Lappi to contest Finnish championship with Mälkönen

Esapekka Lappi will drive a Škoda in Finland this year, starting next weekend at Arctic Lapland Rally

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Esapekka Lappi will contest this year’s Finnish Rally Championship driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, and will be co-driven by Enni Mälkönen.

The two-time World Rally winner was left without a confirmed World Rally Championship program this year when Hyundai elected to shift strategy and employ a full-time driver (Adrien Fourmaux) for its third car – a program Lappi is not keen on.

Two weeks ago, the Finn released a video on his social media confirming he had nothing in place for 2025 yet, but said he was still in talks with Hyundai although equally “looking at other options too, with an open mind to other series”.

Now, he has announced that he’ll contest the full Finnish championship, starting with the Arctic Lapland Rally next weekend (January 31 – February 1). It’ll be his first time driving a Škoda since he won the WRC2 title in 2016.

With Lappi’s long-term co-driver Janne Ferm retiring from professional rallying at the end of 2024, Mälkönen will now take his place. She had been partnered with Sami Pajari and won last year’s WRC2 title with him, but was replaced by Marko Salminen for Pajari’s full Rally1 season with Toyota in 2025.

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