The Airikkala surname is synonymous with motorsport thanks to the rally success of the late Pentti Airikkala, and his granddaughter Flame Airikkala is building a career of her own in single-seaters. The 18-year-old spoke to Feeder Series after her GB4 debut at Snetterton about her varied background and motorsport goals. 

By George Sanderson

Sixteen years may have elapsed since the death of ‘Flying Finn’ Pentti Airikkala, but the legacy of the 1979 British Rally Championship winner has continued to inspire future generations to this day.

One of those to have been inspired is his own granddaughter, Flame, who lost her grandfather when she was just two years old. She admits she ‘didn’t know him that well’ but told Feeder Series of the determination she has to emulate his success.

“I’ve watched a lot of videos from when he was around [and] when he was really on it in the rally world,” she said. “It’s been great to hear stories about him from my dad as well. It just makes me even more motivated to do well – not just for me, but also for the Airikkala name.”

The 18-year-old made her GB4 debut at Snetterton in July after being confirmed for the final four rounds of the 2025 season with Pace Performance. Airikkala, the sixth female driver on the grid, immediately impressed by qualifying ahead of three full-time female competitors. By securing 20th in her first GB4 qualifying session, she also outperformed fellow Snetterton debutant Dudley Ruddock of Arden Motorsport.

All 24 competitors took the chequered flag in race one, with Airikkala holding her position to finish 20th and score one point in her debut race. In both races two and three, Airikkala finished higher than she started, securing 15th- and 18th-place finishes respectively. 

“Coming in, I kind of wanted no expectations because I didn’t know where I was going to be,” Airikkala told Feeder Series. “Jumping in mid-season is hard. Plus, [with] Wednesday being my first time in the car, I think it’s been a positive weekend.”

Race two in particular was encouraging for the Pace Performance driver. She took advantage of incidents ahead of her to gain five positions and ‘kept going forward, which is really good’, earning a further six points from the race.

“I’ll take it as a positive and I know there’s more to come. I’m ready to fight for it,” she said.

Airikkala will call upon her experience across multiple categories in an attempt to battle higher up the grid at Silverstone this weekend. Despite only contesting her first car races in 2023, she has competed in an impressive range of categories.

Her first season of racing came in the 2023 Fiesta Junior Championship, in which she finished 17th in the overall drivers’ standings and took a best finish of second in the MK7 Zetec S class. In October 2023, Airikkala took part in the Winfield Racing School F4 training camp at Paul Ricard before going on to test in the Tatuus F4-T014 GB4 chassis on several occasions in 2024. She then competed in her first single-seater race in the second round of Formula Nordic at Karlskoga in June 2024. 

Since then, Airikkala has gained further single-seater experience in Kyojo Cup test days. She also participated in the Snetterton Stage Rally in February and two rounds of Radical Cup UK earlier this year.

While Airikkala said she was ‘just focusing on getting as much experience’ as she could, she has her eyes on one route in particular.

“At the moment, single-seaters is the route I want to go, so [I’m] looking to do a full season next year,” she said. “Then, [I’ll be] taking every opportunity I can get because it’s an expensive world, so you’ve just got to do what you can, really.”

Whilst single-seaters may be Airikkala’s preferred destination, she has not ruled out a return to rallying one day to continue the fairytale story of following in her grandfather’s footsteps.

“I’ve always wanted to carry on the Airikkala name, if it’s not in rallying, in circuit racing – although I would like to do some more rallying.”

The British-Finnish driver’s ability to adapt to such varied racing categories has proved a strength in the early stages of her career. At just 18, Airikkala has driven three starkly contrasting types of machinery in single-seaters, Radicals and Fiestas, and she has been competitive in each.

“I think I am quite an adaptable person,” she told Feeder Series. “I love to drive new cars, figure out what’s going on and just figure out how to drive fast in every one of them. You don’t realise how much speed you can carry through corners, what the braking is supposed to be like, because it is so different in every car. But I think I’ve learned quite well.”

The GB4 Championship has so far offered a unique challenge for Airikkala. She had tested the previous-generation GB4 cars and the KCMG-01, both F4-spec chassis, but the Tatuus MSV GB4-025 is faster and more powerful than both. Airikkala said that learning the car and racing at Snetterton had been ‘a cool experience’.

“[I’ve had] five days driving now, but it was the first day in the car on Wednesday,” she said. “It’s such a good car to drive, definitely challenging, but [I’m] progressing every day so that was really good. The races – it was just focusing on the start and gaining as many positions as I can, so I think it’s been a really great weekend and positive to take forward.”

Her Pace Performance teammates, Stefan Bostandjiev and Josh McLean, are helping push her forward too. Airikkala said that in them, she found ‘good teammates to compare myself to’ and ‘good data’ to help analyse her own technique.

All full-time GB4 drivers already competed at Silverstone in the second round of the championship, meaning they enter this weekend with a significant head start on the Snetterton debutants. Airikkala is not letting that intimidate her.

“It’s just going in, taking in everything you can and just learning from everything,” she told Feeder Series. “[I’m] just pushing myself and doing as much as I can. Just as long as I am progressing every round, that’s good.”

Fellow debutant Ruddock, who had karted in Great Britain for several years before his single-seater move, enjoyed an ‘eventful’ weekend at Snetterton. The Arden driver was present for his team’s first GB4 victory through Leon Wilson whilst finishing 21st, 17th and 19th himself as he got to grips with single-seater racing.

“It’s been quite an action-packed weekend, a lot of learning,” the 19-year-old said. “It’s a lot to take in, but I’m pretty happy with the result – not with the positions but more how I’m progressing.”

Ruddock also enters the Silverstone race weekend with no prior experience of the circuit, which is a reality he will also face in the final two rounds of the season at Brands Hatch and Donington Park.

“I’ve seen them on TV. That’s probably as much experience as I have!” he told Feeder Series. “[We have to] be open-minded. We obviously spend time on the sim beforehand to understand [the circuit]. When it comes to the real-life racing, it’s just taking as much as you can. Learn from it, and if you do make mistakes, then just make the most of them as well.”

While Ruddock, like Airikkala, will be hoping to make progress at Silverstone, he said he was not focusing on results.

“Even if I am at the back, as long as I’m moving up and catching people each time at each race, that’s the best that I can do,” he added. “For this season especially, I don’t want to pile too much pressure on myself.”

Header photo credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography