Esapekka Lappi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈesɑˌpekːɑ ˈlɑpːi]; born 17 January 1991) is a Finnish rally driver. He is the 2012 Finnish Rally Champion, 2014 European Rally Champion and the 2016 WRC-2 Champion. He now drives for Hyundai Motorsport. In 2024, he won his second ever event in Rally Sweden, which broke the record for the longest gap between wins in terms of time and number of rallies (81 rallies), with his debut win coming from his home event in 2017 Rally Finland.

Esapekka Lappi
Lappi at the 2019 Rally Mexico
Personal information
NationalityFinland Finnish
Born (1991-01-17) 17 January 1991 (age 33)
Pieksämäki, Finland
World Rally Championship record
Active years20112013, 2015–present
Co-driverFinland Janne Ferm
TeamsŠkoda, Toyota, Citroën, M-Sport, Hyundai
Rallies85
Championships0
Rally wins2
Podiums15
Stage wins77
Total points570
First rally2011 Rally Finland
First win2017 Rally Finland
Last win2024 Rally Sweden

Career

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2012

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Lappi won the 2012 Finnish Rally Championship with Ford Fiesta S2000 winning all the 7 rounds of the championship with his co-driver Janne Ferm.[1]

In October, Lappi was signed by Škoda Motorsport. Lappi won his first rally with the team in 2012 Rally Poland which was part of European Rally Championship, driving a Škoda Fabia S2000.[2]

Škoda Motorsport (2013–2016)

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Lappi at 2013 Rally de Portugal.

In 2013, Lappi competed full season in Asia-Pacific Rally Championship with Team MRF's Škoda Fabia S2000, and selected events in both WRC-2 and ERC with Škoda Motorsport. In APRC, Lappi won three out of six events and finished the season runner-up to his team-mate Gaurav Gill.

In ERC, Lappi competed in three tarmac rallies, winning the last of them Rallye International du Valais in Switzerland. He finished the season fifth in the final standings.

In WRC-2, he also raced in three rallies, winning Rally de Portugal where he also scored his maiden WRC-point finishing 10th overall.

Lappi won the 2014 European Rally Championship title with victories in Latvia, Northern Ireland and Switzerland.

Lappi continued competing with Škoda Motorsport driving their new challenger Fabia R5 in WRC-2 championship. He scored two wins in Poland and Finland on his way to finish the season in third place behind Nasser Al-Attiyah and Yuriy Protasov. Lappi also scored his career-best WRC result finishing eighth in Rally Finland.

He won the 2016 World Rally Championship-2 with the Škoda Fabia R5 after winning in Finland, Germany, Wales and Australia.[3]

Toyota (2017–2018)

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Lappi during Rally Finland 2017, his first WRC victory.

Lappi was signed by Toyota Gazoo Racing to drive a Toyota Yaris WRC in the 2017 World Rally Championship.[4] On his second event with the team, the 2017 Rally d'Italia, he won his first ever stage in the WRC, along with five more stage wins. He eventually finished fourth. In just his fourth World Rally Car start, at his home event of Rally Finland, Lappi took his first WRC victory.[5] In October 2018, Toyota announced that Lappi would leave the team at the end of the 2018 championship.[6]

Citroën (2019)

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He joined Citroën for the 2019 season, partnering with multiple champion Sébastien Ogier.[7] With the Citroën C3 WRC, Lappi finished the season in tenth place after a difficult year with many retirements. He scored three podiums for the French team, by finishing second in Sweden, Finland and Turkey.[8] After the season, Citroën announced they would depart from the World Rally Championship in 2020 after Ogier moved to Lappi's old team, Toyota, leaving Lappi to find a seat elsewhere.[9]

M-Sport (2020)

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Lappi at 2020 Rally Sweden.

