Training weekend in Myrskylä and Huittinen

In the rally training we get to spend 6 weekends in different parts of Finland driving, co-driving and getting feedback from the coaches. During the 4th and 5th of September I had one of these weekends with the other drivers and co-drivers in the program. We started the weekend in Myrskylä in something we in Finland call a club race. Everyone in the training program gathered to Myrskylä at 8am on Saturday morning. Only 40 cars are allowed to participate and there was one stage which was 4 kilometers long. So a very suitable event for testing and training. The atmosphere was very relaxed even though the weather greeted us with some occasional showers. I spent the weekend co-driving for Andreas Amberg with whom I´ll participate in the last Finnish championship rally (Kerava SM-ralli) on the 16th of September. Personally I think Honda Civic is a nice car to use in rallying. I prefer rally cars to make some noise. Hondas are well known for rev happy engines and a type-r with 230hp and a rally exhaust really does make some enjoyable "screaming" when on attack mode.

Saturday afternoon we moved to a hotel in Forssa from where we had one hour drive to Sunday's test stage at Huittinen. On Saturday evening we got some feedback from the coaches, went through Sunday's program and relaxed the Finnish way by going to a sauna.

Sunday morning started the usual way in our training weekends. Morning run at 6am! Rally drivers are after all athletes and a bit of jogging in the morning helps to wake up before you go to breakfast. Personally I don't mind the early wake up since my dogs wake me up at 5.50am every morning anyway. Sunday was a better day what comes to the weather so one didn't have escape the rain showers anymore. And definitely much better than the -30 Celsius temperatures we had in training during January. Nothing special during the day. People in the training team know each other well already so just the usual stuff. Focusing on your performance, checking other people's times, going over in-car footage, speculating this and that related to rallying.

The youngster in our group V-P Karttunen received his driving license only a couple of days earlier and was warming up his wrists before his first ever rally on the next weekend. Since everyone in Finland drives their first rallies without any recce allowed (so called dark rallies) the rest of the training team seems to be going to the rally as spectators to see rally cars and check how V-P performs with his Renault Clio. If your not practicing or driving yourself then the natural way to spend a free weekend is to go and watch others drive. My girlfriend loves the logic behind this way of thinking...