Bottas will make his annual appearance in the Arctic Rally
It has been confirmed that Valtteri Bottas will participate in the Arctic Rally for the fourth year in a row.
Being from Finland, the Alfa romeo The driver is naturally a big fan of rallying and in recent years has become a regular competitor in the race organized in the Arctic Circle.
His results have also steadily improved, as he finished P6 in 2021, three places ahead of where he crossed the line in 2020, after which he said he felt he was becoming a better. rally driver and enjoyed the challenge.
“We have improved from ninth place in 2020,” he said at the time.
“I got more and more familiar with four-wheel drive and the need to drive while listening to the navigator.
“It’s a different challenge, because when I’m on the track I know the tracks by heart, whereas here there is something to improvise, and even when you have an idea of the course you don’t really know the conditions. will find.”
The rally week has started! The competitors started the reconnaissance today at 8:00 a.m. and will start the competition on Friday at 11:00 a.m. from Rovaniemi city center. Those arriving on arrival celebrate their successful return to Lordi Square on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/5Nzd7iCzdp
– Arctic Lapland Rally (@Arcticrally) January 10, 2022
It is now confirmed that he will take on such a challenge in 2022, taking the wheel of a Citroën DS3 WR with the usual navigator Timo Rautiainen by his side.
Rautiainen is an extremely successful co-driver, winning 30 rallies and two World Rally Championships alongside Marcus Gronholm from 1997 to 2007.
The duo will start their arctic rally on January 14 and finish the next day, covering just under 800 km in total over a variety of terrain.
Given his love for the category, many wondered if Bottas would make a more permanent transition at some point, and he didn’t rule it out when asked what he would do if forced to. leave F1 as his future was unclear in 2021.
“Never say never. Rally… I like it a lot, it’s a lot of fun. Every time I’ve been in a rally car I’ve always smiled, so it’s a lot of fun. But to make it happen. a job, it could be quite delicate, ”he said.
“The guys over there are pretty competitive, they’ve been doing it their entire lives. Never say anything but like I said, focus entirely on F1.