Bottas set to race in Lapland Rally

Mercedes Formula 1 star Valtteri Bottas will sample rallying next month after singing up to take part in the Arctic Lapland Rally. Rallying has a rich history in Bottas' native Finland, but this will be the Silver Arrows drivers' first sample of mixed-course racing.

Bottas' fellow Finn on the F1 grid Kimi Raikkonen spent two years racing in the World Rally Championship between his stints in F1, finishing 10th in the drivers' standings in each of his seasons.

And now it is Bottas' turn to sample some WRC action, in the three-day event in his native Finland.

The Mercedes man is jumping in with both feet, taking to the wheel of a M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC, packed with iver 300 bhp on a circuit that will be lined with trees and covered in snow.

My first ever rally will be the Arctic Lapland Rally in January with @MSportLtd ????

Very excited about this new challenge!
Read more about it here:https://t.co/wEewsrHIN2#Msport #missioninlapland #tehtävätunturissa #flyingfinn #westpro @Konecranes @AKKMotorsport @OfficialWRC pic.twitter.com/5VHx0qKPdi — Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) December 11, 2018

"This is a unique opportunity to take a peek into the world of rallying, and I would like to thank everyone who has made it possible," said Bottas ahead of his rally debut.

"It's totally new territory for me too, as I have no prior experience of a World Rally car. Still, being the race car driver that I am, you always go flat out whatever the vehicle you're driving."

Bottas will drive with two-time championship-winning co-driver Timo Rautiainen, who will call the circuit for the F1 driver.

"In my life, I've sat in a rally car with only three drivers, but this is such an interesting mission that I just had to accept the challenge," he said.

"I believe that for a talented wheelman like Valtteri, we'll be able to establish a good basic driving routine in testing. The challenging part of course will be learning the ins and outs of pace note making and learning to drive with pace notes all at once."

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