You’ve got a new car for 2014, is it ready?
”We don’t have a lot of work to do but we have to find which are the best parts. Of course all the parts are good but still we have to find something special that the other guys don’t have. That’s what we are working on right now, that’s why we have so much to test.”

So how much testing have you done?
”We have done a one-week test already and we’ll be in Portugal next week doing a lot of tests because we want to have the best car for when the season starts. That’s what we’re hunting for.”

What makes a good rallycross car?
”They have to be quite stable, good on the starts and easy to handle. Of course we have so much horsepower (560bhp) in our car. We need to have light parts but still they have to be strong parts. That’s why it’s so difficult to build the rallycross car. If you put some hard parts on the car it can be okay, but you can be a little bit slower. But still if we are going to have some contact we need to have hard cars that take the hits. You have to find the right balance.”

How difficult has the transition been from the Fiesta you drove last year to the Volkswagen?
”Everybody is building their rallycross car in another way. There are many ways to build a car and in the top five we will see many different types of car. The Citroens will have the engine this way, the Ford this way and we have the WRC parts in our car so it’s a little bit different.”

What links are there between the Polo R WRC and the Polo RX?
”There are a few links. The brakes are from the WRC car and all the bodywork almost. Also the car is totally carbon fibre, no glassfibre. We can put the weight where we want to and that’s why it’s easy to find the balance of the car.”

You have to manage only eight tyres for the whole weekend. How difficult is this?
”For somebody else it can be quite a big problem but it’s down to how your car is set up. On our car the set-up is quite friendly and for us it’s not a problem.”

Was it hard leaving the US to compete in a mainly European-based series?
”Of course it was quite hard to leave but I got an offer from Marklund Motorsport and there wasn’t the possibility to say no. Also I chose World RX because I see the future over here and when I come from Finland it’s easier to fly to the races. From my side it’s good to have two series. It’s helping us, there are many manufacturers and the sport is growing.”

Can you win the championship?
”We are targeting that. Of course we will have to work hard for that because it won’t come easy. You have to be quite stable all year. You have to have a good car, have to be good at the start, be out of the troubles. But that’s not easy because when you have five cars on the track it doesn’t feel like you are alone.”

What does it take to be successful in rallycross?
”You have to be quite aggressive. But still you have to be quite smooth all the way because you can’t destroy your tyres and you have to keep out of the problems. Like we saw last year Timur Timerzyanov won the championship [by] only winning once. You have to see the finish line always.”

He says his secret is all about staying calm. Is that something you can bring into your driving or do you have to be aggressive to win?
”There are many types of guys. Some are really aggressive but can still handle it. Then there are some guys who just like driving and they are okay. Then we have many other types of guys who are coming from rallying and Formula One. We are going to see a lot of different driving styles and from the mental side they are totally different. It’s going to be a very exciting season.”