by Rob Wilkins


TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL WITH VESA MIKKOLA: CLICK HERE


Vesa Mikkola - son of 1983 FIA World Rally champion, Hannu Mikkola, was at the Castle Combe Rallyday show in the UK recently. Crash.net Radio caught up with the Finn to get the low-down on his first season in the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship and to chat to him about his hopes for the remainder of the year...


Crash.net:
Vesa, you are competing in the BRC this season. How has it been going?

Vesa Mikkola:
It has been a tough year for us – a learning year, but the rallies have been a great experience and I have been having fun.

Crash.net:
You are here at the Rallyday today, what do you make of events like this?

VM:
I think this is a good way to give something back to our sponsors and get closer to the fans. It is a great event.

Crash.net:
Coming up is in the International Rally Yorkshire – how have your preparations been going for that event?

VM:
We are doing a gravel test tomorrow [September 23] and that will be our biggest step towards the rally. Other than that I am happy to get back onto gravel again and I am looking forward to the rally.

Crash.net:
The three most recent events in the BRC have been on asphalt. I believe those were your first outings on tarmac in a rally car weren't they?

VM:
Pretty much - I did one rally in 2002 but that was a long time ago, so basically they were my first events on asphalt. They were tough. I enjoy driving on tarmac but it is not so easy when it is raining and there is shiny tarmac and so on. They were good experiences however.

Crash.net:
How do you assess your season so far?

VM:
I think we have had the speed but we haven't had the luck. On the Pirelli Rally we were leading our class and then we broke the diff. The Jim Clark we made a few mistakes ourselves and had some problems but we were still able to come second. The Isle of Man was my own mistake and we crashed out and then on the last rally in Ireland we broke a driveshaft. It has been tough but that is rallying. I think I have shown that we have the pace and when everything works OK we do well. It is just getting the whole package together.

Crash.net:
After the one-day Rally Yorkshire the next round in the BRC is the Rally GB, which in contrast to the Trackrod is a three-day event. How much tougher will that make it?

VM:
It will make it a lot tougher on the car. I think our biggest concern will be getting the car to work for the three-days. I enjoy it more though doing a long event. You get a better feeling as a driver. I have done a few world championship rallies before and I have really enjoyed myself doing them. It will be great to do Wales.

Crash.net:
Any idea yet what you will be doing in 2008?

VM:
No idea, I am just finishing up school back at home. I have got a lot of decisions to make this coming fall and winter. We will see. I'd love to continue though that is for sure.

Crash.net:
Obviously your dad is well known in the sport, how tough is it following in his foot-steps?

VM: