It was recently confirmed that Hussi will contest the WRC2 category at Rally Sweden in February alongside Teemu Suninen. In addition, she continues to work with Toyota’s WRC team.
Hussi and experienced driver Juho Hänninen form part of Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta’s gravel crew on asphalt rallies in the World Rally Championship. The gravel crew drives through the special stages ahead of the competitors and makes corrections to the pace notes, for example in sections affected by ice, snow or mud.
The days are long for members of the gravel crew.
“We have early mornings. Or I don’t know if I should say late nights – whichever category this falls into,” Hussi laughs in an interview with RallyJournal.com.
Hussi began working as part of Katsuta’s team alongside his co-driver Aaron Johnston in autumn 2024.
“I’ve learned things in this role that you wouldn’t necessarily even think about otherwise. At the same time, I get to observe the level of professionalism my partner Hänninen has and how he reads the road. I’ve asked him to say out loud everything he notices and thinks about, because I’m trying to absorb as much information as possible. It’s extremely educational and very detail-oriented work,” Hussi explains.
Preparation for the demanding task already begins at home before the rally. During rally week, Hussi receives the special stage pace notes from Johnston ahead of each competition day and copies them for her own use.
The alarm usually goes off in the early hours of the morning, after which Hänninen and Hussi head out to the stages. There, Hänninen assesses the conditions and dictates corrections to the notes, which Hussi writes down. The updated notes are then handed over to a so-called runner, who delivers the information to Katsuta and Johnston.
The same routine is repeated before the competitors head out for their second loop after midday service.
“In practice, they are driving based on the markings we’ve made, or from the notebook we’ve copied. So essentially, as a co-driver, I’m the last one to go to sleep and the first one to wake up,” Hussi says.
Hussi has enjoyed working with the Japanese driver Katsuta and Irish co-driver Johnston.
“They’re both really nice people. Takamoto is extremely meticulous – he works very hard and is very precise in everything he does. Of course, we want to operate at the same level. And Aaron is just fantastic, a really funny guy as well. It’s incredibly easy to work with him.”
Variable conditions are forecast for the Rally Monte Carlo, which gets under way on Thursday. Hänninen and Hussi therefore need to be especially alert on the stages.
“It feels like the weather forecasts change every day, so there’s no point in staring at them too much. We go out there and then adapt to the situation as it unfolds,” Hussi underlines.
The shakedown for Rally Monte Carlo is scheduled for Wednesday. The rally’s first three special stages will be run on Thursday evening.
