Esapekka with 7 fastest stage times at the Rally Italia Sardinia
Esapekka Lappi and codriver Janne Ferm have been in action for Skoda Motorsport at the Mediterranean island Sardegna this weekend, and in their second outing in the new Skoda Fabia R5 they set the fastest stage time for WRC2 cars 7 times, and secured important championship points in the end.
June 15, 2015
Esapekka Lappi and codriver Janne Ferm have been in action for Skoda Motorsport at the Mediterranean island Sardegna this weekend, and in their second outing in the new Skoda Fabia R5 they set the fastest stage time for WRC2 cars 7 times, and secured important championship points in the end.
“Flying Finn” Esapekka Lappi topped the times list on Sardinia on no less than seven occasions – including twice on the “Monte Lerno” stage, which, at 42.22 kilometres, was the longest stage of the rally and featured the legendary “Micky’s Jump”. The drivers fly up to 40 metres through the air after this crest, and Lappi left many of the higher-spec WRC cars in his wake on the second run of “Monte Lerno”, finishing fifth overall.
“The ŠKODA Fabia R5 is very quick and we are still yet to tap into its full potential. That makes it all the more bitter that a collision with a stone cost us any chance of a top position in the overall standings,” said the 24-year-old.
Lappi and his co-driver Janne Ferm lost almost half an hour as a result of necessary repairs. However, they then launched a captivating fightback from 26th place to finish an impressive ninth in the WRC 2 standings at the Rally Italy. That was sufficient to earn ŠKODA’s regular driver in the World Championship another two points towards the overall WRC 2 standings.