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

MIKA SALO"FLYING FINN(SUOMI-FINLAND)

MIKA SALO"FLYING FINN(SUOMI-FINLAND)

Mika Salo takes the checkered flag for Risi Competizione's second GT2 win in three years at Sebring.

Risi Competizione won in GT2 for the second time in three years, this time much easier than the team’s epic 2007 victory which it won in class by a race-record 0.202 seconds. Mika Salo took the checkered flag in Risi’s Ferrari F430 GT that he drove with Pierre Kaffer and Jaime Melo by two laps.

The trio had to start the back of the field after Melo could not arrive at the circuit until Friday morning. But the Ferrari took the lead in the second hour and never trailed again.

“I have to thank these two guys working on the setup this week, making a good setup for the race and making the sacrifice for me starting at the back,” Melo said. “It’s good to start with a win like this. And we get to see against the Porsches and the BMW to see how quick they can go. We still have a long way to go for the championship but this is a good start.”

The Ferrari’s main contenders fell by the wayside early on due to contact (Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Marc Lieb) and mechanical difficulties (Farnbacher Loles Racing’s pole-sitting Porsche of Dirk Werner, Wolf Henzler and Richard Lietz).

“We started from the back, but it was OK because we won last time from the back,” Salo said. “The GT cars could get spread out so you could do two or three laps by yourself. Winning is good. You always want it close but a win is great. Some laps the new Porsches could not keep it consistent, but we saw in the week they can do really quick laps but in the long run we can beat them.”

The Ferrari also caught a break when it was included in an early wave-by under caution to pick up the leading prototype. As a result the Ferrari gained nearly a full lap on nearly the rest of the field.

“I am really glad to be in the Ferrari family with good teammates that I can truest all the time,” said Kaffer, an overall winner with Audi in 2004. “It’s really nice and I have to say the guys did a really brilliant job. The mechanics did a great job getting the car prepared.”

The Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni, Mathias Russo and Luis Companc placed second for Ferrari’s first 1-2 GT2 finish at Sebring. Panoz Team PTG’s Panoz Esperante GTLM of Dominik Farnbacher and Ian James was third in class following a hard-fought battle with one of Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Porsches late in the race.

In the first race of the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge, the Corvette C6.R of Magnussen, O’Connell and Garcia was the top scoring car using a combination of overall performance, fuel efficiency and environmental impact. The sister Corvette was second among GT entries followed by the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Seth Neiman, Darren Law and Johannes van Overbeek.

The race-winning Audi was the top scoring prototype in the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge while also setting records for distance covered, average speed and laps completed - a picture of performance and efficiency. The sister Audi placed second in the prototype standings with the Peugeot 908 HDi of Pedro Lamy, Nic Minassian and Christian Klien.

The next race for the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg from the St. Petersburg street circuit. The green flag is scheduled for 1:20 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 4. ABC Sports will televise the race live beginning at 1:30 p.m. Live Timing & Scoring and American Le Mans Radio can be found at the new americanlemans.com.

The race also will mark the first street race for the MICHELIN Green X Challenge. For tickets americanlemans.com or gpstpete.com.


- ALMS - photos ALMS
Photos will be on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS - SLIDESHOWS and photos-ecards American Series

MIKA SALO"FLYING FINN(SUOMI-FINLAND)

ALMS (ROAD ATLANTA) - VOICES OF PETIT: MIKA SALO

Risi Competizione's Mika Salo will make his Petit Le Mans this weekend with the GT2 championship at stake.

No driver in the American Le Mans Series has a higher profile than Mika Salo. With 111 Formula 1 starts to his credit, Salo has made an impressive jump to sports cars with 10 GT2 victories in the last two years for Risi Competizione. Salo and Jaime Melo are on the verge of sharing the class driver championship for the first time and giving Risi its second straight team crown as the duo prepares for its Petit Le Mans debut with Johnny Mowlem.

No rest: "It's flat-out from start to finish. Maybe after six or seven hours and if you're leading by two or three laps, you can back off a little bit. We've learned so much this year about GT2 racing. It's so close that you have to push to the end and see where you are."

