Emma Elina Kimiläinen (born 8 July 1989) is a Finnish racing driver. She currently competes in the E1 Series and formerly competed in the W Series.[1][2]
| Emma Kimiläinen | |
|---|---|
 Kimiläinen in 2018 | |
| Nationality |  Finnish |
| Born | 8 July 1989 Helsinki, Finland |
| W Series career | |
| Debut season | 2019 |
| Current team | Puma W Series Team |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver |
| Car number | 7 |
| Starts | 12 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 7 |
| Poles | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 4 |
| Best finish | 3rd in 2021 |
| Previous series | |
| 2005–06 2007 2008 2009 2014–16 2017–18 | Formula Ford NEZ Radical Cup Sweden ADAC Formula Masters Formula Palmer Audi Scandinavian Touring Car Championship V8 ThunderCars Sweden |
Biography
editMotorsport
editKimiläinen entered professional motor racing in 2005, competing in the Northern European Formula Ford Championship. She was fifth in her first season, scoring a string of rookie awards along the way, and was tied on points with series champion Sami Isohella in 2006 however finished second on count-back (4 wins to Isohella's 5).[3] She remained in Northern Europe in 2007, racing Radicals in Sweden.
Audi then picked up the young Finn in 2008, and placed her in their Formula Masters series.[4] Team-mate to future Formula One driver Kevin Magnussen, she finished 10th in the standings with a highlight of 2nd at Assen; however Audi cut back her funding following the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and she ended up funding her own way into Formula Palmer Audi in 2009. She ended the season fifth in the standings with four podium finishes. However, with no more support from Audi and a lack of personal funds to maintain her racing career, she took an indefinite hiatus from motorsport and started a family after 2009.[5] Kimiläinen had been in contact with an Indy Lights team for 2010, however this was abandoned after it was revealed a team sponsor wanted her to produce adult content for them.[6]
In 2014, she received a surprise call-up from PWR Racing to complete the full Scandinavian Touring Car Championship season, making her the first woman to race in the STCC since Nettan Lindgren-Jansson in 1999.[7] She was retained for 2015 and 2016, however injury prevented her from completing the full 2016 season following a crash in the opening round at Skövde in which she strained her neck.[8] She switched to the Swedish V8 ThunderCar series for 2017, before announcing plans to compete in the Electric GT Championship – which was subsequently delayed and then later cancelled altogether.[9]
She competed in the W Series for 2019 as one of the seasons' 18 permanent drivers.[10] She qualified well for the opening round at the Hockenheimring, however was involved in a crash with Megan Gilkes that re-ignited her neck injury and forced her out of the following two rounds.[11][12] She finished fifth on her return at the Norisring and followed that with a grand slam (pole position, fastest lap, race win) at Assen.[13] She would finish second in a race-long fight with Alice Powell in the series finale at Brands Hatch, enabling her to leapfrog Fabienne Wohlwend for fifth in the championship. Following a coronavirus-induced break from racing in 2020, Kimiläinen returned to W Series in 2021 and finished third in the championship with a win at Spa and four other podiums. In 2022 she participated in the Race of Champions replacing Valtteri Bottas who was to race but did not due to an agreement with Alfa Romeo F1 Team so Kimiläinen raced alongside Mika Häkkinen[14]
In 2024, she is competing in the UIM E1 World Championship, an electric boat racing series. [15] Kimiläinen is a member of Team Brady, owned by retired American football player Tom Brady. Her teammate is powerboat racer Sam Coleman.[2]
Personal life
editAlongside her racing, Kimiläinen also works as a radio and television host – most notably producing Finland's Worst Driver for MTV3.[16] She has also appeared on the Finnish versions of Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer.[17][18]
She was married to Timo Liuski between 2012 and 2021, with a daughter born in 2013. She is currently in a relationship with former Finnish footballer Sami Hyypiä, some 16 years her senior.[19]
Racing record
editCareer summary
edit| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Formula Ford NEZ | Team F40 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 77 | 5th |
| Formula Ford Finland | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 106 | 2nd | ||
| Formula Ford Sweden | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 7th | ||
| 2006 | Formula Ford NEZ | Team F40 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 139 | 2nd |
| Formula Ford Finland | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 110 | 2nd | ||
