Lindholm to seek experience, not points from WRC Rally Italia Sardegna
31 May 2023
After five World Championship rounds, Škoda's Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen, who are fourth in the WRC2 class of the rally, are not competing for World Championship points, but to learn and gain experience for the futurefrom the WRC Rally Italia Sardegna.
The teams competing for the WRC2 class championship must nominate seven World Championship rallies where they will compete for points. Of these, the results of the best six competitions are calculated into the final points.
Having driven for World Championship points in three rounds this year, Lindholm and his team decided that they are going to drive remaining four WRC rounds entitled to points during this summer and autumn.
The duo of the Team GRX is competing in Sardinia for the second time. In the 2021 season their first World Rally Championship in Sardinia ended in the seventh special stage of the opening day due to a radiator failure, with the engine overheating and stopping. The engine was damaged, so that the Finnish duo could not continue the rally at that time.
- The last time we drove World Rally Championship in Sardinia was at 2021. We didn’t compete for World Championship points then either. And even then, Reeta was the "number one driver", Lindholm smiles.
- We felt that Sardinia is a round that we wanted to go to and primarily seek to learn and experience. This is practically a new rally for us, since we missed two-thirds of the rally the previous time. We will drive for points later in the late summer and autumn in World Championship rallies we are more familiar with, which also suit us better, Lindholm reasons.
The route of the World Rally Championship in Sardinia is demanding with sun baked gravel tracks and soft sandy roads in places. The heat and the 49.90 km long Monte Lerno - Sa Conchedda special stage, which is run twice, also bring their own challenges to the rally.
- Ahead is the longest special stage I've ever started. You have to take care of the tires there so that they don't wear out right away. At the same time the speed has to be maintained, but you should also stay out of trouble. Challenging for sure, says Lindholm.
- We have no other bigger goals than to do our own maximum performance and reach the finish line. It's great that we are participating in the event. A big thank you to our partners for this opportunity. It is important for us that we are able to learn and increase our experience instead of World Championship points in some rally, Lindholm reminds.
A total of 19 special stages and 320.88 special stage kilometers will be driven in the WRC Rally Italia Sardegna. The rally starts on Thursday evening in Olbia at 19:05 with a public special stage (3.20 km). The rally continues on Friday at 9:40 with the longest competition day of the event. The day's program includes six special tests and 138.04 special stage kilometers. The program includes, among other things, the longest special stage of the rally, Monte Lerno - Sa Conchedda (49.90 km), which is run twice during the day.
Saturday's program includes eight special stages (133.62 km) and four more special stages (46.02 km) on Sunday, the final day of the rally. Sardegna (7.79 km), which is run twice, is the final Power Stage special stage of the rally, which starts at 13:15 (UTC+3).
WRC2-class championship points:
1. Yohan Rossel (F) Citroën 65
2. Oliver Solberg Škoda (SWE) 64
3. Gus Greensmith (Škoda GB) 62
4. Emil Lindholm Škoda (FIN) 44
5. Nikolai Gryazin Škoda (ANA) 38
about
Emil Lindholm
DRIVER
Reeta Hämäläinen
CO-DRIVER
Calendar -25
-
24.-27.04.Rally Islas CanariasWRC2
-
05.-08.06.Rally Italia SardegnaWRC2
-
31.-03.08.Secto Rally FinlandWRC2
partners
Emil Lindholm
+358 500 441 917
emil.lindholm@sebateam.fi