November 30, 1966
Mika Salo
(Photo: entzi81 via photopin cc)
Born in Helsinki, Finland.
Salo is a former Formula One, CART and sports-car racer. In 1989-90, Salo competed in the British Formula Three Championship. In his second year he finished second in the championship to countryman and fierce rival Mika Häkkinen. The same year Salo was caught driving under the influence in London. 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.
After a few years racing in Japan he made his first Formula One 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. Despite a promising 1998 with Arrows, he had no full-time drive in 1999.
Following an injury to BAR driver Ricardo Zonta, Salo took his place for three races while the Brazilian recovered. However a greater opportunity arose when Michael Schumacher broke his leg in 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. Following the race, Irvine handed his victory trophy over to Salo as a gesture of gratitude. He also finished third at Monza, ahead of Irvine.
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 Formula One 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.
In 2003 Salo raced in four CART races for PK Racing, 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.
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 third 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 honours 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. 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 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans event, winning all three of them. At this time Salo felt he was ready for a new challenge. He set his mind on NASCAR, and in November 2009, tested a Sprint Cup-spec Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing at New Smyrna Raceway in Florida along with fellow Ex-Toyota F1 man Jarno Trulli with the hopes of taking part in next year's NASCAR Nationwide Series.
In 2012 Salo competed in the Gold Coast 600 V8 Supercar championship event with co-driver Will Davison. The pair won the second of the races and Salo performed well as one of the best international drivers against more experienced regular local drivers.
In 2014, driving for Maranello Motorsport, Salo co-drove a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 to victory at the Bathurst 12 Hour alongside Australian motor racing legends Craig Lowndes and John Bowe, and another local Australian driver Peter Edwards.
He currently resides in Estonia and he has two children with wife Noriko Salo (Endo), son Max and daughter Mai. His godson Jesse Krohn competes in Formula Renault, both in Scandinavia and the UK. Mika and Noriko divorced in 2014, after 15 years of marriage.
Like fellow Finns Keke Rosberg and JJ Lehto, 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.
Salo is a supporter of the Hells Angels. He claims to have friends in the Hells Angels and has a tattoo of "Big Red Machine 81 Support Finland".
Born in Helsinki, Finland.
Salo is a former Formula One, CART and sports-car racer. In 1989-90, Salo competed in the British Formula Three Championship. In his second year he finished second in the championship to countryman and fierce rival Mika Häkkinen. The same year Salo was caught driving under the influence in London. 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.
After a few years racing in Japan he made his first Formula One 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. Despite a promising 1998 with Arrows, he had no full-time drive in 1999.
Following an injury to BAR driver Ricardo Zonta, Salo took his place for three races while the Brazilian recovered. However a greater opportunity arose when Michael Schumacher broke his leg in 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. Following the race, Irvine handed his victory trophy over to Salo as a gesture of gratitude. He also finished third at Monza, ahead of Irvine.
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 Formula One 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.
In 2003 Salo raced in four CART races for PK Racing, 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.
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 third 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 honours 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. 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 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans event, winning all three of them. At this time Salo felt he was ready for a new challenge. He set his mind on NASCAR, and in November 2009, tested a Sprint Cup-spec Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing at New Smyrna Raceway in Florida along with fellow Ex-Toyota F1 man Jarno Trulli with the hopes of taking part in next year's NASCAR Nationwide Series.
In 2012 Salo competed in the Gold Coast 600 V8 Supercar championship event with co-driver Will Davison. The pair won the second of the races and Salo performed well as one of the best international drivers against more experienced regular local drivers.
In 2014, driving for Maranello Motorsport, Salo co-drove a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 to victory at the Bathurst 12 Hour alongside Australian motor racing legends Craig Lowndes and John Bowe, and another local Australian driver Peter Edwards.
He currently resides in Estonia and he has two children with wife Noriko Salo (Endo), son Max and daughter Mai. His godson Jesse Krohn competes in Formula Renault, both in Scandinavia and the UK. Mika and Noriko divorced in 2014, after 15 years of marriage.
Like fellow Finns Keke Rosberg and JJ Lehto, 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.
Salo is a supporter of the Hells Angels. He claims to have friends in the Hells Angels and has a tattoo of "Big Red Machine 81 Support Finland".
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