Esapekka Eemeli Lappi (; born 17 January 1991) is a Finnish former rally driver. He is the 2014 European Rally Champion and the 2016 WRC-2 Champion. Lappi is also three-time Finnish Rally Champion winning it in 2012, 2025 and 2026. He drove lately for Hyundai Motorsport in 2026. In 2024, he won his second ever event in Rally Sweden, which broke the record for the longest gap between wins in terms of time and number of rallies (81 rallies), with his debut win coming from his home event in 2017 Rally Finland. Lappi announced his retirement from professional rallying after the 2026 season.
Career 2012 Lappi won the 2012 Finnish Rally Championship with Ford Fiesta S2000 winning all the 7 rounds of the championship with his co-driver Janne Ferm.
In October, Lappi was signed by Škoda Motorsport. Lappi won his first rally with the team in 2012 Rally Poland which was part of European Rally Championship, driving a Škoda Fabia S2000.
Škoda Motorsport (2013–2016)
In 2013, Lappi competed full season in Asia-Pacific Rally Championship with Team MRF's Škoda Fabia S2000, and selected events in both WRC-2 and ERC with Škoda Motorsport. In APRC, Lappi won three out of six events and finished the season runner-up to his team-mate Gaurav Gill.
In ERC, Lappi competed in three tarmac rallies, winning the last of them Rallye International du Valais in Switzerland. He finished the season fifth in the final standings.
In WRC-2, Lappi also raced in three rallies, winning Rally de Portugal where he also scored his maiden WRC-point finishing 10th overall.
Lappi won the 2014 European Rally Championship title with victories in Latvia, Northern Ireland and Switzerland.
Lappi continued competing with Škoda Motorsport driving their new challenger Fabia R5 in WRC-2 championship. He scored two wins in Poland and Finland on his way to finish the season in third place behind Nasser Al-Attiyah and Yuriy Protasov. Lappi also scored his career-best WRC result finishing eighth in Rally Finland.
Lappi won the 2016 World Rally Championship-2 with the Škoda Fabia R5 after winning in Finland, Germany, Wales and Australia.
Toyota (2017–2018)
Lappi was signed by Toyota Gazoo Racing to drive a Toyota Yaris WRC in the 2017 World Rally Championship. On his second event with the team, the 2017 Rally d'Italia, he won his first ever stage in the WRC, along with five more stage wins. He eventually finished fourth. In just his fourth World Rally Car start, at his home event of Rally Finland, Lappi took his first WRC victory. In October 2018, Toyota announced that Lappi would leave the team at the end of the 2018 championship.
Citroën (2019) Lappi joined Citroën for the 2019 season, partnering with multiple champion Sébastien Ogier. With the Citroën C3 WRC, Lappi finished the season in tenth place after a difficult year with many retirements. He scored three podiums for the French team, by finishing second in Sweden, Finland and Turkey. After the season, Citroën announced they would depart from the World Rally Championship in 2020 after Ogier moved to Lappi's old team, Toyota, leaving Lappi to find a seat elsewhere.
M-Sport (2020)
After Citroën's exit in 2019, Lappi signed for M-Sport to drive the whole season in a Ford Fiesta WRC alongside his compatriot Teemu Suninen.
Movisport and RTE-Motorsport WRC 2 (2021) In 2021, Lappi drove a Volkswagen Polo GTI for Movistar (rounds 2, 4) and a Toyota Yaris WRC for RTE-Motorsport (round 10) in the WRC 2 championship alongside longtime co-driver Janne Ferm. Of the three rounds he entered, Lappi won two and finished fourth in the third, ending the season in 12th place on points.
Toyota (2022) Lappi returned to Toyota Gazoo Racing for the 2022 season in the new hybrid Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, joining drivers Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans, and Takamoto Katsuta. With co-driver Janne Ferm, Lappi shares the third Toyota car with Sébastien Ogier and his co-driver Benjamin Veillas.
Hyundai (2023-2024) At the end of the 2022 season, Lappi signed to Hyundai Motorsport for the 2023 season, meaning he had now driven on behalf of all three major manufacturers in the WRC. Driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally1, he was signed alongside Craig Breen, and now drove alongside Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo, and Teemu Suninen. The 2023 season was also Lappi's first full-time contract since 2020, with the change to Hyundai being based on the Finn's desire for more regular driving in the championship. Lappi would go on to place in sixth in his maiden Hyundai season, ahead of Takamoto Katsuta and behind Sébastien Ogier. He would podium four different times over the course of the season, placing third at Croatia, Portugal, and Estonia, and placing in second at Sardinia.
Lappi would re-sign with Hyundai again for the 2024 season, although this time on a part-time status and only competing on selected events. It was at Rally Sweden that Lappi earned his second WRC win, placing ahead of Elfyn Evans who finished in second place.
