Lappi to Make World Rally Car debut on Rally de Portugal in TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Testing Role

Apr 18, 2017 17:09 JST

Source: Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota City, Japan, Apr 18, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team test driver Esapekka Lappi and his co-driver Janne Ferm will make their first appearances at the top level of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) on Rally de Portugal in May.

Janne Ferm, Esapekka Lappi

Lappi will join his team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Juho Hanninen in the squad for the May 19-21 event, driving a third Yaris WRC at the start of a limited programme of WRC rounds, which will be selected according to development requirements.

http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_ToyotaFermLappi.jpg
Janne Ferm, Esapekka Lappi

The car has performed well since its debut on Rallye Monte-Carlo, and was driven to victory by Latvala on just its second event in Sweden in February, but TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is continuing to learn during the first season of the WRC project. With the team having collected plenty of data from the previous events, adding a third car when needed will help to accelerate the development of the Yaris WRC.

Lappi, who is one of the brightest prospects in rallying and last year won the WRC 2 title, joined TOYOTA GAZOO Racing prior to the 2017 season and has got to know the Yaris WRC well during testing. Through real competition, the 26-year-old Finn will be able to gain further experience to keep him match-fit.

Quotes:

Tommi Makinen (Team Principal)

"Esapekka is a very young and very hungry driver, this is for sure, but of course he has not had so much time to test the car before his first rally. I know that he will do his best, and the objective for him personally is the same as the objective for the whole team: he needs to finish the rallies and collect as much information as possible. There is still a lot of progress that we can make with our car and he is going to be an important part of that development process. Of course, you learn a lot from testing on your own but you learn even more from real competition against everyone else when that is part of a testing programme, which is why we have made this decision to run Esapekka and Janne on some rallies this year. It is good to give some young boys a chance as well."

Esapekka Lappi (Test Driver)

"This is the moment I have been working for all of my life: it is an amazing opportunity to drive a World Rally Car and I am so happy. I actually first met Tommi and Mr Toyoda together on Rally Finland in 2014, just to say hello, but I had no idea back then that I would end up driving for them now! I have not had a lot of testing with Yaris WRC so I will need to build my experience as it is a very big step up from R5. For Janne too, there will be plenty to get used to, as the pace notes are coming so much faster! But step by step we will all learn together. My goal is to try and get to the finish of the rallies without issues. If you can do that, then you always have a good chance of scoring some points."

Esapekka Lappi Highlights

Date of birth: 17 January 1991
Age: 26 years old
Nationality: Finnish
2007: Karting Finnish Champion
2008: Rally sprint (won all the rounds)
2009: First rally 2011: First WRC rally (Rally Finland, Rookie of the Year award) 2012: Finnish Rally Champion (won all the rounds)
2013: First WRC 2 victory in Vodafone Rally de Portugal
2014: FIA ERC Champion
2016: WRC 2 World Rally Champion (5 wins)

WRC 2 Statistics

WRC 2 starts: 17, Victories: 7, Podiums: 11, Points scored: 245, Stage wins: 126

Contact:

Public Affairs Division
Global Communications Department
Toyota Motor Corporation
Tel: +81-3-3817-9926

Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
Sectors: Automotive

Related Press Release

Toyota Exhibiting at Beijing Motor Show 2024

April 25 2024 15:25 JST

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing takes a one-two in Croatian thriller

April 22 2024 09:47 JST

Toyota Launches All-New Land Cruiser "250" Series in Japan

April 18 2024 12:39 JST

Lexus presents Time at the 2024 Milan Design Week

April 16 2024 17:49 JST

New circuit challenge for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

April 15 2024 16:21 JST

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing back on asphalt for Croatian challenge

April 12 2024 18:36 JST

Daihatsu and Toyota to Reform Structures towards the Revitalization of Daihatsu

April 08 2024 12:37 JST

Toyota Completes Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama Research and Development Facility for Making Ever-better Cars

April 02 2024 10:28 JST

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing roars to fourth successive Safari triumph

April 01 2024 09:47 JST

Toyota Releases Sales, Production, and Export Results for February 2024

March 28 2024 12:35 JST

More Press release >>

Latest Press Release

Mazda Production and Sales Results for March 2024 and for April 2023 through March 2024
Apr 25, 2024 18:21 JST

MHI Begins Operation of SOEC Test Module the Next-Generation High-Efficiency Hydrogen Production Technology at Takasago Hydrogen Park
Apr 25, 2024 17:45 JST

GAC Honda to Begin Sales of All-new e:NP2, the Second Model of e:N Series
Apr 25, 2024 16:50 JST

Toyota Exhibiting at Beijing Motor Show 2024
Apr 25, 2024 16:25 JST

Honda Reaches Basic Agreement with Asahi Kasei on Collaboration for Production of Battery Separators for Automotive Batteries in Canada
Apr 25, 2024 11:10 JST

UNIQLO Sponsors KAWS + Warhol Exhibition Tour, Starting in Pittsburgh
Apr 25, 2024 09:00 JST

Mitsubishi Power Begins Commercial Operation of Seventh M701JAC Gas Turbine in Thailand GTCC Project; Achieves 75,000 AOH To-Date
Apr 24, 2024 17:19 JST

MC and Denka Sign J/V Agreement in Fullerene Business
Apr 24, 2024 17:02 JST

Mitsubishi Motors Posts Record Sales in the Philippines in FY2023
Apr 24, 2024 13:56 JST

NEC Develops High-speed Generative AI Large Language Models (LLM) with World-class Performance
Apr 24, 2024 13:25 JST

Fujitsu SX Survey reveals key success factors for sustainability
Apr 23, 2024 10:25 JST

Fujitsu and METRON collaborate to drive ESG success: slashing energy costs, boosting productivity with new manufacturing industry solutions
Apr 22, 2024 16:09 JST

NEC Strengthens Commitment to Space Industry with Investment in Seraphim Space Venture Fund II
Apr 22, 2024 15:09 JST

Soft Space Launches the First and Only JCB Payment Gateway in Malaysia
Apr 22, 2024 15:00 JST

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing takes a one-two in Croatian thriller
Apr 22, 2024 10:47 JST

First-ever Mazda CX-80 Crossover SUV Unveiled in Europe
Apr 19, 2024 13:50 JST

Fujitsu develops technology to convert corporate digital identity credentials, enabling participation of non-European companies in European data spaces
Apr 19, 2024 10:17 JST

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and NGK to Jointly Develop Hydrogen Purification System from Ammonia Cracking Gas
Apr 18, 2024 17:01 JST

Toyota Launches All-New Land Cruiser "250" Series in Japan
Apr 18, 2024 13:39 JST

Fujitsu and Oracle collaborate to deliver sovereign cloud and AI capabilities in Japan
Apr 18, 2024 11:14 JST

More Latest Release >>