Welcome to the second in the ‘Let’s get to know…’ series, hosted by me Scott Parkin of FVTV. This series aims to, whilst keeping it short and sweet, provide an insight into various people from inside the Formula Virtual paddock ranging from the famous drivers to the behind-the-scenes staff at some of the teams. Today, we have one of the most highly rated young drivers around at the moment, although he is already in his fourth season as a Formula Virtual driver. He’s won everywhere he’s gone, including his stunning victory for the unfancied Lopez team in the first race of 2020. Of course, he’s Allar Kangur! SP: Okay Allar, let’s get straight into it. Tell us about yourself as a person, and how would you describe yourself as a driver? AK: As a person, I’m just normal. I wake up, I eat, I s**t, just like everyone else. As a driver? I’m driven, and I want to win in any way I can. I always think I’m fast enough, but if the whole combination of me and the car isn’t enough outright, I’m always talking with my team to try and find an advantage in a different way with strategy. SP: What do you most enjoy doing in your free time? AK: I think I am probably a stereotypical racing driver - I love cycling and it’s always something I enjoy when we aren’t at the race track. I also enjoy doing other things, mainly with my girlfriend. Other than that, I enjoy playing guitar and listening to music. SP: What music do you listen to the most? AK: I enjoy a lot of rock music and heavy metal, but I also like electronic music - trance music really helps me to concentrate during my training. One of my favourite bands is Hurts. They’re from Manchester, but they are absolutely huge in Eastern Europe and Baltic states, strangely a lot more so than in the UK even. I have seen them in their home town and also mine [in Tallinn, Estonia] and make sure I get to at least one date on each tour. SP: What is your favourite food? AK: I like a good steak more than anything - especially when Céline [Allar’s girlfriend] cooks it! As well as that, a good espresso is never a bad thing. SP: Do you have any fears? AK: I think that’s a difficult thing for anyone to admit, especially in our profession! I hate spiders, little creepy b**s. SP: What is your greatest achievement outside of motorsport? AK: That is a horrible question. I don’t decide what I do is great, that’s for others to decide, plus I’m not old so there’s not a lot of time to do something. I’m proud of competing and finishing in different bike road races, because I was nearly a proper cyclist! SP: If you had not become a racing driver, what do you think you would have been? AK: I think being a professional cyclist was possible, but I also have lots of opinions about everything - I think I may have been good in politics, and after FV I hope I can change the world for the better. SP: Who is your idol outside of FV? AK: This is a question I have a strange answer to at first, but hopefully it will make sense. As a country, I was only born 6 years after we left the Soviet Union, and we only joined the EU 7 years after I was born. So even as a kid I saw a lot of change, and I didn’t see much of Estonia in the world stage or being recognised. There’s a composer called Arvo Part, he’s done a lot of really famous music scores for movies, and he proves to a lot of people back home that even as a small country we are important. I want to help that too, I want to show that Estonia is important and successful to the world, and the way I do that is with success. Similar to that but for different reasons too, I admire Ott Tanak an awful lot - that s*** takes serious balls. SP: Who is your idol in the world of FV? AK: Since I have been in junior series, I have worked with Adrien Simon a lot, and to start with he was definitely an idol and my mentor. But now, rather than my idol, he is my colleague at Mathershaw Technology, and more so a friend. So this might sound like I’m being a d*** but it’s the opposite, Adrien isn’t my idol any more. I don’t have an idol in FV, because I think if you start looking at someone that way, you’re straight away losing the advantage with them. SP: Who are your closest friends in FV, drivers or anyone else? AK: I get on really well with Adrien as a person and professionally as I say, but other than that, everyone I work with is just professional really - I love the guys, I just maybe don’t know them quite so well outside of work. One guy I spend a lot of time with in the paddock is Tumo Kinnumen. He’s from just outside Helsinki which is only across the river from Tallinn so we share a bit of cultures, and he’s a really good guy too - it’s nice to have another person in the paddock that understands how to have a good night. SP: What do you enjoy most about being a driver in Formula Virtual? AK: Going quickly. SP: What has been your personal favourite race so far and why? AK: I think on pure pace, that’s easy - my first win at Indianapolis 2017. But for pure luck, probably Japan this year. We were on what should have been a s*** tyre, I was so p** we were on it, but somehow we got lucky. Still, I drove as best I could, and did the work I had to do and it worked out. SP: Do you consider anyone as a rival? AK: Not really. I’m in the midfield beating my team mate and others around me, and I know that if I do well I’ll get a chance in the Porsche works team. I just get in the car and drive. SP: Could you see yourself ever driving for another team? If yes, who could you see yourself driving for and why? AK: I can see myself back with Mathershaw for sure, in fact I’m very much hoping. Other than that, I’ll go anywhere I can do well and they’ll pay me. SP: And finally, who would you like to nominate as the next person to do a ‘Let’s get to know…’? AK: Hmm, let’s see... Ah, I know, let’s have Thierry next! We had some great times coming through the youth system together. SP: Fantastic, thank you for the time Allar, good luck for the second half of the season!
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