After Citroën's exit in 2019, Lappi signed for M-Sport to drive the whole season in a Ford Fiesta WRC alongside his compatriot Teemu Suninen.[10]

Movisport and RTE-Motorsport WRC 2 (2021)

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In 2021, Lappi drove a Volkswagen Polo GTI for Movistar (rounds 2, 4) and a Toyota Yaris WRC for RTE-Motorsport (round 10) in the WRC 2 championship alongside longtime co-driver Janne Ferm. Of the three rounds he entered, Lappi won two and finished fourth in the third, ending the season in 12th place on points.[11][12]

Toyota (2022)

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Lappi returned to Toyota Gazoo Racing for the 2022 season in the new hybrid Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, joining drivers Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans, and Takamoto Katsuta. With co-driver Janne Ferm, Lappi shares the third Toyota car with Sébastien Ogier and his co-driver Benjamin Veillas. [13]

Hyundai (2023-Present)

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At the end of the 2022 season, Lappi signed to Hyundai Motorsport for the 2023 season, meaning he had now driven on behalf of all three major manufacturers in the WRC. Driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally1, he was signed alongside Craig Breen, and now drove alongside Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo, and Teemu Suninen. The 2023 season was also Lappi's first full-time contract since 2020, with the change to Hyundai being based on the Finn's desire for more regular driving in the championship. [14] Lappi would go on to place in sixth in his maiden Hyundai season, ahead of Takamoto Katsuta and behind Sébastien Ogier. He would podium four different times over the course of the season, placing third at Croatia, Portugal, and Estonia, and placing in second at Sardinia.[15]

Lappi would re-sign with Hyundai again for the 2024 season, although this time on a part-time status and only competing on selected events.[16] It was at Rally Sweden that Lappi earned his second WRC win, placing ahead of Elfyn Evans who finished in second place.[17]

WRC victories

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 #  Event Season Co-driver Car
1   67th Rally Finland 2017   Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC
2   Rally Sweden 2024   Janne Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Career results

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WRC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos. Points
2011 Printsport Citroën C2 R2 SWE MEX POR JOR ITA ARG GRE FIN
32
GER AUS FRA ESP GBR NC 0
2012 Printsport Ford Fiesta S2000 MON SWE MEX POR ARG GRE NZL FIN
25
NC 0
Esapekka Lappi Citroën C2 R2 GER
Ret
GBR FRA ITA ESP
2013 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 MON
Ret
SWE MEX POR
10
ARG GRE ITA 30th 1
Esapekka Lappi FIN
31
GER AUS FRA ESP GBR
2015 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 MON SWE MEX ARG POR
12
ITA
17
POL
12
FIN
8
GER
42
AUS FRA
14
ESP
Ret
GBR 20th 4
2016 Esapekka Lappi Škoda Fabia R5 MON
9
12th 16
Škoda Motorsport SWE
12
MEX ARG POR ITA
21
POL
14
FIN
8
GER
7
CHN
C
FRA ESP GBR
11
AUS
8
2017 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR
10
ITA
4
POL
Ret
FIN
1
GER
21
ESP
Ret
GBR
9
AUS
6
11th 62
2018 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC MON
7
SWE
4
MEX
11
FRA
6
ARG
8
POR
5
ITA
3
FIN
Ret
GER
3
TUR
Ret
GBR
3
ESP
7
AUS
4
5th 126
2019 Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC MON
Ret
SWE
2
MEX
13
FRA
7
ARG
Ret
CHL
6
POR
Ret
ITA
7
FIN
2
GER
8
TUR
2
GBR
27
ESP
Ret
AUS
C
10th 83
2020 M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC MON
4
SWE
5
MEX
Ret
EST
7
TUR
6
ITA
Ret
MNZ
4
6th 52
2021 Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 MON ARC
10
CRO POR
7
ITA KEN EST BEL GRE 12th 22
RTE-Motorsport Toyota Yaris WRC FIN
4
ESP MNZ
2022 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 MON SWE
3
CRO
49
POR ITA
44
KEN EST
6
FIN
3
BEL
3
GRE
22
NZL ESP JPN 9th 58
2023 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 MON
8
SWE
7
MEX
Ret
CRO
3
POR
3
ITA
2
KEN
12
EST
3
FIN
Ret
GRE
5
CHL
Ret
EUR
Ret
JPN
4
6th 113
2024 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 MON SWE
1
KEN
12
CRO POR ITA POL LAT
Ret
FIN
43
GRE CHL
Ret
EUR JPN 12th 33

* Season still in progress.

