History

Idea

Every good thing starts with a simple idea. The original idea for establishing LaitseRallyPark, which has become the center of Estonian motorsports and family entertainment today, came from the younger Suvemaa brother, Siimo. He was a big motorsports enthusiast, built his own rallycross car and devoted himself to everything that had the slightest connection to motorsports. Doctors have claimed that all kinds of pathogens spread the quickest within the family. In the case of the Suvemaa brothers, what was said was certainly true when it came to catching the bug that is motorsports. However, the older brother Üllar, as a constructional engineer, had a much broader vision of things. The original plan to build some kind of seventh-rate training or fun track somewhere was not promising. The idea grew bigger, there was no longer any room for a tiny track bump in the visions of the future, and it was soon decided that it would make more sense to build a proper and, in Estonian conditions, unique car theme park. However, big, forward-looking and daring ideas have almost always found themselves in the dustbin of history with the help of reactionary and conservative opponents when it comes to Estonian motorsports. Unfortunately, both the F1 track planned decades ago and the Estonia Formula Factory, the organization of rally schools and soap-box series for the nerds, all failed to achieve their goal. At some point, it seems that some particularly important decision-makers can only survive through reactionary and envy. However, the Suvemaa brothers had stubbornly put the idea of ​​building their own motorsports complex on the agenda. This idea was born in 2004.

Brothers

To build a proper rally complex, four things are needed: a large enough piece of land, hardworking people who are fond of motorsports and share construction matters, plus an insane amount of willpower to return from the global battlefield of bureaucracy with a shield, and a little money. In the case of the last condition, “a little” is of course a relative term. The brothers had two conditions met in total. The younger one, Siimo, had an insane interest in rallying and rallycross, spending days tinkering with machines, in short – living a full-blooded life in the world of technology that smells of gasoline and oil. The older one, Üllari, had an enormous interest in construction ever since his teenage years. Naturally, both forest huts and later more serious construction achievements were part of the matter. After graduating from TPI as a civil engineer, he started working for Maaehitusprojekt in 1981, then came the cooperative era, building his own house, and holdings in private businesses and design companies. But in large and successful companies, in which Üllar was a partner, it can sometimes be devilishly difficult to find consensus. “I’ve been a lone wolf all my life. A person who walks on his own. After all, that’s what has taken me forward,” says Üllar Suvemaa now that there is tangible proof in the form of LaitseRallyPark. But getting there hasn’t been a day’s work.

Actions

At the beginning of the current millennium, when the idea of ​​a rally park of unprecedented dimensions for Estonia’s roaring motor sport was barely beginning to take on more realistic outlines in the brothers’ minds, they were faced with the fact that two of the main conditions for building the complex had not been met – the brothers did not have land in their hometown or much money with which to implement a worthy idea. And it was somewhat frightening to know that in Estonia a lot of obstacles have been thrown in the way of every serious motor sport plan so far. Will everything go the same way this time too? First, they went to the mayor of Kernu, Enn Karu, to find out if anyone would like to sell a larger plot of land in the brothers’ hometown. By the way, from the very beginning, they were sure that the rally complex should be built in their home municipality. On the one hand, this would have been a nice move for their hometown, on the other hand, it seemed much easier to get through all the official barriers locally than in a foreign hood. However, the land was not bought on a whim. It was only agreed with the seller that the deal would go through when things were stable in the municipality and there was no opposition to the rally park being built. When Üllar had drawn up a preliminary plan for the selected plot of land and presented it at the municipal council meeting, there was a long silence in the hall. It was probably not believed that a local man, who, moreover, had no close relatives in the Rockefeller family, would dare to undertake such a huge undertaking.

