Heikki Kovalainen, a former Formula 1 driver, continued his career in the Japanese Super GT series in 2015 and won the title the following season. Last year he spent his last season in this touring car championship, but at the same time he mastered another racing discipline – rally, and he did it quite successfully.
Suffice it to say that he won the Japanese Championship in the JN2 class in 2021, and this year in the more serious JN1 category and is now preparing for his debut on the Japanese stage of the World Rally Championship (WRC).
In an interview with the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti, Heikki admitted that he returned to his homeland from Abu Dhabi, where he and his English wife Catherine had lived for many years, and there are reasons for doing so.
“We would like to move to Finland as soon as possible, we have both always had a great time here,” says Heikki. – So it will be easier for me to perform the duties of an expert on the Viaplay TV channel, because I can return home in the evening after work in the studio.
Although my wife and I prefer the country life, we are now planning to settle in Helsinki, this suits us in every way. We’re in the right place here, we’re sure of that.
I was surprised that this year in the Japanese Rally Championship, my co-driver and I won six of the eight races. But all these races were held on asphalt tracks and perhaps our Skoda Fabia R5 was slightly better than the rivals.
Of course, as the season progressed, I started to drive more and more confidently, in particular I learned to better perceive the information from the navigator, because previously, like many who switched from track racing to rally, I mainly drove, concentrating on what I was doing with seen with my own eyes. And you won’t achieve much with this style.
But now my goal is to move to the WRC in 2023. Negotiations are underway and I hope to be able to say something about plans for next year soon.”
But apparently this will happen a little later, but for now Heikki is preparing for his debut in the World Rally Championship in the category WRC-2: Rally Japan starts on November 10.
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
