Tuukka Kauppinen moves to SM1 class with Toyota, Roope Korhonen kicks off his season in Rovaniemi
Rautio Motorsport’s youngest driver and newly crowned SM3 class Finnish champion, Tuukka Kauppinen, will step up to the FRC-series SM1 class, driving the team’s Toyota Yaris Rally2. Sebastian Virtanen will join Kauppinen as his co-driver. Veli-Pekka Karttunen, who celebrated the championship alongside Kauppinen last season, will also continue with the team. The more experienced Rautio Motorsport driver, Roope Korhonen, and his co-driver Anssi Viinikka will also start their season in the FRC series, although they won’t be participating in the full championship.
The 18-year-old rally prospect, Tuukka Kauppinen, is moving to the top class of the FRC-series for the upcoming season. The series kicks off in mid-January in Kuopio and concludes at the end of September in Seinäjoki. Before the season begins, Kauppinen plans to complete a significant number of test runs with the new car to prepare as thoroughly as possible.
“This is a great opportunity, and I’m really excited about it. I’ve had the chance to test the Toyota once, and I quickly became comfortable with the car. The test left a positive impression, but I still need more mileage to fully exploit the car’s potential. With Rautio Motorsport, we’re aiming for success,” Kauppinen plans.
Despite his young age, Kauppinen already has a significant number of competitive starts under his belt, although most of them have been in front-wheel-drive cars. Last season, the driver from Laukaa made his debut in the domestic Secto Rally Finland in the WRC2 class, gaining valuable experience for the future. Kauppinen is currently developing an international competition program aimed at maximizing his participation in as many rallies as possible, in various conditions.
Roope Korhonen prepares for the Swedish Rally on home soil
Roope Korhonen, who won the Finnish SM1 class championship last season, will kick off his season at the Arctic Lapland Rally in Rovaniemi, which is the second round of the FRC-series. The driver from Laukaa will focus mainly on international competitions this year. His first foreign race of the season will be the World Rally Championship event in Umeå, Sweden, where Korhonen will look to build momentum from Rovaniemi.
“The goal in Rovaniemi is victory, although we will likely also use it as a test and keep our main focus on the Swedish World Rally,” Korhonen says.
Last season, Korhonen’s results in the WRC2 class were disappointing despite showing strong pace at times. His best result was a fourth place in Sweden, but this year he is aiming higher.
”This is an important season for the future, and now we need to perform better. Last year, we had three rallies where a podium finish was possible, but it remained just a dream. We need to find consistency to achieve results. It’s not enough to succeed on just one stage; we must be able to deliver top times consistently throughout the entire rally," Korhonen explains his plans for the upcoming season.”
Photo: Antti Lahtinen
