The rallying world will be eagerly watching as an all-white Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 takes on the first stage of this year’s Rally Finland. Sami Pajari, the Junior WRC champion and current WRC2 title contender, is making a highly anticipated leap into the major leagues. However, Pajari’s debut is not the only one that deserves attention as a potential starting point for something significant.
Tuukka Kauppinen, at the age of 17, has emerged as a rising star in the Finnish rallying scene. Just last year, he was competing in the Finnish amateur ranks with a first-generation Fiesta R2 and the national championship’s SM4 class, which primarily uses stock road cars. This week, he will be driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and making his World Rally Championship debut, becoming the youngest driver in the field.
While he may be relatively unknown outside of the Nordic region, many in Finland have been eagerly anticipating his debut. The surprising aspect is how quickly this day has arrived, both for Kauppinen and his long-time navigator Veli-Pekka Karttunen.
“We didn’t expect this, but it’s happening,” said Karttunen. “Last year we drove a small, ordinary car with limited power. The leap in speed is immense.”
Although Kauppinen had some testing experience earlier in the year, last week’s HYAcenter Rally was his first time competing in a four-wheel-drive car. However, his performances in the Finnish championship this year demonstrate the talent he possesses. He went head-to-head with fellow rally prodigy Jaspar Vaher on Pohjanmaa Ralli and emerged victorious. Additionally, he is currently engaged in a close title fight with AKK Flying Finn award winner Leevi Lassila for the SM3 title.
This level of success doesn’t come as a surprise to some. Even before Kauppinen had competed in a single rally, his name had already spread like wildfire within Finnish rallying circles. It was evident from his testing that something special was brewing.
Kristian Sohlberg, a former WRC factory driver for Mitsubishi and now a full-time driver coach, recognizes talent when he sees it. He has been working with Pajari since the young driver’s early outings in rallysprints with an Opel Astra. The early success of Kalle Rovanperä, who began his journey to rally stardom at a very young age, has led to talent identification happening at even younger ages.
“I get a lot of contacts from parents – the youngest boy I was asked to coach was seven years old!” said Sohlberg. “I said, no, come on, call me again when he’s 13 or 14.”
Mikko Kauppinen, Tuukka’s father, waited until his son reached that age before reaching out to Sohlberg. When Sohlberg sat alongside Tuukka for the first time, he immediately recognized another potential WRC talent from Finland.
“From the first run I did with him in Mäntyharju in an R2 Fiesta, it was just amazing to see how he drove, the natural talent to just drive – and the most impressive part was his age. He was just 13 at the time,” Sohlberg recalled.
“What really stood out as a big surprise for me was that he was consistently thinking of his driving lines, how he can carry the best line and the most speed, even if the road is a bit rough or there was some loose gravel and the lines were not correct. He was adjusting his driving lines and the way he attacked the corner according to what he thought was the quickest way out of the corner, basically, to carry more speed.”
Kauppinen’s ability to analyze while driving was a rare find, according to Sohlberg. It reminded him of his work with Sami when the latter was 15 years old.
Raw talent is one thing, but it must be accompanied by hard work, discipline, and countless hours of practice to refine that talent into a polished product. Any young Finn in the current era is inevitably compared to Rovanperä, but thanks to Mikko Kauppinen’s efforts, there is one aspect of Rovanperä’s journey that Tuukka shares: starting at a young age and regularly driving. Having a private road and a frozen lake in the backyard for winter ice driving certainly helps.
“What his dad has done really well is that Tuukka drove many different kinds of cars,” Sohlberg explained. “It wasn’t only R2, it was this V1600 car, he was driving CrossCars, and they had this R2 car so he was getting practice in their own farm. I think he was basically driving daily with his sister, and sometimes obviously with his father. They were just practicing, doing notes and recce training in their own farm.”
“They have a road that they could drive – I’ve never been there, but I’ve seen videos – so his father has really put in the effort to make sure he has given Tuukka all the tools to drive basically whenever he wants.”
Kauppinen has certainly been driving a lot since then. Between the Finnish national series and amateur competitions like F-Cup and Harrasterallisarja, he has accumulated a significant amount of stage mileage for someone so young. Crucially, for his WRC debut, he is already familiar with the Rally Finland roads. He is a local in the truest sense of the word.
“He is living quite close to Laukaa and Saarikas because he lives in Äijälä – so it’s like midway between those stages,” Karttunen explained. “Saarikas is quite close to Tuukka’s home. He knows the Friday stages especially well because he had been driving rallysprint series events in Ruuhimäki. There are many stages that he knows already, and last year he drove the Vetomies class, so I think he knows some parts of those quite well: Ouninpohja, Västilä, Päijälä.”
It would be easy to get caught up in the excitement. A young talent who displayed immense potential before even competing in a rally, making an early debut in the world championship on familiar roads sounds like a recipe for a remarkable entrance onto the global stage.
However, that’s not the focus here. This is just the first step towards reaching the top level. Now that Kauppinen has the support of steel magnate Markku Rautio and his growing Rautio Motorsport project, there is an opportunity for him to develop further.
Kauppinen’s WRC debut is not about making a big impression right away and hoping for more opportunities. He and Karttunen are confident that they are in it for the long haul.
“Experience is the most important thing that we need,” said Karttunen. “There’s a lot happening all the time for me and Tuukka because this is also my first WRC race as a co-driver – it’s quite a big step for both of us.”
“When I started with Tuukka, we aimed for the highest standards right from day one. We both want to win all the time, but on Rally Finland, we know we have much less experience and can’t win now – but we need to gain experience so that we can win someday in the future.”
Tuukka himself hasn’t been quoted in this article, as he is still working on improving his English. However, Karttunen mentioned that they are aware of this and are focused on every detail. They are leaving no stone unturned.
“We need to keep focusing on small things like improving our English and everything else – our condition, our health, everything.”
For this week, Sohlberg emphasized that one goal stands above all others for Kauppinen to make the most of his unexpectedly early WRC2 debut.
“When I co-drove for Isak Hatanmaa last year in Estonia, I told him: the only thing I want to see at the end of each stage is you smiling,” Sohlberg explained.
“And that’s what we did. We did the work, and when we were away from the stages, it was all relaxed and filled with lighthearted conversations. For me, it just needs to be fun. And that doesn’t change regardless of age. When you are having fun driving, you get results.”
Four years after whispers began circulating about something special happening on a farm in Äijälä, Kauppinen will be driving through the same local roads in a Rally2 car, competing against the likes of Oliver Solberg, Teemu Suninen, and Jari-Matti Latvala. However, this week is not solely about the immediate occasion – it’s about whether this will be the first step towards greater achievements.
“From an outsider’s perspective, Tuukka seems to be a calm and composed individual who solely focuses on his own job,” Sohlberg concluded. “I’m going to closely follow his progress because, for me, he’s the next young guy from Finland who seems to have the potential to achieve great things in rallying.”
While Pajari rightfully takes the spotlight for his debut in Finland, it’s worth keeping an eye on Kauppinen, just as Sohlberg will be doing.
