FROM START TO FINNISH
What does Jukka Honkavuori, a Porsche racing driver and instructor at various Porsche Experience Centres around the globe, think about being paid to drive? A dream come true? Absolutely. What about the thrill of racing Porsches in top tier motorsport? A zen moment accompanied by a rush of blood to the head? Well, that’s just a half-cliché.
As a journalist, it’s normal practice to pick up the phone and call your interviewee at a specified time. Honkavuori isn’t a typical racing driver. He calls a minute in advance of the scheduled interview and immediately starts talking. Should you see his eyes, they’d spark racing fever. And we’re not talking about a veteran circuit dweller with endless war stories. No, this is a young driver blessed with the vision and determination of racers many years his senior.
Nearly all racing drivers have roots in the go-karting scene. Honkavuori is no different, but instead of the usual (and tired) tales of flooded tracks and an old kart running on three wheels, he’s more interested in talking about his motorsport heroes, chiefly Mika Häkkinen, Ari Vatanen, and Lewis Hamilton. With the exception of the latter, these are, perhaps, anticipated names to fall from the mouth of a Finnish petrolhead, but the reason he has so much respect for this trio of racers is less obvious — Honkavuori is, of course, wowed
