Esapekka Lappi says he’ll “get back to work” in preparation for his home event after a disappointing result on last weekend’s Rally Italia Sardegna.
Lappi suffered a puncture early on Friday that forced him down the overall leaderboard and the Finn eventually ended the Italian event in seventh place after also admitting to choosing the wrong tyres the following day that again cost him time against several of his rivals.
Speaking after the end of the Power Stage on Sunday afternoon, Lappi said: “Obviously, it wasn’t quite the result that we were hoping for. The problems we had on the first leg went a long way to determining the rest of our weekend. We weren’t able to perform at our true level given our position in the running order.”
“It was pretty much impossible to make up ground on these roads, where the grip increases so much with each passing car. We also weren’t helped by making the wrong call on tyres on Saturday morning. But at least we made it to the finish. We’ll now get back to work so that we’re in better form for our home round in Finland.”
So far in 2019, Lappi has had a tough start in the Citroen Total World Rally Team alongside defending champion Sebastien Ogier, with the Finn having a best result of second back in round two of the championship on Rally Sweden.
The second half of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship begins with Lappi’s home event, Rally Finland, which takes place between August 1-4.
