Esapekka Lappi made no secret of his feelings. After finishing sixth in Rally Chile, the Finnish driver admitted he was relieved the gruelling event was finally over. "I'm glad it's over," he sighed to RallyJournal.com.
Lappi, driving Hyundai's third car, struggled to match the pace of the frontrunners from the outset. He revealed he hadn't completed a single metre of testing before Rally Chile. His previous outing in Hyundai's Rally1 car was at Rally Finland, where he retired early. The lack of preparation left him short on confidence.
Friday was a nightmare. Lappi lost touch with the leaders, ending the day over two minutes adrift. "Especially on Friday, with these conditions and lower confidence with the car, it was almost like an impossible job. Sunday was a bit more positive. But for sure, we'd already lost the competition on Friday," he explained.
Still, Lappi tried to focus on the positives. He finished without any problems, no drama, no punctures. Points were collected. "All in all, we finished the rally without any problems. So we collected some points. But for sure, like everyone knows, the weekend was too difficult and challenging for me," he added.
On Sunday, Lappi showed better pace. He even enjoyed a couple of stages. "I actually managed to enjoy a couple of stages. I really was the boss of the car. The car was not the boss anymore, so I was controlling it fully and enjoying it. So that was good," he said. However, the time gap still grew significantly, partly due to a less favourable road position.
Rally Chile was likely Lappi's last appearance as a Hyundai factory driver. He will next compete in the final round of the Finnish Rally Championship in Porvoo next week. His WRC future with Hyundai remains uncertain, but for now, Lappi just wants to close this exhausting chapter with his head held high.
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