Bio Excerpt: Suvi Jyrkiäinen earned her stripes the Finnish way—starting at 15 in a Honda Civic while most kids were still figuring out parallel parking. The daughter of former WRC points scorer Minna Sillankorva, she won Best Rookie Driver in the Finnish Championship in 2016, proving she wasn’t... (full bio below ↓↓)
Suvi Jyrkiainen
Rally racer
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Motorsport has always been big part of my life since so many people from my family have been involved… It was always clear for me that I will be driving something one day since I was a small girl.
It was a bit of a shock when I realized I’d actually be participating in a WRC rally.
The four-wheel drive is fantastic—it’s a proper rally car. I got a good feel for it, but there’s still a lot to learn.
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(last updated 2026-01-26
Suvi Jyrkiäinen is a Finnish rally driver whose motorsport bloodline runs as deep as the snow on a Scandinavian forest stage—her mother is a former WRC points scorer, and she’s spent her career building a name that stands on its own merit.
EARLY YEARS
Born June 21, 2000, in Finland, Suvi Jyrkiäinen came into the world with rally DNA already hardwired into her system. Her mother, Minna Sillankorva, scored WRC points driving a Lancia Delta in 1991—an accomplishment that only a handful of women have achieved in the sport’s history. Her father, Jari Jyrkiäinen, also competed in rallying, making the family dinner table conversations likely filled with pace notes and tire compound debates rather than typical parent-child small talk.
She started racing at 15, which in Finland is practically a rite of passage. While other teenagers were worrying about prom dates, Jyrkiäinen was learning how to wrestle a Honda Civic around a track with the kind of focus that would set the tone for her entire career.
OTHER INTERESTS
Beyond the world of motorsport, Jyrkiäinen has developed a notable presence in sim racing, competing in numerous national and international events. She’s become a rising figure in the Finnish sim racing community, showcasing skills that translate from virtual stages to real gravel. However, as of late 2025, she announced her decision to step away from competitive sim racing to focus more fully on her real-world rally ambitions.
EARLY SUCCESS
Jyrkiäinen’s rookie season in 2016 proved she wasn’t just riding on her family’s legacy. She won Best Rookie Driver in the Finnish Championship while piloting a Honda Civic—a car that’s about as unglamorous as motorsport gets, but one that teaches you everything about driving before you graduate to the fancy stuff. She collected several podium finishes in the Finnish Track Racing Championship, proving she had the chops to compete at the front of the field.
In 2019, she made her rally debut at the Porvoon Autopalvelu Ralli in a Volkswagen Polo, co-driven by Jorma Laakso. It was her first taste of the discipline that would become her primary focus. Three years later, in 2022, she began competing regularly in the Finnish Rally Championship. Her debut season in the SM5 – V1600 class saw her finish 8th overall—a solid result made even more impressive by the fact that her guidance came from former WRC driver Antony Warmbold, who brought 45 WRC starts’ worth of experience to her development. Having a mentor who’s been sideways on every surface imaginable doesn’t hurt when you’re learning the ropes.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
- 2016: Won Best Rookie Driver in the Finnish Championship driving a Honda Civic[1].
- 2022: Finished 8th in SM5 – V1600 class in debut Finnish Rally Championship season[2].
- 2024: Selected as one of three finalists for the WRC Beyond Rally Women’s Driver Development Programme from nearly 100 applicants[3].
- 2024: Competed in the WRC Central European Rally driving a Ford Fiesta Rally3, experiencing closed-road tarmac stages for the first time[4].
- 2025: Achieved four podium results in the Finnish Rally Championship with new co-driver Päivi Välilä[5].
INSPIRATIONS
With a mother who scored WRC points in the early ’90s when women in rallying were even rarer than they are now, Jyrkiäinen’s inspiration sits at the family table. Minna Sillankorva’s achievement of piloting a Lancia Delta Integrale 16V to a points finish in 1991 set a standard that Suvi has openly acknowledged. Both of her parents’ extensive rally experience has provided not just inspiration but practical knowledge—the kind you can’t learn from YouTube tutorials or coaching clinics. When your debut rally season is guided by Antony Warmbold, a driver who knows what it takes to compete at the WRC level, you’re getting an education most drivers can only dream about.
REPUTATION
Jyrkiäinen has built a reputation as a serious, focused competitor who doesn’t waste time or opportunities. Her selection as one of the WRC Beyond Rally finalists wasn’t a fluke—she earned it through consistent performance in the Finnish Rally Championship and a demonstrable upward trajectory. During the Central European Rally, she tackled tarmac closed-road stages for the first time and showed progressive improvement throughout the event, even when the surface was completely foreign to her gravel-focused experience.
She’s known for being straightforward about her goals. In interviews, she’s expressed her love for every aspect of rallying—the speed, the strategy, the teamwork—and that enthusiasm comes through in her driving. With experienced co-driver Antti Linnaketo by her side during the Central European Rally (he previously navigated for Jari Huttunen), she demonstrated she could work with top-tier talent and hold her own on an international stage.
Though she didn’t secure the FIA Junior WRC seat that was the ultimate prize of the Beyond Rally programme, her performance throughout 2024 and into 2025 has kept her firmly in the conversation as one of Finland’s rising rally talents.
FUTURE GOALS/PLANS
As of 2025, Jyrkiäinen continues to compete in the Finnish Rally Championship with co-driver Päivi Välilä, building on the four podium finishes they achieved together. Her decision to step away from competitive sim racing suggests a sharpened focus on real-world rally progression. While the Junior WRC seat went to another driver, her experience from the Beyond Rally programme—including her first taste of WRC-level competition and the lessons learned from driving unfamiliar tarmac stages—positions her well for future opportunities in national and international rallying.
REFERENCES
[1] FIA Rally Star Drivers’ Series Vol.1 Suvi Jyrkiäinen – Paddock Sorority
[2] I Like Everything about Rallying – Interview with Suvi Jyrkiäinen – Paddock Sorority
[3] WRC selects women’s driver development programme winners – Autosport
[4] Central European Rally tests Beyond Rally finalists on Friday – WRC.com
[5] Interview with Suvi Jyrkiäinen – Paddock Sorority
Well connected: Jyrkiäinen has impressive links to the WRC – WRC.com
Jyrkiäinen Suvi – eWRC-results.com
Inside the WRC’s search for its next Michele Mouton – Autosport
Suvi Jyrkiäinen competes for a coveted spot in the WRC – Rally Journal
Suvi Jyrkiäinen: Rising Star in Finnish Sim Racing Scene
