Formula Fords at Pärnu have had some interesting days. Friday saw a major crash by Jesse Anttila, which demolished his car so badly he was out for the weekend.
There were some other interesting events too. Jari Koivisto running his F3 into Ville Kivinen's rear pushed Ville off track Thu, giving some work for Söderman team lead mechanic Olli Kaurala. On Fri Ville spun at the fastest point on the track, but emerged unscathed. Same thing happened to myself, as I was driving ahead of Miikka Mäkelä later that day in what was our last session.Thu and Fri were both dry, and drivers were looking for maximum speed on this peculiar track which has a simple profile, but due to very different grades of asphalt and many patches requires quite some getting used to. The track is also very rough and bumpy. In some places it feels like driving on concrete, making the track very slippery even when dry.
Sat then brought rains. The morning warm-up was dry, and some people hoped for that to continue. Alas, this was not to be had, rain started drizziling for the qualifying. Before the race there was some dryness, but sure as clock work rain came down for the race. Driving the track in rain was a very entertaining experience! Some patches of the asphalt (I counted at least 3-4 different grades of asphalt along the track, plus patches!) had great grip, other parts were like driving on ice. It seems parts of the track were made in days when there was very little bitumen used, making the track basically like packed gravel.
In the end Oskari Kurki-Suonio emerged as the "rain master", showing great speed. Miikka Mäkelä also did some great work especially in qualifying, but was passed by Sebastian Nummi in the race. Ville Kivinen and Janne Knuuttila were surprisingly subdued, Ville in the end getting technical problems after an outing in the race. Seems his engine overheated - nevertheless Olli will get him onto the grid tomorrow (a workfilled weekend indeed for Olli and his crew!!!), taking on Jesse Anttila's engine. Jesse damaged his car's frame during the accident on Fri, so he will not mind the switch.
Our team focused on staying on track, and avoiding unnecessary risks. In qualifying I found myself two tenths behind Milla Mäkinen, who had whipped her Duratec to good speed for one lap. In the race I managed to pass her, and from there on the race was somewhat lonely - distance to Janne Knuutinen was too big, and for some reason Milla did not push towards the end of the race. We finished 5th, and will be in 6th position on the grid tomorrow. Based on unofficial results, Sebastian Nummi now leads the Finnish Championships ahead of Janne Knuutinen, and it seems Oskari Kurki-Suonio will be entering the contest seriously from here on too!
All in all, a great eventful race thus far, with plenty of action also in the other classes. The event also attracted a good crowd, and this is likely to improve tomorrow with sunny weather predicted!
