WRC2 CHAMPION 2022

Emil Lindholm Emil Lindholm

WRC2 CHAMPION 2022

Emil Lindholm Emil Lindholm

WRC2 CHAMPION 2022

Emil Lindholm Emil Lindholm

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Lindholm had to retire in WRC Rally Chile Bio Bió

02 October 2023

Hyundai Motorsport N-team's Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen had to retire on the last day’s second special stage of the WRC Chile due to a broken steering arm. "I misheard a pace note and we had too much speed going into the left-hand corner. We spun, the car fell on its side and the steering arm broke," Lindholm said. Before the retirement the Finnish duo was in sixth place of the WRC2 class.

The final day of the World Rally Championship in Chile started with the second fastest time of the opening special stage for Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen. The day's program included a total of four special stages, of which the second special stage of the morning was the last of the rally for the Finnish duo.

Lindholm misheard a pace note and spun in a left-hand corner. The two were able to continue their rally to the finish line of the stage but there they had to throw in the towel: the right front wheel of the car was bent under, so there was no point in continuing the competition.

- I misheard a pace note and we had too much speed for a left-hand corner. The car did a half-spin, fell on its side and fell back on its wheels. We were able to continue the rally, but the steering arm of our car broke in the situation. Even though we reached the finish of the special stage, we couldn’t continue the rally.

- I'm really sorry for my team. They traveled a long way here and did an amazing job all weekend. We have had challenges in the last few rallies, but we are not going to give up, Lindholm reminded.

Lindholm, who was competing in South America for the first time, drove in WRC Rally Chile Bio Bió after the first day of competition in fifth place in the WRC2 class. In the first special stage of the competition, the rear steering arm of the Finnish duo's car got bent and the wheel turned sideways. The problem slowed down the duo's competition throughout the morning run and also caused a flat tire. The Finnish pair was left behind the fastest drivers of the class for a minute.

The second day of the rally was the longest and most challenging. The nature of the route quickly turned out to be different from before, also in terms of the road surface. Lindholm suffered from dust and, with the rise in temperature, also greater tire wear than expected. Saturday's special stages were difficult. At the end of the day the duo fell to a seventh place in the WRC2 class.