be involved in these big things again. It’s not the thing here that driving is an opportunity to get paid. The essential thing is that you can drive the best cars in the world again. It rewards, Lapland says.
Lapland remained unemployed at the WRC level at the end of the season, but fought back successfully over the past year.
From the beginning of the season, the Finn made full use of his screen space and convincingly won both competitions in the WRC2 class in Rovaniemi and Portugal. They winged him as a strong candidate for Toyota, which is looking for a driver to share the car for this season Sebastien Ogierin with. The Frenchman announced that he will be running more selected races in the World Series this year.
Last autumn, Lapland sealed its stable place in the Finnish World Rally Championship after driving the WRC car rented from Toyota for the fourth time.
– Maybe I’ll be able to go to the race a little more relaxed now. I think “Jyskälä” went casually and well. The same was true of the few other rallies I drove. I will try to continue in the same way. It seems to be a working concept. Our intention is to bring as many team points as possible and of course we can succeed as well as possible, Lapland answers the question of possible preconceptions.
The first test drives also provide a feel for how the hybrid-era Rally1 feels in winter conditions.
– When starting from a slow bend, the extra power doesn’t really do anything, because there is so much that the wheels just hit empty. Then when there is even a hundred pace and at that point there is an extra electric kick, then you really feel how it presses on the bench. The extra power comes in quite a bit, and then the car accelerates sharply, Lapland moods.
– After the first bets of the first day of the test, the car is not yet the best possible for my keys, but this is definitely going in the right direction.
Co-driver Ferm is probably the best person to tell if Lapland is as excited behind the wheel as it is in the service area. Does the driver’s eyes wobble?
– Of course it wedges. We’ve probably been waiting for this day for two months and now when it comes, we’re a little lost at first, but everything just feels so damn great. The rally car ride is so awesome! Ferm gets excited himself and sucks sweetly – his trademark retro hat.
After the next test runs, Lapland curves into the hall building, which serves as a service point, in a slightly stripped-down car. The majority of the rear bumper is missing.
– We leaned on the bench twice and both times the bumper pieces came off, the driver commented.
– If there is a bit left in those bumpers, then it only says that there is a company here in the tests as well, the co-driver blinks.
As Ogier drove in the opening race of Monte Carlo, the Lapland World Cup results column shows zero. In Sweden, it offers a starting point behind other Rally1 cars on the opening day. When there is no fear of the role of a plowman and Lapland has previously enjoyed the Swedish snow, he has very good success cards in the competition transferred to the Umeå region.
– In any case, the nature of the race will change, because the snippets are new to everyone and can no longer be drawn from external memory. If and when the car is made suitable for me, then there are favorable conditions for success. The starting point should be really good and usually I have had a good ride in Sweden. The feeling is quite good and waiting for us to succeed, Lapland smiles, but it also reminds us of realities.
The Lappi-Ferm duo will only face a second race within 14 months against the toughest turnstiles in the World Series.
Schedule and broadcast information for the Swedish World Rally Championship
Shakedown (7.59 km) at 10.01
Pre-mood from 9.05 pm to 9.35 pm TV2
EK 1 (14.98 km) at 09.42
EK 2 (27.81 km) at 10.55
EK 3 (17.28 km) at 12.31
Day service at 1:28 p.m.
EK 4 (14.98 km) at 15.45
EK 5 (27.81 km) at 16.58
EK 6 (17.28 km) at 18.34
EK 7 (5.53 km) from 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm Arena (TV2 20: 00-21: 00)
Highlights of the day from 11pm to 11.30pm TV2
EK 8 (10.49 km) at 09.57
EK 10 (19.49 km) at 11.54
EK 11 (11.17 km) from 1 pm to 2 pm Arena (TV2 13.15-14.00)
Day service at 1:40 p.m.
EK 12 (10.49 km) at 16.27
EK 14 (19.49 km) at 18.24
EK 15 (11.17 km) from 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm TV2
Highlights of the day from 9:45 to 10:15 p.m. TV2
EK 16 (14.19 km) at 08.00
EC 17 (14.23 km) from 09:00 to 10:00 Arena (TV2 10:00 to 11:00)
EK 18 (14.19 km) at 10.37
EK 19 Power Stage (14.23 km) 13.00–14.30 Arena (TV2 13.30-14.30)