2025 In January 2025, Lappi announced that he would compete in the Finnish Rally Championship's SM1 class with co-driver Enni Mälkönen after his long-term co-driver Janne Ferm retired in 2024. He would go on to take the championship by winning 5 events in a row.
Return to Hyundai (2026) In December 2025, Hyundai announced that Lappi would contest the WRC season with Mälkönen for the team in a partial campaign, sharing the third car with Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo. The crew participated in 5 rounds and finished fourth overall at the Safari Rally. In addition, Lappi and Mälkönen also continued competing the Finnish Rally Championship and successfully defended the title in the penultimate round at Kitee.
In September 2026, Lappi announced his decision to retire from rallying after Championship's last round at Porvoo, citing family reasons.
WRC victories # Event Season Co-driver Car 1 67th Rally Finland 2017 Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC 2 Rally Sweden 2024 Janne Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Career results WRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Points 2011 Printsport Citroën C2 R2 SWE MEX POR JOR ITA ARG GRE FIN32 GER AUS FRA ESP GBR NC 0 2012 Printsport Ford Fiesta S2000 MON SWE MEX POR ARG GRE NZL FIN25 NC 0 Esapekka Lappi Citroën C2 R2 GERRet GBR FRA ITA ESP 2013 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 MONRet SWE MEX POR10 ARG GRE ITA 30th 1 Esapekka Lappi FIN31 GER AUS FRA ESP GBR 2015 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 MON SWE MEX ARG POR12 ITA17 POL12 FIN8 GER42 AUS FRA14 ESPRet GBR 20th 4 2016 Esapekka Lappi Škoda Fabia R5 MON9 12th 16 Škoda Motorsport SWE12 MEX ARG POR ITA21 POL14 FIN8 GER7 CHNC FRA ESP GBR11 AUS8 2017 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR10 ITA4 POLRet FIN1 GER21 ESPRet GBR9 AUS6 11th 62 2018 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC MON7 SWE4 MEX11 FRA6 ARG8 POR5 ITA3 FINRet GER3 TURRet GBR3 ESP7 AUS4 5th 126 2019 Citroën Total WRT Citroën C3 WRC MONRet SWE2 MEX13 FRA7 ARGRet CHL6 PORRet ITA7 FIN2 GER8 TUR2 GBR27 ESPRet AUS 10th 83 2020 M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC MON4 SWE5 MEXRet EST7 TUR6 ITARet MNZ4 6th 52 2021 Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 MON ARC CRO POR ITA KEN EST BEL GRE 12th 22 RTE-Motorsport Toyota Yaris WRC FIN ESP MNZ 2022 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 MON SWE CRO49 POR ITA44 KEN EST FIN BEL GRE NZL ESP JPN 9th 58 2023 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 MON SWE MEX CRO POR ITA2 KEN EST FIN GRE CHL EUR JPN 6th 113 2024 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 MON SWE KEN CRO POR ITA POL LAT FIN GRE CHL EUR JPN 12th 33 2026 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 MON SWE KEN CRO ESP POR JPN GRE EST FIN PAR CHL ITA SAU 10th* 21* Season still in progress.
SWRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points 2012 Printsport Ford Fiesta S2000 MON SWE POR NZL FIN5 GBR FRA ESP 12th 10
WRC-2 results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Points 2013 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 MONRet SWE MEX POR1 ARG GRE ITA 16th 25 Esapekka Lappi FIN11 GER AUS FRA ESP GBR 2015 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 MON SWE MEX ARG POR2 ITA9 POL1 FIN1 GER13 AUS FRA2 ESPRet GBR 3rd 88 2016 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 MON SWE3 MEX ARG POR ITA9 POL3 FIN1 GER1 CHNC FRA ESP GBR1 AUS1 1st 130 2021 Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 MON ARC CRO POR ITA KEN EST BEL GRE FIN ESP MNZ 7th 59
ERC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Points 2012 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 AUT ITA CRO BUL BEL TUR POR CZE ESP POL1 SUI — 39 2013 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 JÄN LIE CAN AZO COR YPR ROM ZLÍRet POL CRO SAN2 VAL1 5th 64 2014 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Fabia S2000 JÄN LIE1 ACR4 IRE1 AZO YPRRet EST5 CZERet CYP VAL1 CORRet 1st 162
APRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 Points 2013 Team MRF Škoda Fabia S2000 NZL1 NCLRet AUS1 MYSRet JPNRet CHN1 2nd 117
Personal life Lappi married his long-time partner Pinja Mökkönen in April 2025. The couple has 3 children and reside in their hometown Pieksämäki.
Lappi is gluten intolerant. The Citroën service park chef prepares gluten-free dishes for him. One of his sponsors is Moilas, a Finnish producer of gluten-free foods.
References
External links
Official website Lappi's profile in ewrc-results.com