Interview - Timo Lahti 🇫🇮

Big Timo Lahti, 7 times Finnish National Champion and 2023 Golden Helmet winner, has been a personal favourite of mine for many years. He has raced extensively across Europe for teams in Sweden, Denmark, the UK and Poland, as well as in his native Finland and this year he leads a formidable looking Tarnow team in Poland. 

Thanks for agreeing to speak with me Timo. Let's start by asking how you first got into speedway, what age you were and which tracks did you race on in the early days?

My dad used to be a team manager in Finnish league when I was a kid. My dad and uncle also raced at Finnish division 1 and 2 back in around 1997. I got my first bike when I was 10. I practiced together with my brother in Kuusankoski, the track was only 2 kilometers from my house. Before speedway, I was doing motocross which I started when I was 5.

I've been to Varkaus several times, firstly in 2008 and watched how it has been developed since then. For people who haven't been to Finland, what are the tracks there like.. and what sort of crowd levels do they get for meetings?

Varkaus is the only track in Finland accepted by FIM. Only a few tracks in Finland have air fence and it's not necessary in Finland which is crazy. Crowd levels are very poor, I would say few hundreds, and nowadays there is no proper league in Finland anymore so it's difficult to get new riders in to the sport too.

Who were the riders you looked up to when you were starting out, and are there any talented young Finnish riders that we should be keeping an eye on, that may burst onto the scene in the next two or three years?

First my favourite riders was from Russian team who was competing in Finnish league when my dad was team manager in my hometown. Russians was crashing a lot which was  "entertaining " 👀🙉 for a young kid. When I started racing, Andreas Jonsson was my favourite rider. 

Niko Hatva who is currently riding on 250cc class will have a bright future if he keeps going like he does at the moment.

As we are talking about Finland, what temperature does the lake water need to be for you to leap into it after a sauna? 

We live by the lake, and we also go to swim after sauna during the winter. We have a pump rolling in the lake which keep a small open  "hole " in the lake. So simple answer is 0 degrees 😃

As well as having raced in Finland, you've raced for teams in Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the UK. Which tracks have been your favourite places to race and why? 

Pardubice and Daugavpils has been my favourite tracks for long time. Nearly always we have a good meeting when we go there. 

Is there an individual race or heat that you won somewhere that is your favourite ever, and if so, why?

I would say final in Golden Helmet 2023.

After much stress and uncertainty, your Polish club Tarnów have finally confirmed they are racing this season. They have a great looking line up. Who do you think are your main rivals in Krajowa Liga this year? 

It's still early days, we look good in Tarnow and I think we will be stronger as the season goes on as it was actually first time we all was together when we travelled to Gniezno last week. Hopefully club gets everything sorted and we will fight to get up to 1st league. Gniezno will be main rivals.

It was great to see you win the 75th Golden Helmet meeting in Pardubice last autumn. Do they give you that helmet to keep for a year?

Once you win a Golden Helmet, you get to keep it for the rest of your life 👍

With all the travelling between countries during the season, how do you stay fresh and keep organised? 

Since I was 17 - 18 years old I had to do all flight, hotel ferry etc bookings myself so nowadays I'm used to doing all such things and it doesn't take energy from me. Also, we travel in a very comfortable van all the time which makes resting quite simple too. When we do have days off during season I like to do a little workouts to keep my body in shape. I am very tall rider so for me most difficult in the sport is to keep my weight low enough.

Lots of the Continental European Speedway group members watch the meetings from Poland, but haven't actually been there. Can you describe for them what racing in Poland is like and how it may be different compared to other countries - I'm thinking about the crowds, the pressure etc? 

If you are a speedway fan you have to travel to Poland to see what it is. It's different sport to what it is in other countries. Of course there is a lot of pressure from clubs too, but for myself the biggest pressure / will to success come from my own head.

Several of your family members and friends follow your progress via the group here. Do you think they feel we do a decent job of keeping them up to date with the streams and news? 

This group is amazing! I like to watch races from here, and my wife always says what would we do without this group if they couldn't watch the racing with the boys back at home 😃

15 of the group members will spend the last weekend of July based in Tarnów. Unfortunately it's a weekend when you won't have a home meeting but we will travel to close by tracks Rzeszów and Rybnik for matches there. We'd like to wish you all the best for the 2024 season! Thanks for talking with me! 

Thanks Michael, enjoy your time in Poland 👍

Michael Purves, 04.04.2024