How a Toyota lifeline reignited Lappi's WRC career

Motorsport can be brutal at times. One moment a driver can be the next big thing, but it can spiral in the other direction so quickly. Thankfully, sometimes drivers receive second chances. And Esapekka Lappi has taken his World Rally Championship lifeline in both hands

By his own admission, Esapekka Lappi thought that perhaps his World Rally Championship career was over after losing his drive at the end of 2020. But fast forward to 2022, and a lifeline thrown by Toyota has left the Finn hailing the “best and strongest season of my career.”

Lappi is proof that a sabbatical or a backward step can re-ignite a career that appeared to be spiralling downward. Challenging for victories and three podium finishes from seven WRC events this season has put the 31-year-old firmly back in the WRC mix and he is now likely to continue this triumphant return into 2023.

Share Or Save This Story

Author Tom Howard

Tom Howard is a News Editor working across both Autosport.com and Motorsport.com websites. Starting out as a sports reporter in local newspapers, Tom focussed on motorsport covering several national championships in the UK, including the BTCC.

After a period working as a freelance journalist, Tom moved to Australia in 2013 landing a job at leading Australian motorsport news outlet speedcafe.com, covering international motorsport events including F1, WRC and Supercars. Progressing to Editor in 2017, Tom was named Motorsport Australia Journalist of the Year for his work. He is also a two-time winner of Supercars Journalist of The Year (2017,2019) and a Supercars Championship Media Award winner in 2019.

Tom moved back to his native UK in 2020, firstly working in BTCC, before joining Autosport and motorsport.com in 2021.