Estonian teen Jaspar Vaher wins Finnish rally, earns praise from WRC driver Lappi

Young Estonian rally talent Jaspar Vaher achieved his first victory in a Finnish and Estonian championship stage race at the Jyväskylä Rally. The 19-year-old, competing with co-driver Rait Jansen, secured the win by a narrow margin over experienced driver Esapekka Lappi of the Hyundai WRC team.

The event, the third stage of the Estonian championship and fifth of the Finnish championship, attracted 141 competitors. Vaher and Jansen finished 5.6 seconds ahead of Lappi and his co-driver Enni Mälkönen. However, a four-second penalty for exceeding the speed limit at a virtual chicane on the sixth stage reduced their final lead to just 1.6 seconds.

Vaher expressed his joy at the unexpected victory, noting a turning point in the second half of the rally. "We managed to drive better somehow, and something suited us better," he stated. He identified the fourth stage as crucial, where they unexpectedly built a significant lead, realizing their potential for faster, competitive driving. Vaher acknowledged his development, particularly on fast tracks, while admitting uncertainty about his performance on slower asphalt rallies.

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We managed to drive better somehow, and something suited us better. The fourth stage was definitely a turning point, because before that we were losing, but on that stage we managed to create a very big gap, to our own surprise.

Lappi, a two-time World Rally Championship event winner, commended the young Estonian. "Müts maha Jaspari ees, ta sõitis väga hästi. Temast on kõva sõitja tulemas ja kui ta suudab enda kiirust veel arendada, siis paari aasta pärast on ta MM-radadel," Lappi said, predicting Vaher's future success on the world stage if he continues to improve his speed.

Other Estonian crews also performed well, with Patrick Enok and Silver Simm finishing fifth, and Karl Martin Volver and Annika Sõna taking eighth place, also winning their class in the Estonian championship.

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I think development has taken place, but it has always been known that fast roads suit me. But as I have said before, I don't know my picture on slower and asphalt rallies yet. On fast rallies, it seems that if everything goes smoothly, we are in rhythm.