Jari Huttunen has made a late switch from Hyundai Motorsport to join M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s WRC2 assault at next week’s Rally Monza.
Huttunen has endured a rollercoaster of a season with Hyundai, landing WRC2 wins in Sardinia and Belgium, but retiring with a mixture of mechanical problems and accidents in Lapland, Estonia and Spain.
Talking about his debut with M-Sport, the 27-year-old said: “For me it’s really exciting to be joining M-Sport for Rally Monza in WRC2.
Photo: M-Sport
“It’s a new car and team to get to know, which will be a steep learning curve, but one I am looking forward to. I know the Fiesta Rally2 is very competitive on asphalt, so I am looking forward to seeing what we can do together.
“OK, Rally Monza has extra challenges that come with the circuit stages, but I still cannot wait to line up on the start line of the event with a prestigious team like M-Sport. I would like to thank M-Sport for making this happen at short notice.”
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener said he was looking forward to putting a proven WRC2 class winner in one of the team’s factory Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
“Jari is well known in WRC, and he has some impressive results against his name over the past few seasons, taking several Rally2 category wins in the WRC since 2017 and two WRC2 victories this season,” said Millener.
“We know we have a great package, and I am really looking forward to getting to know Jari and see what he can achieve with our help.”
Huttunen finished last year’s Monza Rally third in WRC3 with Hyundai, (pictured above) clinching the championship title in the proces.
With Teemu Suninen stepping up to the main Hyundai Motorsport team and Oliver Solberg driving for 2C Competition, the manufacturer is not expected to field any official WRC2 cars in Italy next week.
