Promising Finn Emil Lindholm will become the latest young driver to prove their talent in the European Rally Championship after Team MRF Tyres announced an expansion to its ERC-based development programme.
The Indian tyre company has chosen the ERC for its return to international competition in 2020, with the combination of asphalt and gravel events ideal for MRF Tyres’ ongoing data gathering and product testing.
Lindholm, 23, has been recruited to join Irishman Craig Breen under the Team MRF Tyres umbrella. While Breen will compete in a Hyundai i20 R5, Lindholm will drive a ŠKODA Fabia R5 Evo. His fellow Finn, Mikael Korhonen, will co-drive.
With its products being tested on two different types of car, MRF Tyres’ learning mission in the ERC will be accelerated.
“MRF Tyres is really serious and already has a great product for winter rallies,” said Lindholm, who finished second in class on Rally Sweden last month. “I’m in no doubt they’ll deliver in the ERC and keep on pushing with the development. Personally, I hope I can support MRF Tyres with knowledge [and] serve them in the development of their complete tyre range. Craig will be there and he will be quite a yardstick for us.”
“Sure, the development part is important, but as we’ve seen from Craig on the [recent Finnish championship] SM Itäralli, he was fast on a tyre that had never seen snow before,” said Lindholm. “That means the product will be good and that’s why I’m expecting some good stages times from myself. That’s what I should strive for in my career and I think MRF Tyres hope for some good times too.”
“Progression is the main thing for us, but the level in the ERC is high, the rallies are completely new for me so there will be lots and lots of learning. I still want to do the world championship and this is a good step forward. It means a lot that MRF Tyres chose me for these rallies.”
“I think Rally Finland last year was one of the deciding factors. Okay, we had some issues, but the speed was there and I think they thought that this is a young guy who has potential and they thought to give me a chance. I am happy about that.”
Emil Lindholm will be an Azores Rallye rookie when the event takes place from 26-28 March. However, his father Sebastian, once a factory driver in the world championship, has started the spectacular gravel event three times, in 1995, 1996 and 2002, albeit without registering a finish.
“So far, I’ve looked at a few onboards from previous years and that can help give you an idea of the stage profile and the conditions,” said the younger Lindholm. “Okay, my father has been to the Azores back in the day so I will have a chat with him as well. Other than that, I don’t think there’s much else I can do to prepare.”
MRF Tyres’ ERC campaign follows a year of testing and development with Craig Breen and Emil Lindholm selected to continue that process, albeit in highly competitive conditions.
MRF Tyres Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Arun Mammen, said: “We are excited to enter the European Rally Championship in 2020 after winning nine titles in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. We have a frontrunner with Craig Breen, and we are excited to support the career of another fast and young driver in Emil Lindholm. It will be a great relationship as he will help develop and prove the pace of MRF Tyres and we look forward to helping him achieve his potential in the European Rally Championship.”
2020 Participations:
- Azores Rallye, 26-28 March
- Rally Liepāja (Latvia), 29-31 May
- 77th Rally Poland, 26-28 June
Plus one additional event to be confirmed