MIKA SALO"FLYING FINN(SUOMI-FINLAND)

Mika Salo

born |	November, 1966
place of birth |	Helsinki, Finland
helmet |	white with light blue stripes
Mika Salo started the 2007 season by adding one of the world’s greatest sports car racing championships to his trophy case, when he was part of the team of Salo/Melo/ Mowlem, driving the Risi Competizione 430GT to the closest winning margin in the fifty-year history of the 12 Hours of Sebring. It was Ferrari’s first win at Sebring since 1998. Mika Salo joined Risi Competizione in 2006 and drove five races for the 20065 ALMS GT Champions, Houston (third), Mid-Ohio (6th), Utah (First), Portland (First), and Monterey (first). Paired with Brazilian ace Jaime Melo, the two were the most effective and successful team in ALMS in 2006, posting back-to-back wins (Utah, Portland) and capturing four poles and five fastest laps between in the 10 race ALMS series. With deep ties to Ferrari (Salo was a former Ferrari F1 driver), Salo has proven exceptionally quick in the Risi Competizione 430GT and a brilliant “closer�. He teamed with Melo for two last-to-first races in 2006 (Utah, Portland), and brought home the ALMS GT2 Championship for Risi Competizione at the last race of the season, The Monterey Sports Car Championships, where he was paired with French GT specialist, Stephane Ortelli in Risi Competizione's #62 F430GT. Salo split time in 2006 between racing for Risi Competizione in the ALMS series and running the FIA GT2 Championships in Europe, where he was third overall in points. For 2007, Mika Salo will race the full ALMS season and the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Jaime Melo, marking a return to the series of a driving tandem that showed both astonishing speed and amazing consistency. Mika Salo, born in Helsinki, Finland on 30 November, 1966, is a fomer Scuderia Ferrari F1 Driver. He was three times Finnish Karting Champion before moving into professional motorsports. During his Formula 1 career, which included 110 starts, he raced for the legendary names of the sport, including Lotus, Tyrell, Arrows, Sauber, Toyota, and the penultimate: Ferrari. Salo came to Scuderia Ferrari in 1999 when he was selected to replace Michael Schumacher, the best Formula 1 driver in history, after Schumacher suffered a broken leg in the British Grand Prix. Mika Salo rose to the challenge as few ever have. He gained a second at Hockenheim, leading the race for most of the way, and surrendering 1st place to teammate Eddie Irvine only as a result of team orders. Three races later, Mika Salo took the podium again at Monza, where he scored a third. Salo’s last Formula 1 race was in 2002; since that time he has raced sports cars in Europe and the United States, in everything from an Audi R8 to a Maserati MC12. In 2005, he ran one race with Maserati Reparto Corse and Risi Competizione, in the Maserati MC12 in the ALMS Series. Mika Salo is known as one of the most quotable drivers on the circuit and, during the winter, does some rallying to “keep the instincts sharp.�

Mika Salo started the 2007 season by adding one of the world’s greatest sports car racing championships to his trophy case, when he was part of the team of Salo/Melo/ Mowlem, driving the Risi Competizione 430GT to the closest winning margin in the fifty-year history of the 12 Hours of Sebring. It was Ferrari’s first win at Sebring since 1998.

Mika Salo joined Risi Competizione in 2006 and drove five races for the 20065 ALMS GT Champions, Houston (third), Mid-Ohio (6th), Utah (First), Portland (First), and Monterey (first). Paired with Brazilian ace Jaime Melo, the two were the most effective and successful team in ALMS in 2006, posting back-to-back wins (Utah, Portland) and capturing four poles and five fastest laps between in the 10 race ALMS series. With deep ties to Ferrari (Salo was a former Ferrari F1 driver), Salo has proven exceptionally quick in the Risi Competizione 430GT and a brilliant “closer�. He teamed with Melo for two last-to-first races in 2006 (Utah, Portland), and brought home the ALMS GT2 Championship for Risi Competizione at the last race of the season, The Monterey Sports Car Championships, where he was paired with French GT specialist, Stephane Ortelli in Risi Competizione's #62 F430GT.

Salo split time in 2006 between racing for Risi Competizione in the ALMS series and running the FIA GT2 Championships in Europe, where he was third overall in points.

For 2007, Mika Salo will race the full ALMS season and the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Jaime Melo, marking a return to the series of a driving tandem that showed both astonishing speed and amazing consistency.

Mika Salo, born in Helsinki, Finland on 30 November, 1966, is a fomer Scuderia Ferrari F1 Driver. He was three times Finnish Karting Champion before moving into professional motorsports. During his Formula 1 career, which included 110 starts, he raced for the legendary names of the sport, including Lotus, Tyrell, Arrows, Sauber, Toyota, and the penultimate: Ferrari.
Salo came to Scuderia Ferrari in 1999 when he was selected to replace Michael Schumacher, the best Formula 1 driver in history, after Schumacher suffered a broken leg in the British Grand Prix.

Mika Salo rose to the challenge as few ever have. He gained a second at Hockenheim, leading the race for most of the way, and surrendering 1st place to teammate Eddie Irvine only as a result of team orders. Three races later, Mika Salo took the podium again at Monza, where he scored a third.

Salo’s last Formula 1 race was in 2002; since that time he has raced sports cars in Europe and the United States, in everything from an Audi R8 to a Maserati MC12. In 2005, he ran one race with Maserati Reparto Corse and Risi Competizione, in the Maserati MC12 in the ALMS Series.

Mika Salo is known as one of the most quotable drivers on the circuit and, during the winter, does some rallying to