Racing driver Milla Mäkelä is facing a new challenge when entering a whole new type of series in season 2019. She will start racing a Chevrolet Camaro in the V8 Thunder NEZ series.
Originally Milla had no intention to race this season in any complete serie, but the spark lighted up in the W Series qualifyings. Milla went to Austria in January to qualify for the new W Series F3 serie funded spot. She was left without a seat, but the experience gave a lot more than that.
“The W Series qualifying was a tough experience like no other. We were not only judged by the driving skills, but as a complete package aswell. The pressure was huge. In the end I got very positive feedback about my driving from the judges and that gave me a lot of confidence and energy to start racing again!”
The new Camaro has been bought from the 2018 V8 Thunder NEZ champion Henri Tuomaala. Even if it isn’t the championship winning car itself it must be fast as it comes from the same team. The car was picked up last weekend and Milla has time to get to know her new racer during the Easter holidays.
“The plans for this season were confirmed so late in the spring that we will most likely miss out the first round in Riga. I have never driven such a race car and I will be working with the winter test centre in Lapland until late May. The opening race in Bikernieki is not the best place to get to know a new car. We found that out a couple of years ago with the BMW Xtreme car when we were in a similar position.”
The V8 Thunder NEZ is driven this year in Finland and in the Baltic countries. For 2020 the series is going to extend the calendar to Sweden and Denmark. Milla also has a two year plan. This season will be about getting to know the car and aim for good race results. In season 2020 she aims to drive the entire series with clear goals.
“It’s extremely exciting to get into some serious racing again! I’m looking forward to get the chance to challenge my self and my limits again. Comfort zone is never getting you forward, so I like to live by the saying “You never know if you never try”. I’ve found out some surprising skills and qalities of myself when following this principle, I can recommend it to everyone!”
V8 Thunder NEZ 2019 calendar:
Round 1 Riga, Latvia 11.-12.5.2019
Round 2 Jurva, Finland 25.-26.5.2019
Round 3 Pärnu, Estonia 28.-30.6.2019
Round 4 Veteli, Finland 24.-25.8.2019
Round 5 Alastaro, Finland 21.-22.9.2019
Links
www.V8Thunder.fi
www.facebook.com/mtecformulatechnology
www.instagram.com/milla.makela