Emma Kimilainen: Earning Respect

As the only female racing in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, Emma Kimilainen is used to attention. But after a second-place finish at Falkenberg in July, the 25-year-old Finn is hopeful that will be for her on-track performances – and not her gender – that she is recognised.

After only three weekends back in a racing car following four years out of the sport, in which she earned a degree from the University of Applied Sciences in Business, Marketing and Logistics and also started a family, Kimilainen impressed many by holding off defending champion Thed Bjork while sustaining pressure on leader Philip Forsman in the closing laps of the reversed grid race.

Kimilainen celebrates her first STCC podium. (Credit: Martin Oberg)

Without a small mistake on cold tyres, following a safety car that had eroded her comfortable early lead, Kimilainen could even have scored a breakthrough win – not a bad result considering her unfamiliarity with PWR Racing’s new chassis, the old one having been written off after sustaining heavy damage at the Gothenburg City Race.

“It was a good weekend, apart from in the second race when I had a flat tyre so I didn’t finish. [The podium] definitely helps with confidence,” she said. “I also had a completely new car which I had to learn in time for qualifying as well; it wasn’t that easy to find a good setup for it because it didn’t work the same as the old one. We just worked some magic with the setup overnight and then after two laps I was looking in the mirrors and I couldn’t see anybody! Everything was okay, it was really exciting to lead.”

After her most competitive showing to date in a season plagued by bad luck, Kimilainen is optimistic that her fellow competitors are now starting to view her as a credible rival. Round four at Knutstorp seemingly can’t come soon enough, with more leaps forward anticipated.

The Finn hopes she has earned the respect of her rivals after
running up front at Falkenberg. (Credit: Martin Oberg)

“It’s pretty tough in the beginning to come to a new championship and be accepted,” she admits. “It usually takes about half a season or so and then the respect from the other drivers starts to come, especially since Thed Bjork tried everything he could but couldn’t overtake me [at Falkenberg]. Hopefully I now have some more respect than I had before and maybe they’ll not just think that it’s okay to push me off the track!

“I feel at home in Sweden and the STCC. It’s the most professional series I’ve ever driven, it’s a really tough championship and the cars are great to drive. It’s great to be in the main championship and not in one of the support classes like I’ve been in before.”