WRC
"Life is nice, life is good" - Esapekka Lappi's new chapter
"Well, it's really relaxed," says Esapekka Lappi when asked about his life away from the WRC bubble.
The two-time WRC rally winner is describing a very different existence from his globe-trotting days with Toyota, Citroën, M-Sport Ford and Hyundai – one that involves preparing his own rally car and fishing with his son nearly every day.
When we caught up with the 34-year-old Finn at Secto Rally Finland earlier this month, where he was conducting PR work for Škoda Finland in co-operation with Škoda Motorsport, highlighting their Enyaq RS Race, it was clear that stepping back from the sport's highest level has been liberating rather than limiting.
"I prepare the car myself for the Finnish races or tests, whatever," he explains. "It's fun, because it's not a rusty old car. You know, the gearbox doesn't break or whatever. So even in my home garage, I can do a lot of stuff. You can go in the evening to the garage, do one hour, then go back to put the kids to bed, and then go back."
Currently leading the Finnish Rally Championship with new co-driver Enni Mälkönen following Janne Ferm's retirement, Lappi's domestic campaign represents more than just a career downshift.
“Let's say [I am doing it] to really remind myself why I fell in love in the first place 15 years ago with this sport. Now I feel the same,” he reflects. "I can enjoy it with the friends, you know. I have the mechanics from 2012 - same guys, okay, one has died - but the rest are the same as what I had when we won the championship [in 2012].”
Lappi is enjoying his time in Finland's domestic series
© Jarno Saari
The former Rally Finland and Rally Sweden winner's new routine couldn't be more different from his WRC days.
“I've been fishing a hell of a lot with my son. Let's say, the last 45 days, I've been fishing on maybe 41. We live next to the lake, so we can have the rowing boat ready to go like this all the time. When he wants to go, we go. And that's my life basically in the short term.”
Lapp’s RTE-Motorsport business also keeps him grounded in the industry he loves. "I would say daily, I'm doing something with the phone or computer or then physically," he says of his involvement. “I've never really been a business guy. But I like it a lot and it's still part of the sport that I love.”
While he remains open to testing and development work – "That's what I've always liked. I feel I'm fairly good at that - probably better than competing" – a full WRC return is off the table. “I just start to get high blood pressure when I think about it,” he admits. “Or when I see Taka [Katsuta] travelling here and there and all over, I start to feel stressful.
“Life is nice. Life is good.”
To learn more about the Enyaq RS Race, check out skoda-motorsport.com.