Finally, Ants Ploompuu, a local, broke the silence and said that what else could be thought of here – if such grand plans had been made, the thing had to be done. There were no dissenters after this speech. 2004 was the year when the detailed plans for the new rally complex were established. The brothers did not have much money at that time, but they had to start somewhere. A grader and an excavator were purchased from Viljandi as bankruptcy assets and one day in May they began dig the track. Since the brothers were in good standing in the hood, helpers were also found. Tartu House provided reinforced concrete products as a sponsorship, and the track’s bridge panels were also obtained at a particularly favorable price. Then some hobby rally cars were built. And immediately there was a great need for a workshop. Three applications for support were written to EAS, but the start-up company was apparently not considered sustainable enough in this area. Moreover, the previous economic activity had mainly been built on loans from the older brother’s company Pikoprojekt. Finally, the brothers decided to approach the goal in another way and submitted an application for a tourism project. And then they found a nice like-minded person in EAS, with who, with the 3.125 million Estonian kroons (~200,000 euros) allocated by the brothers, finally overcame the first obstacles. Of course, in addition to the necessary own contribution, they also had to take out a loan. It was such a financial injection that put the action plans in a different light. Smaller amounts of support have also been received from ARIB through the LEADER program, but the very first one helped the most. Of course, the “main sponsor” Pikoprojekt has invested several million euros in the rally park, Üllar’s savings first, but this is still like moving money from one pocket to another. In total, a large amount of money has been spent on LaitseRallyPark to date, not counting the brothers’ own work. A number of people have been employed in the complex, whose salaries have so far been paid somehow. According to Üllar Suvemaa, the most important thing at the moment is that the entire LaitseRallyPark can manage itself independently. The time to enjoy the fruits of all the work must be waited for. However, an amount equivalent to what has been spent so far would still be needed to complete the complex. Apparently, it is then that, in addition to the Finns and Latvians, Swedes, Lithuanians, Russians and why not even those from further afield would also find their way to Laitse. EAS decided to grant the preliminary application for the construction of the Youth RallyPark and allocate 50% of the requested funds to the realization of this approximately 1 million project. With this, LaitseRallyPark gained a children’s traffic park, an almost 600 square meter children’s playhouse, a control building for a car modeling track, and a hobby kart track with a full fleet of machines (karts, electric and pedal cars, buggies, ATVs, bicycles, a rally simulator, and much more).

Rose in the middle of nowhere

Years ago, no one driving along Haapsalu highway would have suspected that an incredibly powerful car-motorsports and leisure center would soon be built on the same open space by the roadside. Today, however, several tracks that meet international motorsports requirements have been built and several international competitions have been held there. The brothers probably can’t even count the local competitions held in a wide variety of car and motorsports disciplines. Many buildings have also been completed, without which a proper technical sports complex would not be complete. The construction of the large main building, or grandstand building, is still underway, but this will not interfere with the holding of the competitions. In addition to the main grandstand, which provides thousands of motorsports enthusiasts with an overview of what is happening on the entire track, a three-story judges’ tower has also been completed, with a classroom for a couple of dozen students on the second floor, and judges’ and observation rooms with timing systems and a conference room for a couple of dozen people on the third floor. Of course, the latter is also equipped with all technical equipment so that companies can conveniently conduct their training days or organize seminars. Garages are planned for the rooms under the grandstands for storing rental cars, and some space under the grandstands will certainly be used for customer service. A 140 square meter conference room with a capacity of 100 people has been completed on the second floor of the grandstand building. According to the plans, the corner tower at the entrance should have VIP boxes separated by glass walls, and reception and presentation rooms planned for almost eight hundred square meters. The garage boxes on the first floor are functioning as a car hotel. A few dozen meters away from the main building, a workshop and repair building with a customer café have been built. This part of the rally park has been in operation for a few years now. The second phase of the workshop has also been completed, with the first floor being used for storage. Here you can find tires and engine parts for sports cars, and there are also paint and body shops. The latter are essential in the rally park, because unfortunately, hobby cars are often wrecked. The repair shop has everything you need – from tire and axle stands to a car wash. You simply can’t do without anything less, because LaitseRallyPark wants to offer a full service to those involved in technical sports. By the way, safety cages and even rally cars are being built there. So that people can get some relaxation from the engine noise, track stress, gasoline whine and everything else that is an obligatory part of the world of technical sports, a couple of holiday homes with saunas and overnight accommodations for almost a dozen guests were built in a nice grove on the edge of the rally park. The latest addition to the centre is an 3600 square meter Unic expo building that contains an exclusive unic car exhibition and an event venue.

Tracks

Of course, these are the most important aspects of the rally park. There are currently three tracks in Laitse. A 2.3-kilometer double track consisting of two laps, where the inner part of the track is used for rallycross competitions. The inner track is wider than 11 meters as per international requirements, but not more than 25 meters, containing 40% of asphalt sections. The most effort and money was spent on the smooth sections, the 180-meter asphalted straight in front of the grandstand with a width of 20 meters, the asphalted bridgehead and the U-turn. Of course, the tracks are not completed easily and overnight. In a way in Finland it is much simpler – they use granite gravel as the base of tracks, which Estonians unfortunately do not have. Unfortunately, the limestone gravel used in Laitse is quite dusty and watering trucks are far from enough to maintain the tracks. As far as possible, attempts are being made to improve the tracks by changing the asphalt crushed stone. Motocross has also been raced at LaitseRallyPark, and at a very high level. However, due to the rally park’s focus and great love for cars, the track intended for two-wheelers has also been adapted for four-wheelers. This is how the opportunity arose to safely practice off-road driving on our obstacle course. LaitseRallyPark also has a proper training ground for driving training. And this is not for beginners. Emergency vehicle drivers also need a proper and appropriate training ground, which is currently not yet available in Estonia. And of course, all the conditions have been created there to hold proper drifting competitions, because this area is currently particularly popular among young people. Since LaitseRallyPark wants to offer activities for absolutely everyone, more and more people are starting to think about how to arouse interest in cars even in the youngest, three to seven-year-olds, because it is from them that the future Märtins, Tänaks and Aavas are raised. There is a definite place for these little ones in the children’s Traffic City, where real roads and sidewalks have been marked, traffic lights and signs have been installed to regulate traffic, and small houses have been built. It is quite exciting to drive around in a fancy electric car in such a traffic city, isn’t it?

