Esapekka Lappi is talking about his cooperation with Janne Ferm all these years and remembers their special moments during their partnership while he reveals what made Ferm so special to him.
Janne Ferm confirmed his retirement from World Rally Championship at the end of Rally Chile a day ago and it was a shocking news since no one expected this announcement. Lappi and Ferm have been together in rallying for 15 seasons and their first achievement came in 2016 when they became WRC2 Champions with Skoda Motorsport driving the Fabia R5. A year later, they signed a part-time contract with Toyota which were their rookie season at the top level, but immediately they showed their potential by winning their home event and doing only four outings with the Yaris WRC. After seven years, they returned back to the top step of the podium, but this time they won Rally Sweden with Hyundai Motorsport last February. Totally, they have 15 podiums and 77 stage wins at the top tier of World Rally Championship. Finally, Lappi and Ferm hoped that the last one would end his career in a more positive way as the pair was forced to retire before the start of the Powerstage in Chile due to heavy damage on the front bumper and the cooling system of their i20N.
"First of all, I need to thank him for all these years", Lappi said.
"We’ve had 15 seasons together.
"I was a rookie when we started.
"We both were.
"We’ve climbed up the hill to be professionals for many years and now this journey comes to an end.
"I’m pretty sure we will sit together still at some point, you know, to do some funny stuff on the rally car, but not professionally.
"So, yeah, only positives and really thankful for him about it.
"He’s been the loudest laugher of the pit.
"If you don’t know where he is, but you hear the laugh, you know he’s present somewhere nearby.
"And it doesn’t even need to be nearby, because you can hear it far away.
"But yeah, I’m sure we all will miss his jokes, his sense of humour".
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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