After finishing fourth overall in the CrossCar category in 2024, Joonatan Ylilammi faced a rocky start to the new season. Since Montalegre, the Finnish driver had only managed a single qualification to his name. However, the decision to switch to a new Speedcar Wonder chassis ahead of the KymiRing round has paid off handsomely, with the young talent regaining both form and confidence.
Proof of this resurgence came in the form of a fourth-place finish in the intermediate standings, built on a consistent run of three Top 5 results during the qualifying heats. Ylilammi also secured his second final appearance of the year—narrowly missing out on what would have been his first podium.
Understandably, the Finnish driver is feeling upbeat as the second half of the season gets underway.
“I’m definitely in better spirits now. After the event in Riga, we changed cars and went with a Speedcar Wonder that suits me perfectly. I had a solid run at KymiRing in the heats—I was sitting second in the intermediate standings before getting caught in a collision in Q4. But overall, the result was very positive,” Ylilammi explained.
“I struggled at the start of the season, but now things are beginning to fall into place. I’m very happy with how the Speedcar chassis is behaving. Honestly, it went even better than I had expected at KymiRing. That’s especially true considering we’d planned to do some testing before the event, but engine issues quickly brought those plans to a halt. Still, I was able to adapt quickly to the car. I’m not entirely sure how to explain it, but I feel a lot more confident behind the wheel now.”
By qualifying for the final in Finland, Ylilammi proved he hadn’t lost his edge and could still go toe-to-toe with the frontrunners—even on a track that presented challenging conditions.
“The track was in such rough shape that the chassis likely lost some efficiency in the final. But I’m already thrilled with the level of performance we managed for a debut weekend. It was a really fun circuit to drive. The main straight is maybe a bit too long for my liking, but the rest of the layout is really well-designed. Without a doubt, KymiRing is one of the best rallycross circuits we have in Finland.”
Looking ahead, Ylilammi is determined to build on this momentum going into the upcoming rounds.
“I’ve still got three races to go—in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany—and I’m not planning on backing down. Even though the start of the season was tough, I’m focused on turning things around and making the most of every opportunity to score good results. I’m especially looking forward to the next event in Älvsbyn. The track has some great elevation changes that will make it a really demanding challenge.”
Interview by Mari Pekkanen