After a successful debut in Japan, Kovalainen wants to do other WRC rallies

In the pure tradition of Finnish pilots converted to the rally, Heikki Kovalainen is no exception. The ex-pilot of Formula 1, passed to Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus (now Caterham) and Lotus (ex-Renault), had its first experience in a world championship rally WRC in Japan. Aboard a Skoda Fabia R5, the native of Suomussalmi rather impressed with a fine 4th place, just 1'09 behind the winner, Grégoire Munster.

Obviously, after this successful discovery, the Finn was delighted to have participated in his first WRC rally. “It was a great experience, he summed up after his debut. I followed the rally on television for years and was always a big fan. Being able to compete in this event was like a dream come true. »

« The more rallying I can do, the better! » believes Kovalainen

This season, Heikki Kovalainen won the Japanese Rally Championship. Now, the winner of the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix is ​​studying his options for the coming months. He says he wants to return to WRC2 in the near future, in addition to the national championships. “Funnily enough, I'm from Finland but I have local knowledge of Japan”, he explained. “It makes a big difference. I have no illusions that if I went somewhere else it would be much more difficult. This is why we chose this rally. We are a small team and I am still relatively new to rallying, so we thought this was the best starting point since we knew the roads and the local rally landscape. (…) I'm really happy with the Aicello team, they want to do more and the environment is relatively familiar to me. The more rallying I can do, the better! »

The ex-F1 driver would especially like to discover his national event, the legendary Rally of Finland, and is considering an entry in the “Rally of 1000 Lakes”. “I walked past it the other day!” I was driving from the north to the south of Finland and passed through Jyväskylä, the Finn said. I saw a crossroads towards Ouhinpohja and asked my wife if she knew this road. Even she knew it. I asked her if we could take a detour, but she just ordered me to continue in the direction of Helsinki! »