2nd for Lappi/ Ferm at Rally Sweden
In only their second outing in the Citroën C3 WRC, Lappi and Ferm today clinched their first podium with the new team and new car when they finished as runner up at Rally Sweden.
February 17, 2019
It seems that Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm really do feel at home on Sunday’s final leg at Rally Sweden! Like last year, the Finnish crew remained impressively relaxed throughout the final leg, this time securing a fine second place with control and authority. This runner-up spot was their first podium finish since joining Citroën. It was also their best result at this rally in only their third appearance here and took him up to fifth place in the championship standings.
“I knew after testing that we had worked well and that was confirmed during this rally, which I really enjoy. The conditions this weekend were nonetheless quite a bit different so we gradually worked on improving the set-up of our C3 WRC, which helped us to feel increasingly confident in the car and to up our pace as we completed more of the stages. I’m delighted with this result. It kick starts our season and augurs really well for the rest of the year!”
Lappi’s highly promising performance on only his second competitive outing in the C3 WRC came following a race during which he gradually upped his pace. Fifth at the end of day one, including a spin that left him having to deal with a damaged aerodynamic package, Esapekka then upped his pace on Saturday’s leg. He gained three places, taking him into joint second position, before displaying even more convincing form today. Joint second this morning, with another driver just 2.3s behind, the 28 year-old driver landed a telling blow on the first pass on Likenäs (21.19km). On this ultra fast stage, on which you really need to be perfectly at one with your car, his third fastest time put paid to the threat posed by the first of his rivals whilst adding two tenths to his advantage over the second one. However, he was far from finished! On the second run on the stage, he finished within just six tenths of the stage-winning time to give him a 4.4s lead over the third-placed driver going into the Torsby Power Stage (8.93km). He held onto second overall on the final test, whilst also grabbing the final bonus point!