Cars

In Laitse, Ladas and BMWs are rented to those interested to race around the 2.3-kilometer double track. Everything is safe in Laitse for speed freaks – as the rally park’s advertising clip says, COME RALLY WITH US, NOT ON THE STREET! There are also a couple of VFTS-type racing cars, but they are not rented to customers. Professional rally cars should still be used by real athletes who can handle them. In LaitseRallyPark’s own BMW CUP competition series, both Siimo Suvemaa and Sten Suvemaa drive BMWs. From time to time, some other car and motorcycle athletes also join in under the auspices of the LaitseRallyPark club. Club activities have currently been put on the back burner due to major developments, but this topic will certainly arise in the near future. Üllar Suvemaa adds that interns have also been hired from time to time. They start with the most basic thing, dismantling cars. Apparently, that’s how it should be, so that young people’s interest in cars doesn’t remain too superficial. According to Üllar Suvemaa, there’s no particular speed bug in his blood. On the other hand, his eyes light up as soon as he sees beautiful vintage cars somewhere. In fact, a particularly respectable place in his vehicle preferences is occupied by wagons, whose age can be measured in almost a century. Today, his vintage car collection is probably the most impressive in Estonia and gives many Western car museums a run for their money. It contains several beautifully restored Ford Ts, Ford T Speedster, Ford A, Chevrolet Capitol, Buick Model 27, 1935 MG Midget PA, American classic 1957 Bel Air – a total of 15 classic vintage cars, and also 10 BMWs, several of which are absolute rarities here (models 600, 700, 2002 Turbo), while some are extremely rare (M3, 850). In addition, there are a large number of Soviet-era machines, which have become highly desirable in the eyes of collectors today. In any case, the man has managed to acquire eye-catching and valuable vehicles for his vintage car collection. Of course, this hobby has required a lot of money, and in the case of some of the purchased vehicles, the restoration of which cost several times more than the purchase price. But on the other hand, it is also a decent starting capital for fulfilling dreams. He is not a jealous man. For several years now, enthusiasts have been able to take pleasure rides in his vintage vehicles. Of course, it costs something, because maintaining such car rarities is far from cheap fun. Üllar Suvemaa’s vintage car collection has also been an invaluable support in filmmaking. For example, in one of Russian hit series, Issayev (about the youth of the legendary spy Stirlitz), at least three-quarters of the vehicles suitable for the 20s and 30s were rented from Üllar’s garage. But there is one thing he still hasn’t understood. Why hasn’t the state lent a helping hand to establish a proper car museum? Car culture is also one of the country’s calling cards, and developed countries have understood this. Over 75 million people visit car museums in the European Union alone every year, but we probably haven’t allocated a single cent to build such a museum. And the fact that we boast about millions of serial cars on the streets, in which two-thirds of the money invested in them evaporates in a couple of years, does not yet show an understanding of car culture. Rather, it shows a lack of culture at the level of decision-makers. The economic model of a proper car museum has been absolutely watertight throughout the world. Auctions and car sales are organized in old car halls, and car enthusiasts also gather there in various clubs. In some places, these museums function as a kind of car hotel, where owners can place their investment cars (the value of a properly maintained and cared for vintage car never decreases, but actually increases) for others to see, sometimes tinker with them in the workshop itself and, if necessary, resell them at a much higher price. Today, there are still quite a few vintage cars of cultural value left in Estonia, but most of the time, the owners keep them locked away somewhere. Just to brag to a few close friends? Under the incredibly determined leadership of Üllar Suvemaa, LaitseRallyPark probably has exceptionally exciting times ahead. And for some, a future a million times more promising than one can hope for by just killing time in nightclubs. Or by dully staring at a computer screen and lamenting the utter dullness of life.