February 17, 2013
Published on tags: Formula Challenge

 

Vod:Bul Racing gathered the world's press with just over a week until the first round at Melbourne to announce the driver filling their vacant seat.

Michael Pitman greeted the media and got down to business.

"I'm very proud to be sitting here announcing our complete driver line up for the 2013 season. I wanted to put the rumours to bed before the very last minute. In our comeback year we are here to have fun and develop as a team once more. I believe we have already built a strong dedicated driver line up in Dan Rusu and reserve driver Doug Hilliard. Couple this with Juha Taskanen as our head of driver development and it becomes a great place to drive.

Everyone joining the team for 2013 has a background here at GPVWC, but finds themselves looking for a fresh start. Our final driver, the last piece of the puzzle, is the same. Having competed here previously a lot of you will know him. He is an all round good guy and I'm proud to have him drive the 2013 Vod:Bul Racing #35 car. I hope you all will join me in welcoming the 2002 & 2004 Superleague Drivers Champion Mikko Jakonen!"


Mikko Jakonen walks out to a standing ovation from the media and crowd, the noise eventually dies down enough for Jakonen to answer some media questions:

Q: Welcome back to GPVWC. After such a long time away why come back now?

MJ: "Thanks! Yeah it's been 8 years since I've competed. I've spent these retirement years driving F1 and Rally for just the fun of it, but I've always entertained the idea of returning to simracing and seeing how I stack up with the current generation. Mr. Pitman was kind enough to offer me a nice contract and opportunity in FC and I accepted, so here we are again."

Q: Is this just for one season or do you see yourself with Vod:Bul Racing for a longer term?

MJ: "Well, I'm not ruling anything out at this point, but I think that's easier to answer after a few races, to see how things are going. Vod:Bul Racing seems like a committed team with good people, I'm happy to be driving for them this year."

Q: After two Superleague championship victories why only come back at a Formula challenge level?

MJ: "Well it was a totally different sport back in 2004 and I've been away from the circuit since. The cars are very different, and I am a complete rFactor novice. I feel FC is the correct place for me to start racing again. And I would doubt the sanity of any pit boss to sign me to Superleague based on just those old merits. It wasn't so easy for Schumacher."

Q: What do you expect to achieve this season?

MJ: "Most of all I hope to be competitive and consistent enough to warrant my seat. I won't post any definite goals before I've had to chance to run at least a couple of races."

Q: Have you had the chance to work with the team yet?

MJ: "This all happened very fast. We've had some meetings and tests this weekend and I've managed to familiarise myself with the car and the team. Mike has been very supportive and I got a lot of help from Dan with suggestions on how to set up the car. I haven't met others yet."

Q: Will you be present at the test event on Tuesday?

MJ: "Yes, that's the plan and I'm definitely looking forward to it. There's a lot to learn around the paddock and the test event is more than welcome."

Q: If an offer came in from a team in the Supercup or Superleague could we see you move midseason?

MJ: "I don't think that's worth speculating about at this point. At the moment the plan is to drive the FC season with Vod:Bul and see how it goes."

Q: Are you aware that you are one of only two previous Superleague Champions competing in the 2013 season?

MJ: Really? I didn't realize that. I'm happy to be one though; the championships in 2002 and 2004 took a lot of hard work to achieve. Let's see if I get more TV time because of that.

Michael Pitman: "I think that's enough for now, thank you all for coming and we look forward to seeing you in a couple of days."

One lucky journalist managed to grab a few words from Juha Taskanen.

"I have to be honest now, when Mike called me a few days back and said that he'd had some serious discussions with Mikko I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had to ask him to repeat everything a couple of times before I was able to comprehend and realize that this was really happening and that I wasn't dreaming.

It is really a pleasure to get someone like Mikko as a part of the team and I am confident that with this current package of ours we are able to build a solid foundation for future development as a team. However we must be realistic and note that we are a new and fresh team, even though all of the key personnel in the team have various amounts of previous experience from different classes of racing, it will not make our job any easier. This is more or less a new situation for all of us and it'll be a major challenge for everyone. However, I am confident that we'll have a chance to achieve decent results as the season progresses."