What is your favourite rally?“There are still some rallies that I haven’t tried yet, so I don’t know. But it’s always nice to go home to Finland, so I’m looking forward to that rally.”
What was your favourite Formula One race?
“I like Spa as it’s a great track but my personal favourite race was Brazil 2007 when I won the championship. It was a crazy race and I just had to go flat-out.”
How tricky was it coming back into the rally car after missing two events?
“That wasn’t so easy because I still don’t have a lot of experience and the last car I drove was a NASCAR truck, which was quite different!”
How’s the NASCAR going?
“It’s good fun actually. It’s another completely different style of driving, but it went quite well and I’m going to do some more later on this year.”
Is rallying still your main priority?
“Yes, rallying is still definitely the main focus. I’m enjoying myself and I think I’m making progress: now we do most of the rest of the season.”
What have you learned most this year?
“That you need experience in rallying to do well and there is no short cut. And also that you need your pace notes to be exactly right. It’s a bit like Formula One: it’s always the last little bit that makes the difference but that last little bit is always the hardest one to find.”
What do you do to relax at weekends?
“Just relax with friends and go on my boat. The boat is perfect as nobody can bother you.”
Who were your heroes in racing and rallying?
“I don’t really have heroes. But looking back in the past, I always liked the character of James Hunt in Formula One and in rallying Tommi Makinen is a really good guy.”
What are the most important things that you pack to go on a rally?
“My computer and my mobile phone so that I can stay in touch with people and watch some videos.”
What’s your favourite vegetable?
“Potatoes. But I eat most things.”
Source: WRC