First time for everything: "It's my first time. It's a long race so we will see. I have heard it is a nice track but it will be difficult. There will be plenty of practice so we can learn the circuit."

The 10th running of Petit Le Mans, the annual 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance classic at Road Atlanta, is set for 11:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 6. SPEED will provide live coverage from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 6:30 to 10 p.m. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing and Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.

MIKA SALO"FLYING FINN(SUOMI-FINLAND)

MIKA SALO"THE FLYING FINN"

AND FERRARI

MIKA SALO"FLYING FINN

What Sarah Palin can learn from Mika Salo

Posted by tendutv in Elections, Featured Articles, Politics on 10 27th, 2008 | no responses

My efforts to stay away from politics fail me again. One of the current memes on the campaign trail is the conflict between the Palin and McCain camps (story originally found on Politico). In a nutshell, the storyline goes that Palin knows she’s on a sinking ship, and has started focusing more on her own political future.

Mika Salo was a fairly non-descript Formula 1 driver who had a sporadic career in the sport between 1994 and 2002. Although racing in motorsport’s most prestigious class, which meant he surely had real skills, he never accomplished anything significant. In 1999, he found himself without a “seat” (having failed to finish 20 of his previous 36 races), when, midway through the season, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, perhaps the greatest driver of all time, broke a leg during a crash, and Salo was hired to fill his seat.

Former Ferrari Driver Mika Salo. Can you see Finland from Alaska?

For those of you unfamiliar with the sport, short-term success in Formula 1 (eg. the ability to perform well in any given race), is almost completely dependent on the performance of the car. Of the 11-12 competing teams in any given season, between 2 and 4 have a real shot at the title, while the rest have varying expectations over their ability to scoop up crumbs. Bottom line, take a middling driver, put him in the fastest car on the track, and whereas he may not win , he’ll certainly out perform. In 1999 (and 2000,01,02,03 and 04), Ferrari was the fastest car on the track.

In Salo’s fifth race, he finished second, the best result of his career. In a post-race interview, he proceeded to extol the virtues of his own driving, his own performance, and continued to fluff himself to startling proportions. If you’ve ever watched auto racing at any level, you know that the first rule of thumb of the post-race press conference is “When you succeed, thank the crew first.”

The thing about Ferrari F-1 cars at this time was that they were not only fast, but they were reliable. They rarely failed to finish a race, and when they did, it was usually the result of collision, as opposed to mechanical failure. Yet, watching Salo open his mouth, it became apparent that he would be eating his words. In the following race, the European Grand Prix, his brakes failed and he was forced to retire from the race. Schumacher returned for the last two races of the season, and Salo raced two more years for bottom-table teams before fading out of F-1.

So, here we have Sarah Palin, climbing on to the podium for the first time, thinking that she’s a champion driver just because she’s driving the fastest car. But, she’s pissing off her crew. A Ferrari is only a Ferrari when the mechanics that build and maintain it decide make it perform like a Ferrari. What Palin has forgotten, is that when a Ferrari is broken down on the side of the road, it gets outperformed by a Ford Pinto. Unfortunately for her, Sarah Palin is no mechanic.

End tangent.

MIKA SALO"FLYING FINN

Mika Salo

Mika Salo in 2009
Nationality Finnish
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1994–2000, 2002
Teams	Lotus, Tyrrell, Arrows, British American Racing, Ferrari, Sauber, Toyota
Races	111 (109 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	2
Career points	33
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1994 Japanese Grand Prix
Last race	2002 Japanese Grand Prix

Mika Juhani Salo (born November 30, 1966 in Helsinki) is a Finnish racing driver. He competed in Formula One between 1994 and 2002. His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999. He also won the GT2 class in the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Contents [hide] 1 Career 1.1 Formula Three and Japanese racing 1.2 Formula One 1.2.1 1994 – 1998: Lotus, Tyrrell and Arrows 1.2.2 1999: British American Racing and Ferrari 1.2.3 2000 – 2002: Sauber and Toyota 1.3 Post-Formula One 2 Personal 3 Racing record 3.1 Complete Formula One results 3.2 Complete CART results 4 References

