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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Hyundai's Emil Lindholm starts his World Championship season from Sweden

14 February 2024

Hyundai Driver Emil Lindholm and co-driver Reeta Hämäläinen will kick off their WRC2 class World Championship season from Sweden. The duo will be competing for WRC points with Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car from the French team CHL Sport Auto.

Huyndai Driver Emil Lindholm and his co-driver Reeta Hämäläinen are starting their WRC2 season at the WRC Rally Sweden this week. The duo will compete in the World Championship series with CHL Sport Auto's Hyundai i20 N Rally2.

Lindholm mentions that the final schedule for the season will be confirmed later. Before the Swedish WRC rally, the duo prepared for the season by making pace notes for the Monte Carlo WRC rally.

- It feels like the break has been long, even though it has only been a little over three months since the Central European WRC Rally. I am eagerly looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car for the season's only winter rally and a start of a new rally season.

- The Swedish WRC rally has always been one of my favorite events on the WRC calendar. I am used to driving in winter conditions in Finland, but this year, my schedule includes only this one winter rally, and it is my first winter rally with Hyundai. We will make the most of the upcoming experience.

Lindholm conducted preparatory tests for the Swedish rally last weekend in Jalasjärvi.

-I was already very satisfied with our car last season, and I believe that a high-speed snow rally like Sweden suits us well. In the crisp cold weather, we will experiment with some adjustments to our car's settings.

- I think our car has good settings that did not need lot of changing. Of course, a test is always a test and only the rally itself will show our true performance. The most important thing was to get back behind the wheel, shake off any rust from my wrists and get back into the rhythm required by the competitive situation. Collecting championship points begins in Sweden, and we are heading there with confidence, Lindholm reminds.

Lindholm mentions that the upcoming route includes quite a few special stages familiar from previous years.

- There is one new stage, Vännäs (15.65 km), scheduled for Saturday, and a few new sections in few stages. In Sweden, as in all top-level sports, we strive to improve our performance continually and, through that, develop to become even better and faster, Lindholm summarizes.

The WRC Rally Sweden kicks off on Thursday evening in Umeå with a spectator special stage (5.16 km) at 20:05 Finnish time. On Friday, the program includes seven special stages (107.90 km), and similarly on Saturday (125.96 km). The final day's Sunday program features three special stages (61.08 km), with the concluding Power Stage (10.08 km) starting at 13:15 Finnish time.