Esapekka Lappi Questions Toyota Dominance Before Estonia

Esapekka Lappi is preparing to end his lengthy break from the WRC when he returns to a Rally1 car with Hyundai at Rally Estonia in July.

Lappi has competed for Hyundai only at Rally Sweden and Safari Rally Kenya this season. Since the Safari Rally, the Finn has contested two gravel events in the Finnish Rally Championship with a Rally2-specification Skoda, making his return to Rally1 machinery an important step.

"It is great to get back into a bigger car. Estonia is a fantastic rally, there is no doubt about that."

Baca JugaEsapekka Lappi Soroti Dominasi Toyota Jelang Estonia

Hyundai introduced an engine upgrade at Rally Portugal, the most recent gravel round, and the package appeared to improve the team's competitiveness. Adrien Fourmaux challenged for victory before Thierry Neuville eventually secured the win.

However, the result in Japan underlined the scale of the challenge posed by Toyota, which locked out the top four positions. Lappi remains cautiously optimistic about Hyundai's gravel prospects, although he admits the team still faces a key deficit in aerodynamics on faster rallies.

"Portugal gave me a bit of hope, whereas the asphalt rallies have not offered much reason for optimism. The results in Portugal showed that the car is clearly more competitive on gravel. We have always been slightly behind Toyota when it comes to aerodynamics, especially on fast rallies like Rally Finland."

Lappi also believes the championship's competitive value suffers when one manufacturer dominates event after event. In his view, the current situation is not ideal when Toyota continues to control the pace, particularly on asphalt, while its rivals are left chasing from behind.

"I really hope the situation is completely different next year and that there are 15 drivers fighting equally at the front. When that is the case, two retirements do not decide anything. Right now, the fight at the front is often practically settled once that happens."