Career

Formula Three and Japanese racing

In 1989, Salo competed in the British Formula Three Championship, racing for Alan Docking Racing. He raced with the Reynard Toyota package which was not the season's best. Staying with Alan Docking Racing for 1990 and moving to a more competitive RaltMika Häkkinen in F3, finishing second to him. In 1990, Salo was caught driving under the influence in London.^[1] Subsequently the chance of him gaining a FIA Super Licence necessary to compete in Formula One was destroyed in the short-term. He then moved to Japan in an attempt to revive his damaged reputation. chassis, he raced against countryman and fierce rival

Formula One

1994 – 1998: Lotus, Tyrrell and Arrows

"I think it was six days before the race they said, 'Do you think you can drive it next weekend with no testing'. I'd never driven a Formula One car before in my life; that's what I've always wanted, so I said yes. I know the circuit so I don't think it's a problem. The next two nights I lay in my bed smiling, so happy it was happening." —Salo commenting on his first race for Lotus.[2]

After a few years racing in Japan he made his first F1 start at the penultimate round of the 1994 season in Japan for the ailing Lotus team. He was kept on for the season's finale in Australia. Following the collapse of Lotus following the end of the season, Salo moved to Tyrrell for 1995. He was to spend three years with the team, scoring points several times. In the 1997 Monaco Grand Prix he completed the whole (rain-shortened and -slowed) race without refuelling, taking fifth place ahead of the faster Giancarlo Fisichella as a result[1]. Despite a promising 1998 with Arrows, he had no full-time drive in 1999.

1999: British American Racing and Ferrari

Salo driving for Tyrrell1995 British Grand Prix. at the

Salo testing for FerrariMonza in 1999. at

Following an injury to BAR driver Ricardo Zonta, Salo did get a short-term drive with the team for three races whilst the Brazilian recovered. However a greater opportunity arose when Michael Schumacher broke his leg at a crash during the 1999 British Grand Prix. Salo was selected as his substitute to partner Eddie Irvine at Ferrari. In his second race in Ferrari at the 1999 German Grand Prix Salo led for part of the race and would have scored a Grand Prix win but team orders demanded that he give the lead to Irvine, who at the time was fighting for the championship with Mika Häkkinen.^[3] Following the race, Irvine handed his victory trophy over to Salo as a gesture to show his gratitude. He also finished third at Monza, ahead of Irvine.

2000 – 2002: Sauber and Toyota

Salo was back full-time in 2000 with Sauber, taking 11th in the championship, although he left the team at the end of the season to join the new Toyota team in preparation for its F1 entry in 2002. He scored two points for Toyota in their first season, becoming the first driver since JJ Lehto at the 1993 South African Grand Prix to score points on a team's debut by finishing sixth at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. He retired from Formula One at the end of 2002, after surprisingly getting fired from Toyota.

During his Formula One career, he achieved two podiums, and scored a total of 33 championship points.

Post-Formula One

His first post-F1 race came at the 2003 12 Hours of Sebring, driving the UK-entered Audi R8, the same car he was due to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans if it had not ran out of fuel already after the first hour. He raced in four CART races for PK Racing during the same year, his best finish being third in Miami in his second series start.

Because of his strong links with Ferrari he was picked up to be part of the development program of the Maserati MC12 GT racer. He made his FIA GT debut in 2004, narrowly losing the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in a Ferrari 575. After that he entered the last four races of the season in the Maserati, winning two races and finishing second once.^{[citation needed]}

2005 was a year somewhat lost in the doldrums with only two participations with the Maserati MC12 in the ALMS GTS-class, a competition where the car turned out to be not even half as competitive as in the FIA GT series.

For 2006, Salo returned to racing full-time, signing with AF Corse in the FIA GT to drive the Ferrari F430 and later on in the year with Risi Competizione in the ALMS. He was victorious in class in the 24 Hours of Spa and finished 3rd in the FIA GT2 Drivers' Championship with 61 points, while his efforts in the ALMS contributed to Risi's Teams' Championship cup. In the following year he continued with Risi Competizione in the ALMS and took the GT2 class honors in the 12 Hours of Sebring and the championship along with teammate Jaime Melo. They won a total of eight races out of twelve in the class. In addition, he won the RAC Tourist Trophy with Thomas Biagi when substituting for Michael Bartels, driving a Maserati MC12 once more.

