[1][2] Vello won his home event Saaremaa Rally three times in 1977, 1980 and 1981.

[4] He was part of the Estonian rally documentary Legends of the Winding Road, but died before the film's release.

In 1977, he won the Estonian Championship snow race in Tallinn Hippodrome, driving with pick-up Moskvitch.

In 1978 he won his first medal in Estonian Rally Championship finishing in second place.

The 1982 British rally is notable for the fact that the Lada 2105 VFTS, the first and only Soviet Group B car, was shown on the international stage for the first time.