Rally driver Mikko Heikkilä is keeping very busy right now. Behind him is the Finnish Rally Championship (SM-ralli) round competed in Jyväskylä, and ahead lie the WRC rallies of Estonia and Finland. The bar is set high, and that is exactly why BussiPro wants to be involved too.
Mikko Heikkilä is a driver in his early thirties with a proven track record of speed. Success has come this decade both in Finland's highly competitive championship series and in international races. A European Rally Championship (ERC) round victory in Sweden this spring gave a great start to the year. Third place in the Jyväskylä Finnish Championship race was not quite what he had hoped for, but on the other hand, the gap to the lead was less than ten seconds, proving that his baseline pace is right where it needs to be.
Right now, the car is being prepared for Rally Estonia at the TGS rally team, led by Toni Gardemeister. The team provides both the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 car and the maintenance crew. Mikko praises the car as highly reliable and commends his team for their excellent skills and great team spirit.
Rallying at this level is an expensive business, and racing would be impossible without supporters. Mikko Heikkilä has successfully gathered a group behind him that enables competing at the top level. While the current support is not enough to run a full championship season, they will participate in selected events throughout the year. Therefore, these upcoming rallies are extremely important opportunities to make an impression—the goal is victory!
BussiPro's CEO, Jussi Raunisto, became interested in Mikko not only because of his personal passion for motorsport but also due to Mikko's personality and the partners backing him.
"Sponsorship is not just about giving money to a competitor; it is also about interaction and cooperation," Jussi Raunisto says.
The collaboration between BussiPro and Mikko Heikkilä includes corporate events and networking, among other things, which BussiPro believes will also benefit the development of its own business.
"Mikko has proven to be a great partner who listens to our wishes and also knows how to deliver on them," Jussi praises.