Esapekka Lappi ends professional rally career with victory in Finnish championship
Finnish rally champion Esapekka Lappi closed out his final professional rally with a win in the rain-soaked ''Porvoon Autopalvelu'' rally. He had already secured the Finnish title earlier in the season.
Esapekka Lappi (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) claimed victory on Saturday in the final round of the Finnish rally championship, marking the end of his professional rally career. It was his fifth win of the season.
Lappi had already secured the Finnish championship title before the final round. He locked in first place in the rain-affected ''Porvoon Autopalvelu'' rally during the penultimate special stage, after Estonian driver Patrik Enok (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) — who had led since the start of the event — crashed out.
Lappi finished 26.4 seconds ahead of Niklas Grönholm (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2). Third place went to Lauri Jona (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), who lost second position on the final stage.
An emotional finish
Speaking in a live broadcast on FlyingFinn.tv, Lappi expressed regret over Enok's crash, saying his own car was already up for sale at the time, so after seeing the accident his main concern was simply staying on the road. He also thanked everyone who had helped him over the years.
Grönholm earned his first podium of the season in Porvoo, finishing 25.9 seconds behind the winner. He said the result was a reasonably good way to end the season, though he noted it was somewhat unfortunate that two drivers — Enok and Jona — had bad luck, while his own crew was at least fastest on the final stage.
Enok's retirement also reshuffled the championship standings: Lauri Jona took the silver medal, finishing behind only Lappi, while Enok had to settle for bronze.
