Twelfth overall in the CrossCar category in 2022, in his first season at this level of the sport, Riku Huuhka has used the last few months to reach a decisive stage in his development, finishing his 2023 campaign on the verge of the final podium in the RallyX championship. And in 2024, the young Finnish driver has every intention of confirming these results.
Having moved up eight places in the CrossCar category in just one season, Riku Huuhka is now one of the heavyweights of the RallyX championship.
In addition to four qualifications for the finals, one victory and two podiums in total last year, Huuhka also made a name for himself by winning the title in his own national championship and finishing third in the Finnish Rallycross Championship in the V1600 category.
The young Finnish driver is delighted with these achievements as he prepares for another busy year in the RallyX championship.
“My 2023 season has been perfect. Starting with my title in the Finnish championship. Admittedly, I’ve had my ups and downs, like the RallyX championship race at Tierp, which remains my worst performance of 2023, but I suppose that’s part of the charm of rallycross. In any case, the balance is more than positive. It’s been a great year and I’ve been able to add some top results in the V1600 category with a third place in the Finnish Championship and two wins in the RX Masters Championship. More than the results, it’s the way I’ve managed to build up my weekends that gives me the most satisfaction.”
Beyond these first-class results, Riku Huuhka is approaching the 2024 season with complete humility.
“My expectations for 2024 are moderate. Once again, there are so many good drivers in this category that it won’t be easy. Just getting on the podium is an achievement in itself,” says Riku, who will be back for another season at the wheel of his Speedcar Wonder chassis.
“We haven’t made any major changes this winter. We’ll be back with the same technical package as last season.”
While a number of drivers are vying to succeed Sebastian Enholm, the biggest question mark over the 2024 campaign concerns the debut of the new LifeLive TN11 chassis, which will be in the hands of Jimmie Osterberg, Martin Juga and Pasi Penttinen, among others.
“I think we’ll have to watch out for the LifeLive drivers. We’ll be up against three drivers with proven speed and a new TN11 chassis that should be competitive. However, I’m cautious because they’re not the only ones we need to keep an eye on. All the drivers who finished in the top 10 in the championship last year are also threats.”
