Joni Wiman: Taking Rallycross By Storm

To a certain generation who sadly missed the late Colin McRae operating at his peak, Ken Block is the epitome of cool. Revered for his unique brand of drifting, ‘Gymkhana’, the Californian has become a YouTube sensation, his latest video racking up an astonishing 22 million hits and counting since it was posted in November.

But flash back to the first round of the 2014 Global Rallycross Championship at Barbados, and Block was on the ropes. After a demon start, Block had a clear track ahead of him, but let his concentration slip and ran wide at the penultimate turn, allowing Joni Wiman to sneak past him. Possibly too eager to atone for losing his lead, Block charged down the inside into the fast right-hander to finish the lap, launching his Fiesta over the kerb and over, onto his roof.

Just who was this fresh-faced 20 year-old rookie that Block had gone to such extraordinary and ultimately disastrous lengths to try and pass?

Block barrell-rolls out of the final in Barbados trying to pass Joni Wiman (Alison Padron)

By season’s end, nobody was left in doubt.

After that first chaotic weekend in Barbados, ultimately ruined by a penalty for taking the joker lap twice, Wiman drove impeccably. Though others hit higher peaks – in fact, he didn’t win a race all season – few could match Wiman for consistency, which thrust him into position for a final-round title showdown in Las Vegas with Block.  After a crash in Seattle left him down in ninth at the finish, Block knew that nothing short of a win would suffice in the final and duly upheld his side of the bargain. But the title was Wiman’s to lose, and a measured drive to second, his fourth podium finish on the spin, ensured it was the Finn who took the crown in his rookie year.

“It wasn't the easiest of starts!” he concedes. “I got a bit frustrated after Barbados, but once I got the podium in Washington, things just turned around and I got my self-confidence back. Once you have that it becomes a lot easier.”

The foundations of Wiman’s title challenge were built on an unrivalled run of seven top-four finishes from the final eight races, interrupted only by a puncture in Daytona. As the championship challenges of former F1 duo Scott Speed and Nelson Piquet Jr gradually lost steam, Wiman showed the makings of a champion with his mistake-free approach. Under pressure, he did not crack.

Wiman, with Brian Deegan (left) and Sverre Isachsen (centre) scored four
consecutive podiums to round out the Global Rallycross season (Alison Padron)

“During the year I knew I was fast, but I had to get all the things together and get one clean race, so that was the main target for the rest of the year," he said. "I haven't always been strong under pressure but I've grown up a lot this year and as I said, everything starts from the self-confidence and if you can handle the pressure too. 

"It was a really good end to the season; the second half was perfect. Of course to win the championship it was still a surprise for me as I didn't have a win, but sometimes consistency is the key.”

For such a young man, Wiman’s level-headed approach is a refreshing virtue that should serve him well in his future career. The imprint of his mentor, double World Rally champion Marcus Gronholm, whose recommendation it was that Wiman take up rallycross after the funds for a single-seater career dried up, is clear to see.

Wiman takes up the story; "I was driving single-seaters until the end of 2011 but then my career was stopped because it was getting too expensive. Then Marcus said we should try rallycross for one year and see how it goes - I've been doing Folkrace since I was 16, so I went into Super 1600 in the European Championship and I was fast right away, so I knew it could be my thing.

"[Gronholm] is a big help, he hasn't told me too much about driving because I know that part, but he just takes care of the sponsors and of course it’s amazing to have him there, and always if I have something to ask, he is there. It's just like normal, you would never believe he was a double World Champion when you see him because he is so warm, he's just like a friend."

Former WRC champion Gronholm has earmarked Wiman for the top (OMSE)

With Gronholm’s guidance, Wiman headed Stateside to continue his rallycrossing education in the GRC Lites category in 2013. Wiman blitzed the opposition, impressing Olsbergs MSE boss Andreas Eriksson enough to offer him the seat vacated by his compatriot Topi Heikkinen, the 2013 GRC champion. A former racer himself, Eriksson’s penchant for putting his faith in youth and getting the best out of them – his FIA World RX lineup of Andreas Bakkerud and Reinis Nitišs, who won the inaugural team’s championship, have an average age of 21 – has been a big part of his team’s success on both sides of the Atlantic and offers Wiman an environment in which he can thrive.

"That's just a part of how Andreas wants to build up the team, for us to grow up in the team so we know how it works and that is the way to be the best,” Wiman says. “My relationship with him is obviously really good, otherwise I wouldn't be driving for him. His driving style was a bit aggressive, so he knows how to cool a driver down and tells me to drive smoother and so on. He knows how it all works.”

Wiman is set to defend his GRC crown in 2015, where he will face even stiffer opposition than before, with all the usual cast plus former champion Tanner Foust back for the full season in the Andretti Autosport VW Beetle. Securing that elusive first win will be first on the agenda, but what will be next on the Finn’s horizons? 

After an appetite-wetting outing in the World Championship at Trois-Rivieres, a full season assault beckons at some point in the future, but for now, Wiman is content to bide his time.

“Well of course I want to be a World Champion at some point, but it's not a must right now as I have a lot of years ahead of me. I want to be a professional driver and just focus on rallycross, that's the main thing for me.”

Wiman celebrates on the roof of his Fiesta after winning the GRC title in Las Vegas (Joni Wiman)