Lappi ruled out of Estonia prep rally
Esapekka Lappi has withdrawn from Saturday’s (8 August) Jämsän Äijät Ralli in Finland after engine problems curtailed his pre-event test this morning (Friday).
Lappi had entered the one-day rally in a Ford Fiesta World Rally Car run by Janne Tuohino’s JanPro Racing squad as preparation for the FIA World Rally Championship’s restart event at Rally Estonia (4 - 6 September).
Engine issues, believed to relate to the turbo, halted Lappi’s test and the M-Sport Ford driver will not start the three-stage event which features classic roads from Neste Rally Finland’s WRC round.
“We had a technical failure, engine related. It was after 300 metres of the first run,” Lappi told wrc.com. “We don’t have a spare here in Finland. It’s a bit tough to make it here [with a replacement] overnight and get it fitted. If we wanted to do that it would also cost a lot.
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Read More“It’s a shame, but it is what it is. It’s motorsport and this is also a technical sport. There will be some very nice stages almost legendary ones,” he added.
The rally features three stages covering almost 25km, including Vaheri and Hassi, which includes roads from the legendary Ouninpohja stage.
Lappi has a one-day test scheduled at M-Sport Ford’s private test area in the UK ahead of the fourth round of the WRC in Estonia, which restarts the championship after lockdown.
Lappi will take part in the Neste Rally Finland eChallenge in Jyväskylä tomorrow (Saturday) evening where he will be joined by M-Sport Ford team-mate Teemu Suninen and Toyota duo Kalle Rovanperä and Katsuta.