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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8th place for Lindholm in a demanding event

22 April 2024

Hyundai's Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen managed to secure the eighth place in the Croatian round of the World Rally Championship 2 despite an illness that took the sharpest edge of the driving.

Hyundai Motorsport N-team's chances of a strong performance in the World Rally Championship Croatia were dashed when Lindholm fell ill in the early hours of Tuesday. An aggressive stomach bug and a week-long illness robbed the Finnish driver of his best performance.

"This (Croatia) would have surely been a great competition, as I had a confident feeling with the car in pre-event testing, but unfortunately our chances were already gone during recce, as I was really sick and couldn't keep any food down. I was tired and lacked energy, so I couldn't focus on the pace notes as well as I needed to. Making pace notes was difficult," Lindholm admits.

Lindholm states that driving the rally car has never been as challenging as it was in Croatia.

"Even with a cold, driving comes naturally. This time, I felt exceptionally bad. However, unfortunate tire punctures on the opening day of the rally messed up our rally completely."

"On the opening special stage of the competition, a big rock had risen onto the track, and in another instance, the edge of the asphalt caused damage. It was just our fate this time."

Lindholm praises his updated car and his team, CHL Sport Auto.

"Our team did a great job throughout the rally. Our updated car is also a step forward. The good special stage times on Saturday showed that Hyundai's performance on asphalt is strong. The updated engine has better throttle response and a wider power band."

"On Sunday, an impact on the front cost us some time, but we managed to repair the damage during the transition to the last special stage," Lindholm says.

Lindholm has competed in two WRC rounds this season, and the third WRC rally is scheduled for the end of May.

"We're planning to compete in the WRC Sardinia next," Lindholm reveals.

Final results, World Rally Championship Croatia, WRC2:
1. Nikolai Gryazin (BUL) – Konstantin Aleksandrov (ANA), Citroën C3 Rally2: 2:49:44,9
2. Yohan Rossel – Arnaud Dunand (FRA), Citroën C3 Rally2: + 38,2
3. Pepe Lopez – David Vázquez (ESP), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2: + 2:41,
…
8. Emil Lindholm – Reeta Hämäläinen (FIN), Hyundai i20 N Rally2: + 8:59,9

WRC2-class World Championship points:
1. Oliver Solberg (SWE) Škoda 4
2. Yohan Rossel (FRA) Citroën 43
3. Nikolai Gryazin (BUL) Citroën 40
…
12. Emil Lindholm (FIN) Hyundai 10