Emil Lindholm returns to Skoda and the WRC2 World Championship
The 2022 WRC2 world champion duo, Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen, will get back behind the wheel of Toksport WRT’s Škoda. Representing GRX, the pair’s programme includes the WRC2 World Championship, which for them begins in the Canary Islands – a holiday destination much favoured by Finns.
Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen will compete in the World Rally Championship’s WRC2 class in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 run by Toksport WRT. For the current WRC season, Lindholm had a few options to consider, from which he and his partners and sponsors chose a return to the WRC2 series with the familiar team and car.
“I’m really pleased to be back with Toksport and Škoda, with whom we won the WRC2 championship. I was involved in developing the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, so both the car and the team are already familiar to me. In the meantime, the Škoda has probably evolved further, and we’ll see and feel how it performs now when we do our first tests,” Lindholm says.
Lindholm explains that his and his partners’ main goal was to race in the WRC2 class of the World Rally Championship and compete there as thoroughly as possible. Hyundai was not targeting a WRC2 programme, so GRX ended up with the current decision.
“I want to extend my sincere thanks to Hyundai Motorsport for the opportunity to be part of a top-level WRC team. The last year and a half have been extremely valuable, and it’s been fantastic to get seat time in a top-level WRC car as well as invaluable experience of how a first-rate team operates,” Lindholm acknowledges.
“I’d have loved to compete in Sweden, but the Canary Islands round of the Spanish WRC event is also a very appealing way for me to start the season. For the last couple of years, the championship has lacked a pure asphalt rally, so this will be the first time a rally on the Canary Islands is held at WRC level. As a former circuit racer, this is just the sort of event I enjoy,” Lindholm adds.
During the 2025 season, Lindholm and Hämäläinen will contest at least five WRC rounds. Their campaign begins in April with the Spanish WRC rally in the Canary Islands and continues in June with the Italian WRC rally in Sardinia. Naturally, Finland’s WRC round is also part of their schedule.
“We’ll be doing at least five WRC events, and we’ll lock in our autumn calendar after the Finnish WRC rally,” Lindholm confirms.
Photo: Sebateam