Tech House and Speed by Bill Wood: Episode 102

Tech House and Speed by Bill Wood:  Episode 102

Guests: Hannu Mikkola (00:00), Andreas Mikkelsen & Kevin Buckler (13:37), Mark Miller (27:09), Travis Pastrana (39:13)

 (click play above to listen)

The Dakar Rally is underway in South America. We get some reaction to The Dakar adventure from a rally legend who won longer events in his career. And we talk with an American who all but won the event in a prestigious career with Volkswagen in Africa and South America. It's another week of Winners, Champions and Legends on Tech House & Speed!

In Segment One we talk with Hannu Mikkola, the 1983 World Rally Champion who highlighted his career with seven wins on Rally Finland, The Rally of the 1000 Lakes. Mikkola is one of the most successful drivers to ever compete in a rally. He won the marathon rally that went from London to Mexico City. And his lengthy career crossed from the tail-happy RWD Ford Escorts to the AWD Group B monster from Audi. Mikkola still does some appearances for Audi but he's largely living the life of a gentleman between Finland and Florida. We catch him in Florida.

In Segment Two we talk with Andreas Mikkelsen, the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion, who drove for Skoda UK last year. He'll be back in the IRC this year and doing some selected events for Volkswagen in the SWRC starting in Sweden in a month. Mikkelsen will start his season in a Norwegian national event this weekend. He's been working out in the Norwegian mountains to prepare for the season. That's where we find him for this conversation.

Hannu Mikkola	Andreas Mikkelsen	Mark Miller	Travis Pastrana

In Segment Three we go to Arizona where we talk with Mark Miller who had a distinguished career with Volkswagen including the title of highest finishing American in The Dakar Rally history. He finished second in 2009. Miller is a former off-road racing champion in Baja. He's a close friend of Robby Gordon who's doing well in Dakar now. We talk with Miller about how The Dakar adventure changed his life forever. Who does he think will win this year? Is it a year for Robby to sit atop the podium? We find out what Miller is thinking.

Finally in Segment Four we talk with Travis Pastrana. We find him traveling to an event in Colorado after testing for the Rolex 24 last weekend at the Daytona International Speedway. Pastrana will be in a Rolex GT Ferrari at the end of the month. It's a very competitive car that ran at the top of the practice sheets last weekend. How was it to get his first laps on the Daytona banking? And we hear from him about some plans to run rallycross events this year here in the U.S. If you have missed any part of this episode or guest, you can  go to iTunes where this and past shows are available for your convenience. Tech House & Speed archives are also available "On Demand" or via RSS syndication at www.ByBillWood.com, www.TechHouseandSpeed.com or at www.RaceFanRadio.com! Enjoy!! TRT: 53:44