Salo and Melo with Risi Competizione earned the first team At-Large honours on the 2007 All-American Racing Team, as voted for by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters (AARWBA).^[4] Salo raced again in the ALMS for Risi Competizione in 2008. Although he was not successful in defending his previous year's titles, he won the GT2 class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, coming in 18th overall.

In 2009, he joined the Risi Ferrari team at the blue-riband races only, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans event, winning all three of them. Having won these enduro races all more than once, Salo feels he is ready for a new challenge. He has set his mind on NASCAR, having recently had his first test with Michael Waltrip Racing at the half-mile New Smyrna Speedway.^[5]

[edit] Personal

He currently resides in Monaco with his Japanese wife Noriko Salo (born Endo) and their two children, son Max and daughter Mai. His godson Jesse Krohn competes in Formula Renault, both in Scandinavia and the UK.

Like fellow Finns Keke Rosberg and JJ Lehto, both former F1 drivers, Salo has commentated on several F1 races on MTV3 and the pay-channel MTV3 MAX. During the controversial 2005 United States Grand Prix, he walked out of the commentator's booth in mid-race after the Michelin teams refused to race.

Racing record

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1994	Team Lotus	Lotus 109	Mugen Honda V10	BRA	PAC	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN 10	AUS Ret		NC	0
1995	Nokia Tyrrell Yamaha	Tyrrell 023	Yamaha V10	BRA 7	ARG Ret	SMR Ret	ESP 10	MON Ret	CAN 7	FRA 15	GBR 8	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 8	ITA 5	POR 13	EUR 10	PAC 12	JPN 6	AUS 5	15th	5
1996	Tyrrell Yamaha	Tyrrell 024	Yamaha V10	AUS 6	BRA 5	ARG Ret	EUR DSQ	SMR Ret	MON 5	ESP DSQ	CAN Ret	FRA 10	GBR 7	GER 9	HUN Ret	BEL 7	ITA Ret	POR 11	JPN Ret		13th	5
1997	Tyrrell	Tyrrell 025	Ford V8	AUS Ret	BRA 13	ARG 8	SMR 9	MON 5	ESP Ret	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN 13	BEL 11	ITA Ret	AUT Ret	LUX 10	JPN Ret	EUR 12	17th	2
1998	Danka Zepter Arrows	Arrows A19	Arrows V10	AUS Ret	BRA Ret	ARG Ret	SMR 9	ESP Ret	MON 4	CAN Ret	FRA 13	GBR Ret	AUT Ret	GER 14	HUN Ret	BEL DNS	ITA Ret	LUX 14	JPN Ret		13th	3
1999	British American Racing	BAR 01	Supertec V10	AUS	BRA	SMR 7	MON Ret	ESP 8	CAN	FRA	GBR										10th	10
	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari F399	Ferrari V10									AUT 9	GER 2	HUN 12	BEL 7	ITA 3	EUR Ret	MAL	JPN
2000	Red Bull Sauber Petronas	Sauber C19	Petronas V10	AUS DSQ	BRA DNS	SMR 6	GBR 8	ESP 7	EUR Ret	MON 5	CAN Ret	FRA 10	AUT 6	GER 5	HUN 10	BEL 9	ITA 7	USA Ret	JPN 10	MAL 8	11th	6
2002	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF102	Toyota V10	AUS 6	MAL 12	BRA 6	SMR Ret	ESP 9	AUT 8	MON Ret	CAN Ret	EUR Ret	GBR Ret	FRA Ret	GER 9	HUN 15	BEL 7	ITA 11	USA 14	JPN 8	17th	2

Complete CART results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Rank	Points
2003	PK Racing	STP	MTY	LBH	BRH	LAU	MIL	LS	POR	CLE	TOR	VAN	ROA	MDO	MTL	DEN 14	MIA 3	MXC 5	SRF 11	FON NH	16th	26