| Formula Ford Sweden | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 6th | ||
| 2007 | Radical Cup Sweden | JFG Motorsport | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 195 | 3rd |
| 2008 | ADAC Formel Masters | Van Amersfoort Racing | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 76 | 10th |
| 2009 | Formula Palmer Audi | MotorSport Vision | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 260 | 5th |
| 2014 | Scandinavian Touring Car Championship | PWR Racing Team | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 11th |
| 2015 | Scandinavian Touring Car Championship | PWR Racing Team | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 158 | 7th |
| 2016 | Scandinavian Touring Car Championship | PWR Racing – SEAT Dealer Team | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 11th |
| 2017 | V8 ThunderCars NEZ | N/A | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2400 | 5th |
| 2019 | W Series | Hitech GP | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 53 | 5th |
| 2021 | W Series | Écurie W | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 108 | 3rd |
| 2022 | W Series | Puma W Series Team | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 8th |
| 2024 | E1 Series | Team Brady | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 63* | 1st* |
Complete Scandinavian Touring Car Championship results
edit
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | PWR Racing | Saab 9-3 TTA | KNU 1 Ret |
KNU 2 9 |
GÖT 1 Ret |
GÖT 2 DNS |
FAL 1 2 |
FAL 2 11 |
KNU 1 6 |
KNU 2 7 |
SOL 1 Ret |
SOL 2 11 |
MAN 1 10 |
MAN 2 9 |
11th | 55 | ||
| 2015 | PWR Racing Team | Saab 9-3 TTA | VRS 1 6 |
VRS 2 Ret |
AND 1 5 |
AND 2 3 |
MAN 1 7 |
MAN 2 3 |
FAL 1 9 |
FAL 2 9 |
KAR 1 7 |
KAR 2 10 |
SOL 1 5 |
SOL 2 4 |
KNU 1 4 |
KNU 2 6 |
7th | 158 |
| 2016 | PWR Racing - SEAT Dealer Team | SEAT León STCC | SKÖ 1 Ret |
SKÖ 2 Ret |
MAN 1 |
MAN 2 |
AND 1 8 |
AND 2 6 |
FAL 1 6 |
FAL 2 Ret |
KAR 1 7 |
KAR 2 Ret |
SOL 1 |
SOL 2 |
KNU 1 |
KNU 2 |
11th | 59 |
Complete W Series results
edit
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Hitech GP | HOC Ret |
ZOL WD |
MIS | NOR 5 |
ASS 1 |
BRH 2 |
5th | 53 | ||
| 2021 | Écurie W | RBR1 13 |
RBR2 3 |
SIL 4 |
HUN 6 |
SPA 1 |
ZAN 3 |
COA1 2 |
COA2 3 |
3rd | 108 |
| 2022 | Puma W Series Team | MIA1 15 |
MIA2 5 |
CAT 4 |
SIL 2 |
LEC 12 |
HUN Ret |
SGP 9 |
8th | 42 |
References
edit- ^ "Emma Kimiläinen – W Series". W Series. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b Sangalang, Jennifer (2024-01-19). "Tom Brady, Marc Anthony to compete in international speedboat races. Info about E1 Series". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ "Speedqueens: Emma Kimiläinen (Liuski)". Speedqueens. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "Kimiläinen avasi Formula Masters -kauden lupaavasti (in Finnish)". MTV Uutiset. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
- ^ "Finnish motorsport's leading lady: The story of Emma Kimiläinen". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ "W Series Racer Emma Kimiläinen Walked Away From An Indy Lights Seat When The Team Demanded She Pose Topless". Jalopnik. 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Emma Kimiläinen first female driver in STCC since 1999". TouringCarTimes. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
- ^ "Video: Emma Kimiläinen will miss Mantorp races after Skövde crash". TouringCarTimes. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ "Emma Kimiläinen — Electric GT Championship". Electric GT Championship. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- ^ "W Series announces its driver line-up". W Series. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ "Vivien Keszthelyi To Race In W Series Today At Zolder In Place Of Emma Kimilainen". W Series. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ "Emma Kimilainen to miss W Series' Misano race this weekend". W Series. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ "Assen Race Report". W Series. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ^ "Spa W Series: Kimilainen passes Chadwick to win wet race". Motorsport.com. 29 August 2021.
- ^ McLean, Heather (2024-02-29). "Global launch: Aurora Media Worldwide on bringing the never-seen-before sport of E1 World Electric Powerboat Series to life". SVG Europe. Archived from the original on 2024-03-03. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
- ^ "About me". emmakimilainen.com. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "What a night yesterday! I loved every second of it! Thank you for the lovely messages". @emmakimilainen on Instagram. 12 September 2023.
- ^ "Surprise! Tikkari aka Lollipop on Masked Singer Finland". Emma Kimilainen on Facebook. 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Suhdekriisi selätetty! Sami Hyypiä ja Emma Kimiläinen viihtyivät yhdessä Espanjassa (in Finnish)". Seiska. 23 May 2022.
External links
edit
- Profile at Driver Database
- Website