WRC
Lappi calls time on professional rally career
Two-time WRC winner Esapekka Lappi will step away from professional rallying following this weekend’s Finnish Rally Championship finale in Porvoo.
The 35-year-old confirmed his decision on Tuesday, bringing the curtain down on a career which has so far produced 95 WRC starts, two outright victories and 15 podium finishes.
“As you may have heard, my professional rally career is coming to an end this season,” Lappi announced.
“Never say never, but after many years behind the wheel it’s time to focus on my family and life outside of rallying.
“But first, the Last Dance: final round of the Finnish Rally Championship in Porvoo. See you there!”
Lappi has combined a successful defence of his Finnish title with a five-round WRC programme for Hyundai Motorsport in 2026.
Driving an i20 N Rally1 alongside co-driver Enni Mälkönen, he finished sixth in Sweden and fourth at Safari Rally Kenya before contesting Estonia, Finland and Chile. His sixth-place finish on the recent South American round now stands as his final WRC appearance for the time being.
Lappi and Mälkönen had already secured their second consecutive Finnish championship with one round remaining, sealing the crown by winning every stage of August’s Kitee Rally in their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
The Finn began competing in rally sprints in 2007 and made his WRC debut on home soil four years later. His breakthrough season came in 2012, when he won all seven rounds of the Finnish Rally Championship before joining Škoda’s factory programme.
A European Rally Championship title followed in 2014, with Lappi then claiming the WRC2 crown in 2016 to earn his opportunity at rallying’s highest level with Toyota GAZOO Racing the following year.
He made an immediate impression in the Yaris WRC and delivered a hugely popular maiden victory at Secto Rally Finland in only the fourth round of his Toyota programme.
Lappi finished a career-best fifth in the 2018 drivers’ championship before subsequent spells with Citroën and M-Sport Ford. He returned to Toyota for selected appearances in 2021 and a fuller campaign in 2022, then joined Hyundai ahead of the 2023 season.
His second WRC victory arrived at Rally Sweden in 2024, ending a wait of more than six-and-a-half years since his home triumph and securing an emotional first win for Hyundai.
Across nine seasons at the sport’s top level, Lappi represented four different manufacturers and recorded 77 stage victories. The majority of those achievements came alongside long-time co-driver Janne Ferm, before Mälkönen joined him for the final chapter of his career.