MIKA SALO"FLYING FINN

Tuuraajana BAR:lla ja Ferrarilla

Vuonna 1999 Salo jäi ilman tallipaikkaa Arrowsin purettua yllättäen hänen sopimuksensa. Salo pääsi kuitenkin ajamaan San Marinon, Espanjan sekä Monacon kilpailuissa tulokastalli British American Racingin (BAR) kalustolla, kun Ricardo Zonta oli loukkaantuneena. Espanjassa hän sai kunnian olla ensimmäinen, joka toi BAR-tallin auton maaliin saakka.

Kolmen kisan pestin jälkeen Salo jäi jälleen ilman F1-töitä, kunnes kauden kahdeksannen kilpailun jälkeen Ferrari palkkasi hänet loukkaantuneen Michael Schumacherin tuuraajaksi. Schumacher oli loukkaantunut Britannian GP:ssä, ja Ferrari päätti palkata tuuraajaksi BAR-tallissa hyvää työtä tehneen Salon. Tämä oli ensimmäinen kerta, kun Salo pääsi ajamaan huippukalustolla Formula 1 -sarjassa, ja hänen tehtävänään oli toimia mestaruudesta taistelevan Eddie Irvinen tukena.

Salo ajoi Ferrarilla yhteensä kuusi osakilpailua, kohokohtanaan Saksan GP, jossa hän sijoittui toiseksi. Hän oli sijoittunut aika-ajoissa neljänneksi ja nousi lähdössä toiseksi Mika HäkkisenItalian GP:ssä, jossa hän sijoittui kolmanneksi. Muissa kilpailuissa hän jäi ilman pisteitä. perään. Kun Häkkinen keskeytti, Salo johti kilpailua mutta päästi tallimääräyksellä toisena ajaneen Eddie Irvinen edelleen. Kilpailun jälkeen Irvine kuitenkin luovutti kiitollisuudesta ykköspalkintonsa voittotaistelun suosiolla luovuttaneelle Salolle. Salo nousi palkintokorokkeelle vielä

[muokkaa] Viimeiset vuodet F1:ssä

Toyota TF101 vuodelta 2001. Autolla ei ajettu koskaan kilpaa vaan sitä käytettiin vain testaamiseen.

Kaudelle 2000 Salo siirtyi Sauber-talliin. Hän sijoittui parhaimmillaan Monacon ja Saksan GP:ssä viidenneksi, keräsi yhteensä kuusi MM-pistettä ja peittosi näin selvästi pisteittä jääneen tallikaveri Pedro Dinizin.

Vuodeksi 2001 Salo päätti ottaa vastaan haasteen ja siirtyi testaamaan uuden, lähes tyhjältä pohjalta aloittavan Toyotan F1-tallin autoa. Vuoden testaamisen jälkeen Toyota aloitti kilpailemaan kaudella 2002. Salo nappasi uudelle tallille heti ensimmäisessä kilpailussa Australiassa yhden pisteen sijoittumalla kuudenneksi, ja hän toisti tämän sijoituksen myös kauden kolmannessa kilpailussa Brasilian GP:ssä. Vaikka jatkossa aika-ajoissa tulikin hyviä sijoituksia, kausi oli suuriin odotuksiin nähden pettymys Salolle. Kauden alun kaksi pistettä jäivät hänen ainoikseen, eikä Toyota jatkanut hänen sopimustaan seuraavalle kaudelle. Salo päätti F1-uransa tähän kauteen.

[muokkaa] F1-uran jälkeinen aika

F1-uran jälkeen Salo on ajanut muun muassa CART-sarjassa kaudella 2003. Hän osallistui neljään kilpailuun ja ajoi toisessa kilpailussa palkintosijalle kolmanneksi. Hänestä tuli ensimmäinen CART-sarjassa palkinnoille yltänyt suomalainen.

