Teemu Suninen’s grown rather accustomed to this feeling.
Of course, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Any opportunity to show the world he’s deserving of a top class ride in the World Rally Championship is one the Finn’s going to take, but suffice it to say last week was a welcome reprieve for Suninen.
Last week was a week off.
The former M-Sport and Hyundai driver’s chance to combine a WRC2 program with a full season in the European Rally Championship kept him rather busy during July.
First there was Rally di Roma Capitale, staged on the first weekend of the month. A fortnight later, he was lining up at Rally Estonia.
But here’s where it got really crazy: a week after Estonia Suninen was rallying in Poland in the ERC, then immediately flew to Finland for the WRC2 event. In three weeks, he drove three different rallies. And this week he’s back at it again at Barum Rally Zlín.
Suninen has been swapping between a Škoda on Pirellis and a Toyota on Hankooks, and changing co-drivers too
The remarkable thing is Suninen finished second in Rome, Estonia and Finland and was victorious in Poland. Despite changing co-drivers. Despite changing cars. Despite changing tires.
“I have had super long weeks from rally to rally, jumping from car to car and still managed to keep this performance until the end,” Suninen proudly told DirtFish.
“Even at some points I started to feel it a bit on my body, the tiredness. But yeah, I think we did an amazing job in the end.
“Not forgetting Rome it’s four rallies in five weeks, so it’s quite many kilometers to practice from the videos and fight against the locals,” he added. “So every time I had different drivers to fight with – only in WRC we had the same drivers to fight for the win.”
The mental, and physical, toll is a price Suninen is more than willing to pay for the reputational gain this is providing.
Having not competed at all in 2025 following a disastrous 2024 in a troubled Hyundai i20 N Rally2, Suninen’s name can’t be far from the top of the shopping list of prospective constructors in 2027 – especially considering he’s a proven podium finisher in the WRC, too.
Suninen's mission is to prove he deserves a top drive in WRC 2027
“That’s the goal for me now,” Suninen admitted. “My main goal is to get to work in the proper team who wants to develop a good future car, because I feel to have really good skills to develop their cars.
“I have experience from every single car from the grid now, know the benefits and hopefully we get the seat.”
Winning championships isn’t the only way to prove he’s worthy of said seat, but it can’t harm. After four of seven rounds, Suninen is well placed in the ERC – leading Andrea Mabellini by 23 points.
In WRC2 things aren’t as clear – not just because rival Robert Virves has won four in a row, but because Suninen doesn’t have the budget secured yet to extend his program.
“It’s a bit challenging to find a budget,” he explained. “But hopefully this good result shows that I’m one of the fastest drivers in Rally2 cars, can manage Tarmac and gravel, and even different cars. So it’s not a big issue for me to jump between the cars.”
