Esapekka Lappi says that it was very frustrating for him to retire from Safari Rally Kenya and asks from Hyundai to investigate his mechanical issue very carefully.
The Finn driver was chasing his fourth consecutive podium of the season as he was in third place overall after Elfyn Evans's stall in Stage 8, but he was forced to stop 22 Km into Stage 11 due to the fact that his i20N's propshaft was cracked and was not able to continue. He was the top Hyundai driver until the time he retired while it must be mentioned that he suffered from a propshaft issue again this week as he was not able to set a time in the Shakedown session of Safari Rally on Wednesday due to this problem. His mechanics managed to repair his car for the superspecial stage in Kasarani on Thursday and he was able to set the fastest time in Stage 3. Until today, he is the only Hyundai driver who won a stage in Kenya despite the fact that it is his first time there, but it is yet to be confirmed if he will restart on Sunday under the regulations of Rally2, even though his name is included to the entry list for section 6.
"It was very frustrating to retire on the first stage of the afternoon", Lappi said.
"I pushed the throttle to accelerate and there was a big bang.
"It seems the prop shaft cracked somewhere underneath the car, so we pulled over into the junction in front of us.
"I haven’t had this problem before this week, clearly something is wrong and we need to investigate very carefully.
"I’m sure we have a chance to return tomorrow to try to gain experience and fight for some Power Stage points.
"I think we were doing a really good job and prepared very well for this rally to have a good weekend, but it wasn’t to be".
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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