Salo on myös osallistunut Audilla Sebringin ja Le Mansin kestävyyskilpailuihin. Kaudella 2004 Salo ajoi FIA GT -sarjaa Ferrarin F430 -autolla. Nykyään hän ajaa American Le Mans SeriesJaime Melon kanssa. Vuonna 2008 Salo voitti Melon ja Gianmaria Brunin kanssa oman luokkansa Le Mansin 24 tunnin ajossa. -sarjassa Ferrarilla ja voitti GT2-luokan mestaruuden kaudella 2007 yhdessä ajoparinsa

Salo on toiminut usein MTV3-kanavan F1-lähetysten kommentaattorina. Hän on ollut myös yksi kanavan F1-asiantuntijoista mm. JJ Lehdon ja Keke Rosbergin lisäksi.

Vuonna 2005 Salolta löytyi keuhkoista hiilikuitujarruista peräisin olevaa pölyä. Hän on ikäluokkansa ensimmäinen kuljettaja, jolta on avattu keuhkot. Pöly ei ainakaan vielä ole vaikuttanut Salon terveyteen, mutta seurantaa aiotaan jatkaa.^[3]

Salon mukaan on nimetty karting-kilpailukeskus Alahärmässä (Mika Salo Circuit).

[muokkaa] Yksityiselämä

Heinäkuussa 1999 Salo avioitui japanilaisen mallin Noriko Endon kanssa. Salo tapasi Endon ajettuaan vuosia Japanissa 1990-luvun alussa.^[4] Pariskunnalla on kaksi lasta: elokuussa 20012004 syntynyt tytär Mai. Salo asuu perheineen Helsingin Tammisalossa syntynyt poika Max ja vuonna

[muokkaa] Tilastot

[muokkaa] Formula 1 -tilastot

Kausi	Talli	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pisteet	Sijoitus
1994	Lotus	BRA	PAC	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN 10	AUS Kesk.		0	32.
1995	Tyrrell	BRA 7	ARG Kesk.	SMR Kesk.	ESP 10	MON Kesk.	CAN 7	FRA 15	GBR 8	GER Kesk.	HUN Kesk.	BEL 8	ITA 5	POR 13	EUR 10	PAC 12	JPN 6	AUS 5	5	15.
1996	Tyrrell	AUS 6	BRA 5	ARG Kesk.	EUR Kesk.	SMR Kesk.	MON 5	ESP DSQ	CAN Kesk.	FRA 10	GBR 7	GER 9	HUN Kesk.	BEL 7	ITA Kesk.	POR 11	JPN Kesk.		5	13.
1997	Tyrrell	AUS Kesk.	BRA 13	ARG 8	SMR 9	MON 5	ESP Kesk.	CAN Kesk.	FRA Kesk.	GBR Kesk.	GER Kesk.	HUN 13	BEL 11	ITA Kesk.	AUT Kesk.	LUX 10	JPN Kesk.	EUR 12	2	17.
1998	Arrows	AUS Kesk.	BRA Kesk.	ARG Kesk.	SMR 9	ESP Kesk.	MON 4	CAN Kesk.	FRA 13	GBR Kesk.	AUT Kesk.	GER 14	HUN Kesk.	BEL DNS	ITA Kesk.	LUX 14	JPN Kesk.		3	13.
1999	BAR	AUS	BRA	SMR 7	MON Kesk.	ESP 8	CAN	FRA	GBR										10	10.
	Ferrari									AUS 9	GER 2	HUN 12	BEL 7	ITA 3	EUR Kesk.	MAL	JPN
2000	Sauber	AUS DSQ	BRA WD	SMR 6	GBR 8	ESP 7	EUR Kesk.	MON 5	CAN Kesk.	FRA 10	AUT 6	GER 5	HUN 10	BEL 9	ITA 7	USA Kesk.	JPN 10	MAL 8	6	11.
2002	Toyota	AUS 6	MAL 12	BRA 6	SMR Kesk.	ESP 9	AUT 8	MON Kesk.	CAN Kesk.	EUR Kesk.	GBR Kesk.	FRA Kesk.	GER 9	HUN 15	BEL 7	ITA 11	USA 14	JPN 8	2	17.