What is your job in Team Peugeot Hansen?
I’m chief mechanic for car #21 of Timmy Hansen. I’m involved in the planning of who makes what on the car. It’s a full time job. I work on the car during the race weekends and I do the service on the car between the races. Sometimes, we can’t go back to the workshop in Sweden between two races because it’s too far. So, we have rebuild the car on the track, after the race, or we go to a workshop where we know people and we fix the car there.
How did you start in Hansen Motorsport?
I started in 2013. Before that, I was a mechanic in a normal roadcars workshop and I was part time a fireman. I was doing also rallycross with a friend in Super 1600. I wanted to move up and contacted Kenneth, and only him, because I knew him a little bit. At the beginning, he didn’t need anyone. At one point, he needed someone and I did one race. It went well. I did one more race, in Hungary, with Timmy and he won the race! Since then, I have stayed with the team. It is good memories. Before this experience I’ve always loved motorsport but I couldn’t imagine working in motorsport. When I started with Hansen Motorsport, my passion just went up and I really enjoy what I do. Maybe, one day, I would be happy to try rally or Dakar…
Do you think that your fireman experience helps you to deal with the pressure of your current job?
Maybe, a little bit… I don’t know. It’s right that in both activities, there is a lot of pressure. Sometimes, it’s a little bit like a fire in the paddock! I remember the WorldRX race in Finland in 2014. Timmy rolled and we were really short of time to fix the car between Q3 and Q4. It was a really big damage and we succeeded to fix the car just in time. To succeed, you need good preparation and people around you that you know well. No need to talk long to know who is doing what.
What qualities are needed for this job?
Of course, you need high mechanic skills, but it’s not enough. You need to have the passion. When a driver crashes the car three times in a row, it’s not funny to rebuild it, but you do it because you love this. If you don’t, you can’t be a high level racing mechanic. It’s more than a simple job: it’s a lifestyle. We sleep in the bus, we are away very often... It’s a hard life but a good life! Here, in Team Peugeot Hansen, it’s like a family n°2. I like this, even if it’s sometime difficult when you have a girlfriend in Denmark, like me, or a family.