First there were legos, then moped racing and now rally cars.
31-year-old Heikki Huuskon Interests have always been related to technology. Huusko admits that he is in his dream professional in his dream profession in his lap in his lap at Rally2 at Toyota Gazoo Racing in Jyväskylä.
“There are, in fact, quite a lot of parts designed by us in the front corner,” Huusko says, when he kneels the finished, beside the rally car without bikes.
The tilt stabilizers, the support arms, the upright, the shock absorber foot, he points to the components he has been designing. Now he looks at the brake hose.
– This kind of flexible element is a bit difficult in the computer world. It’s a good idea to check out that everything is ok because the suspension moves over 300 millimeters.
Huusko laughs that often in the design something he estimates for a week, may only require a day and the opposite.
– The bike pole and Upright are the most difficult parts. The loads are heavy and it also makes design more difficult. This part, too, spun on my design table for quite some time to get one that passes in every corner and can withstand loads.
-That is, much to count, Huusko says, showing a metal piece called UPRIGHT, which attach the wheel hub and the parts of the wheel support.
With heart
Huusko from Kajaani graduated from the University of Oulu six years ago as a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. After studying, he started as a designer at the Valtra Tractor Factory in Central Finland.
Before moving to Central Finland, he was not dealing with rally car, but soon his way took the Toyota rally, which was still at that point Tommi Mäkinen on Puuppola.
– I made an open job application because I had a strong desire to get to try my skills in the field. After my application, it took quite a while before anything was heard, but then I received an invitation to a job interview.
Initially, Huusko designed simple tinplates, but already quickly expressed his interest in suspension technology. The suspension of Toyota’s Rally2 car is largely handwritten by Huusko and his design team.
– The feeling when the car you have been involved in the project turns out to be fast. Here we are in the heart.
– Yes, the design table has a pretty big responsibility for how competitive the car becomes. If the groundwork is not in order, it is quite difficult for the car to get the adjustments to get good.
As Huusko sat behind the wheel, he has to ask if he would also be driving a rally car?
– There are two rings too much here, so I don’t know how it would go well. One might have to practice a couple of bends, he grins.
Adrenaline is interested in
Huusko implements his competition in the saddle bike in the saddle. The ferocious species has also brought him success. Last spring, he gasped to the World Cup bronze medal.
The previous Finnish Jääspeedway’s personal World Championship medalist was Jari Ahlbom In 1997.
– Yes, it can probably be summarized in the adrenaline, which interests it. The four -round and about one minute racing batch includes so much “ÄKSön” that the amount of adrenaline is even hooked.
-And then this is the equipment: 500 cubic methanol machines and almost three centimeters of spikes in the tires. These devices have to be respected and it becomes your own feeling. The feeling of getting the device tamed and driven in a rod ice oval is pretty awesome.
On the day of shooting, the driving exercise becomes a fight against the forces of nature. First, a thick snowstorm covers a plowed training course on the ice of the lake.
Then, the almost knee -to -knee layer between the track and the beach threatens to prevent plowing equipment from entering the track. With the use of planks and plywood pieces, the wheels are finally dry on the track.
However, with his second training bet, the Huusko ends up on his side on the snow bench. The lamella -like ice layer fails and the grip disappears, despite the long spikes.
For safety reasons, Huusko decides to not do the actual driving exercise and focus on taking starts.
They always repeat the same formula: first up-and-down pop in the saddle to get the back tire spikes sink into the ice, then the gear in and at the imaginary start I clutch up.
After a few starts, the wheel switch is cooled with a snowstorm.
– Sometimes workouts on the lake are such when the ice is unpredictable. It does not really benefit from the race conditions. But at least the start of the start.
World Cup
The Jääspeedway World Championship medals are completely driven in other conditions, better known as the fast skating arena in Inzell, Germany and Heerenveen of the Netherlands.
The top five drivers are directly accessible to the World Series based on the results of the last World Cup season, including the World Champion bronze medalist Huusko and the World Championship Aki Ala-Riihimäki.
The remaining 11 drivers will be eliminated at the turn of January-February at the turn of the World Cup in Sweden.
16 finalists will run a total of four World Cup competitions on two weekends. Inzell will compete in mid -March and Heerenvenen in early April.
Huusko’s goal is to clarify the World Championship medal, preferably golden.
Huusko describes himself as an engineer who also keeps the tools in hand. And, as you might expect, his Jääspeedway bike also shows his own footprint and design work.
As an example, he knocks on the front fender, which is reportedly made by carbon fiber, underpressure.
But what does the Toyota rally stable in his fierce leisure hobby?
– So far, everything is ok and the man has stayed in order. There was no need to play after the race, Huusko laughs.