NAIVASHA, Kenya, March 13- She is blazing the trail few women have, navigating a World Rally Championship (WRC) Rally 1 machine but Enni Mälkönen is not fazed by the challenge.
The Finnish lady co-driver is turning heads at the WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2026 on her debut at the iconic event, reading the pacenotes for compatriot Esapekka Lappi.
After the opening six stages of the gruelling third round of the 2026 WRC, Lappi and Mälkönen were holding steady in ninth overall in their Hyundai Shell Mobis i20 WRT.
Mälkönen is determined to make the most of her opportunity after steadying the ship following a brutal start to the event on Thursday.
“I did recce here in 2024, but we didn’t compete in the rally; as it was purely for learning purposes.
“Today’s stages were quite okay in the morning loop as opposed to the slippery and muddy conditions on Thursday. We’re trying to bring home some points to the team and do our best on Safari,” Mälkönen told this website after Friday’s morning pass.
The navigator won the 2024 WRC2 Championship with Sami Pajari who is now driving for rival Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT.
And she is thrilled to be back in Kenya after two years.
“I’m happy to be here and I’m thankful for this opportunity, thankful for Hyundai Motorsports WRT,” she gushed.
The Finnish co-driver has a message for young Kenyan girls aspiring to join the male-dominated sport:
“Be brave and trust yourself, continue aiming higher. There are always ups and downs in this sport, but the essence is to keep going and aim for the stars.”
Mälkönen is winning hearts at the paddock for her calm demeanour and excellent sense of humour.
Lappi, better known in the paddock as EP, heaped praise on her skills.
“Enni is a good navigator and she’s doing exactly what other male navigators do in the cockpit.
“We started together last year, and she’s been doing the job perfectly, and being a world champion, she knows exactly what to do in extremely tough conditions of Safari nature.”
Mälkönen previously competed in show jumping, but decided to take up rallying after her horse was injured.
Her father was also a rally driver but Mälkönen made her rally debut in 2012.
She won the WRC3 co-drivers’ championship in 2022, making her the first woman to win a championship in any WRC class.
In 2024, Mälkönen and Pajari won the WRC2 championship, where she became the second woman to win the co-drivers’ championship in the category, after another Finn Reeta Hämäläinen in 2022.
Following their win, Pajari announced that the duo would no longer be driving together, as he was moving up to the premier WRC class.
Mälkönen was later announced to be co-driving for Lappi in the 2025 Finnish Rally Championship.
