All Hyundai cars had the wrong settings on Friday in Latvia as Lappi reveals

Esapekka Lappi believes that all Hyundai cars chose wrong settings on the opening stage of Rally Latvia and that his lack of performance might be due to the fact that it had been long time since the last time he drove the i20N while his relief is that the engine failure happened in Powerstage and not earlier.

EP returned back to the wheel of the i20N in Latvia last week since Safari Rally Kenya which was held four months ago. Hyundai gave him the chance to take part in a Lithuanian event as his preparation for Rally Latvia, but he was out of pace throughout the last weekend. Lappi was fighting for the final positions of the classification while he dropped to tenth place as Hyundai gave him team orders in favor to Thierry Neuville with the view of the last one starting second instead of first on the road on Saturday. Lappi's rally did not start in a positive way as the steering wheel of his i20N was bent in all Friday stages and his mechanics could not fix it due to the fact that there was no midday service on the day. In Stage 5, the tyre was off the rim after a junction while he passed Gregoire Munster for the ninth place at the end of Stage 11. However, his rally worsened in Powerstage as the engine of his i20N was finished just one kilometer into the stage and stayed out of the overall classification. Last but not least, it must be mentioned that all Hyundai drivers were not able to match the pace of Toyota drivers and Martins Sesks, but only Ott Tanak showed the capabilities of the Korean car on the last two days of Rally Latvia.

"Sadly, we suffered an engine failure on that final stage, but at least it happens now and not earlier in the weekend", Lappi said. 

"Our settings on Friday were completely wrong on all three cars, but all of us were on much better form on Saturday after we made changes. 

"I think we were misled by Poland and my preparation rally, which had much sandier surfaces, and we went the wrong way with the set-up. 

"I think we now have a good base to start from for Finland, and I certainly look forward to it".

Photo Credits: Hyundai