SWRC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pos. Points
2012 Printsport Ford Fiesta S2000 MON SWE POR NZL FIN
5
GBR FRA ESP 12th 10

WRC-2 results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos. Points
2013 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 MON
Ret
SWE MEX POR
1
ARG GRE ITA 16th 25
Esapekka Lappi FIN
11
GER AUS FRA ESP GBR
2015 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 MON SWE MEX ARG POR
2
ITA
9
POL
1
FIN
1
GER
13
AUS FRA
2
ESP
Ret
GBR 3rd 88
2016 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 MON SWE
3
MEX ARG POR ITA
9
POL
3
FIN
1
GER
1
CHN
C
FRA ESP GBR
1
AUS
1
1st 130
2021 Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 MON ARC
1
CRO POR
1
ITA KEN EST BEL GRE FIN ESP MNZ 7th 59

* Season still in progress.

ERC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Points
2012 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 AUT ITA CRO BUL BEL TUR POR CZE ESP POL
1
SUI 39
2013 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 JÄN LIE CAN AZO COR YPR ROM ZLÍ
Ret
POL CRO SAN
2
VAL
1
5th 64
2014 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 JÄN LIE
1
ACR
4
IRE
1
AZO YPR
Ret
EST
5
CZE
Ret
CYP VAL
1
COR
Ret
1st 162

APRC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pos. Points
2013 Team MRF Škoda Fabia S2000 NZL
1
NCL
Ret
AUS
1
MYS
Ret
JPN
Ret
CHN
1
2nd 117

Personal life

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Lappi is gluten intolerant. The Citroën service park chef prepares gluten-free dishes for him.[18] One of his sponsors is Moilas, a Finnish producer of gluten-free foods.

References

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  1. ^ "The perfect ending". esapekkalappi.fi. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Lappi & Ferm make a winning debut in a ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000". esapekkalappi.fi. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Lappi claims title with Australia win". WRC. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  4. ^ Evans, David (13 December 2016). "Incoming Toyota launches 2017 Yaris WRC, signs Latvala and Lappi". Autosport.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  5. ^ "WRC rookie Esapekka Lappi wins Rally Finland for Toyota". autosport.com. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Esapekka Lappi Joins Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT". media.citroenracing.com. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Lappi to partner five-time WRC champion Ogier at Citroen in 2019". autosport.com. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  8. ^ "WRC Season 2019". ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Citroen leaves World Rally Championship and blames Ogier's exit". autosport.com. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Citroen WRC exile Lappi joins M-Sport alongside Suninen and Greensmith". autosport.com. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  11. ^ "ESAPEKKA LAPPI". WRC - World Rally Championship. Archived from the original on 2022-08-20. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  12. ^ "WRC - World Rally Championship". WRC - World Rally Championship. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  13. ^ "Lappi returns as Toyota quartet completes Sweden prep". WRC - World Rally Championship. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  14. ^ "Hyundai signs Lappi and Breen for 2023". WRC. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Standings". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Lappi re-signs for 2024". Hyundai Motorsport Official Website. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Standings". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  18. ^ Lappi, Esapekka (8 August 2019). "Exclusive Citroen Tour w/ Esapekka Lappi @Neste Rally Finland 2019". YouTube. Red Bull Motorsports. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by European Rally Champion
2014
Succeeded by
Preceded by World Rally Championship-2 Champion
2016
Succeeded by