A newcomer to the RallyX championship in 2023, 19-year-old Estonian driver Maiko Tamm has clearly not disappointed, managing to win the Pro Am title in the Supercar category. A performance that delighted the TT Motorsport driver.
Estonian champion in 2022, Maiko Tamm swapped his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution for an ex-M-Sport Ford Fiesta in 2023, with which he beat Viktor Vranckx to the Pro Am title.
With two wins and a total of five podium finishes, the Estonian driver won by a narrow margin of four points.
“Once again I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy a great season,” comments Maiko.
“In addition to the Pro-Am title in RallyX, I also secured my national championship in Supercar for the second year in a row, but I have to admit that winning the RallyX title is undoubtedly the biggest achievement since I started in motorsport. Of course, finishing first in the Pro-Am overall standings means a lot to me.
While Maiko Tamm had to wait until the fourth stage of the season in Kouvola to celebrate his first career RallyX success, the Ford Fiesta driver was careful not to confuse speed with haste.
“For the first round of the championship in Denmark I was probably too cautious, but my pace was already good. In fact, I was in first place in the Pro-Am final until my car had mechanical problems. I think we showed right from the start that we have the potential to fight for the Pro Am championship.
“On the other hand, we knew that nothing would be easy. Whether it was Viktor Vranckx or Mats Ohman, we were aware that their experience was much greater than ours. To be honest, I knew that if I wanted to beat them, I had no choice but to push my limits every time”.
In other words, an outstanding performance, even though Maiko Tamm knew nothing about the Ford Fiesta and the RallyX championship tracks were completely new to him.
“I learned a lot of new things during the season. I’ve really felt a real progress and this year 2023 has really proved to be very productive for me. I’ve had to adapt to new tracks while discovering a brand new car. However, I believe that TT Motorsport’s approach has played a big part in my results. Not only did we always find the right set-up, but our race strategies were also very good.
More than an individual victory, Maiko Tamm attributes this success to the values of the TT Motorsport team.
“The context in which I had to operate in the RallyX championship was clearly unprecedented for me. I’d never driven a supercar on tracks like this before, but Ivo Traubergs and the TT Motorsport team, in cooperation with the engineers of the SET Promotion team, made sure that I benefited from this old Ford Fiesta RX43, which proved to be extremely competitive and, above all, very easy to drive”.
“Although I’ve always had the ability to adapt very quickly to new environments, I have to admit that the area that posed the most difficulties for me was managing to use the car’s potential on a wet track. I had absolutely no experience in this area with such a powerful car. So it took me a long time to find a driving style that was effective and gave me confidence.”
“I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved with TT Motorsport and my parents. Without them I would never have been able to win this championship. Whether it’s their professionalism, dedication or willingness to do whatever it takes to make things run as smoothly as possible, their input has been invaluable. No matter what the difficulties, we’ve always managed to stick together. The trust that has united us has simply been total.”
“In particular, this has helped to make us stronger as individuals, but also as a team. I also have to admit that this RallyX championship is simply a great series. The adrenaline you can feel in this high-level competition is unique. In fact, I’m truly honored to be a part of this championship and to be able to compete with the best rallycross drivers in the world.”
