Teemu Asunmaa is driving not only rally but also drifting this season.
Teemu Asunmaa is a multiple Finnish rally champion. The previous title was lost in the 2023 season. Taneli Niinimäki / AKK
Multiple Finnish champion of the rally Teemu Asunmaa competes this year not only in rally but also in drifting.
Eteläpohjalainen Asunmaa admits that the reason for the new species experiment is based on money.
– Drifting as a sport is currently on the rise. The sport is really crowd-friendly and lives in strong hype. The visibility aspect is fine, says Asunmaa.
Rallitähti wants to take advantage of that visibility.
– It allows you to develop all kinds of partner patterns more easily than a rally. It was quite a strong factor when I made this decision, Asunmaa admits.
So in Finnish: Asunmaa calculates that its sponsors currently get better visibility in drifting than in rallying.
– Of course, the sports have a different audience base. To put it in a caricature, it is wider in rallying, but younger in drifting. Of course, the situation changes all the time.
Short cut available
Asunmaa will also continue on the rally tracks this season. Merita Mäkinen / Meritapix
However, Asunmaa is not left behind. The 2025 season will go with the tactics of two sports.
– I will continue rallying in the SM series, but I will not drive a full competition season this year. The program also includes a couple of races abroad and the World Rally Championship in Jyväskylä should also be run, says Asunmaa.
Asunmaa showed its skills in its first class by opening the championship rally season with a victory in Kuopio.
The weekends left over from the rally will then leave time for a new territorial conquest.
– My race program in drifting is still open. In rally, I can only register for the races, but in drifting, you have to apply for a place in different series. In addition, you should start from the lower Pro2 class and move up from there, says Asunmaa.
Of course, the trophy shelf full of WC medals offers a little relief.
– Maybe there is an opportunity for a small shortcut here, Asunmaa muses.
The purpose is also to run a few international races. At this point, however, the Alavute resident remains silent about them.
Through bad luck
Drifting took Asunmaa’s heart with the help of a sad misfortune.
– In the fall of 2023, I had the opportunity to try a drifting car, but the car fell apart right from the start. It was a shame, because we would have been able to drive for the whole day, Asunmaa recalls.
The event left my mind reeling. Asunmaa watched the races from the stands, and finally he got another chance to jump into the sticks of a drifting car.
– The first feeling was that this welding is cool, but difficult. But if I can do it in the rally, why not here too.
Now there is a BMW in the garage, which has already accumulated a lot of test kilometers. Asunmaa has also acquired sports experience from the world of video games.
– We are trying to prepare the debut as well as possible.
Masters of two sports
Drifting as a sport is on the rise. Finland’s Lauri Heinonen is the world’s absolute elite. Red Bull Content Pool
Among the drivers who combined rally and drifting, the world champion is the first to come to mind Kalle Rovanperä. And that’s pretty much it.
– As far as I know, there is no other driver in the SM rally series who drives both, Asunmaa reflects.
Asunmaa sees no obstacle to seeing more drivers of the two sports in the future. He likes to take on the role of the main opener.
– This is an interesting new experiment alongside my main sport.