Rally Finland
Template:Short description Template:Update Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox recurring event Rally Finland (formerly known as the Neste Rally Finland, Neste Oil Rally Finland, 1000 Lakes Rally and Rally of the Thousand Lakes; Template:Langx, Template:Langx) is a rally competition in the Finnish Lakeland in Central Finland. The rally is driven on wide and smooth gravel roads, featuring blind crests and big jumps. It is the fastest event in the World Rally Championship and has been dubbed the "Grand Prix of Rallying" and the "Grand Prix on Gravel". Rally Finland is among the largest annually organised public events in the Nordic countries, attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators each year. The rally has been known to be very difficult for non-Nordic drivers; only seven drivers from countries other than Finland or Sweden have won the event- in the 1980s and before, the field was made up almost entirely of Finnish and Swedish drivers.
The city of Jyväskylä in the Central Finland region has often served as the main venue for Finnish rally competitions,<ref>Neste Rally Finland – Kosunen Racing</ref><ref>Why is Jyväskylä The Capital of Sport? – Jyvaskyla.fi</ref> because Rally Finland was first held under the name Jyväskylän Suurajot (Jyväskylä Grand Prix) in 1951. Originally an endurance event that stretched to Lapland in Northern Finland, the rally was at the forefront of the adoption of the modern rally format, splitting the route into a number of special stages in the mid-1950s. With increasing international attention, it became part of the European Rally Championship programme in 1959. After the start of the World Rally Championship in 1973, the event became the Finnish round in the series. Rally Finland is now among the most popular and prestigious rallies in the championship.
HistoryEdit
This rally began to gain importance in the 1970s, and local heroes such as Hannu Mikkola, Markku Alén, Timo Salonen, Tommi Mäkinen and Marcus Grönholm are the most successful names at this rally, and Swedish drivers such as Stig Blomqvist also found success at this rally. The difficulty of this rally for non-Nordic drivers made notable competitors such as Walter Röhrl (who never competed at this rally) and Miki Biasion (who only competed at this rally twice in his 15-year career) make rare or no appearances at this rally.
1950sEdit
Rally Finland was started as a quickly improvised qualifier event for the Monte Carlo Rally; thirty Finnish drivers wanted to take part in Monte Carlo, but only 14 fit within the quotas on Finns and Swedes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Previously, the entries had been decided in the Hanko Run in Southern Finland.<ref name="NORF 1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The regulations in this race were not close to those of the Monte Carlo Rally, leading to a demand for a Monte Carlo type of rally in Finland.<ref name="NORF 1"/> In July 1951, Pentti Barck's proposal for an annual competition in Jyväskylä was accepted.<ref name="NORF 1"/> The first-ever rally began on 1 September 1951 as Jyväskylän Suurajot (Jyväskylä Grand Prix). 26 entrants tackled the 1,700 kilometre (1,060 mi) route that stretched to Rovaniemi in Lapland, through Kokkola and Oulu, and back to the rally headquarters in Jyväskylä.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The winner Arvo Karlsson, driving an Austin Atlantic, had accumulated the least penalty points and had been the closest to the target times throughout the route and the special tests involving hillclimbing and acceleration.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The 1952 event included Helsinki as an alternative starting point and the field expanded to 48 entries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Eino Elo was the only driver to finish the route and the acceleration and braking tests without penalty points.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1953, Oulu was added as a third starting point, and 66 crews started the 2,200 kilometre course in two-minute intervals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 1954 running of the rally saw the introduction of the international name "The Rally of the Thousand Lakes".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There were now eleven starting cities, one of which was Sundsvall in neighbouring Sweden.<ref name="KSML 20 Aug 1970">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1955, the event became increasingly closer to the format of a modern rally competition; the number of special stages was increased to eleven, marking the highest amount in any European rally.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Elo and Peugeot became the first two-time winners of the event. The 1956 rally featured 19 stages totaling Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1957, the rally had a record number of entries from foreign countries and the organisers developed a sign language that marshals could use to communicate with drivers.<ref name="KSML 16 Aug 1957">Template:Cite news</ref> The event also started the Finland-Sweden international in rallying,<ref name="KSML 16 Aug 1957"/> comparable to the traditional Finland-Sweden athletics international. Sweden's Erik Carlsson drove his Saab 93 to victory as the first non-Finn. In the 1958 1000 Lakes, documented by a 20th Century Fox film crew,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> seven drivers crashed out on the same curve on a foggy night.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Brothers Osmo and Eino Kalpala took a record third win in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta TI, which marked the first victory for an Italian car. In 1959, the 1000 Lakes Rally was included in the European Rally Championship calendar.<ref name="KSML 18 Aug 1967">Template:Cite news</ref> It was also one of the four rallies that counted towards the first-ever Finnish Rally Championship.
1960sEdit
At the 1960 1000 Lakes Rally, nearly half of the 85 entries were from foreign countries.<ref name="KSML 18 Aug 1967"/> A deaf-mute road worker was hit by Germany's future European champion Eugen Böhringer in what was the event's first fatal accident.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although the rally ended with Finland's Carl-Otto Bremer leading home a Saab triple win,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the best Finn had been only tenth after the opening Harju hill stage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later in the 1960s, the 1000 Lakes was dominated by the first generation of "Flying Finns" of rallying. Rauno Aaltonen beat Pauli Toivonen to the win in 1961,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while Toivonen took the honours in 1962.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Esko Keinänen and Rainer Eklund finished second in a Škoda Felicia.<ref name=IMS962>Template:Cite magazine</ref> A record 104 drivers started the 1962 event.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Simo Lampinen, barely twenty years old, became the first driver to take consecutive wins, finishing ahead of Sweden's Tom Trana in 1963 and 1964.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Interest in the 1000 Lakes Rally continued to grow. It became known as the best organised rally competition after the Monte Carlo Rally,<ref name="KSML 20 Aug 1965">Template:Cite news</ref> and as Finland's biggest sporting event by audience count.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As practice had been allowed for 1965, speeds became higher than ever.<ref name="KSML 20 Aug 1970"/> These factors brought several challenges to the organisers. Spectators lined up the edge of the course and sometimes even blocked the road.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One spectator was killed in a crash in 1965.<ref name="KSML 20 Aug 1970"/> 1,200 officials were appointed for the 1965 event,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> over 2,000 for 1967 and over 3,000 for 1968.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As the organisers and the gravel roads could not handle fields close to 200 cars, only 130 of the 173 entries qualified for the start in 1965.<ref name="KSML 18 Aug 1967"/><ref name="KSML 20 Aug 1965"/> In 1966, entries were only accepted from drivers who had finished in at least three rallies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Along with the number of entrants, the percentage of retirements grew steadily throughout the decade, and 1966 saw nearly half of the 115 drivers fail to finish the 26 stages.<ref name="KSML 18 Aug 1967"/> Timo Mäkinen, who had already won in Monte Carlo, drove his Mini Cooper S to victory in 1965 and continued the success in 1966. In 1967, he beat Lampinen to the win by eight seconds despite driving the high-speed Ouninpohja stage with his bonnet open.<ref name="KSML 20 Aug 1970"/> His hat-trick of wins was followed by Hannu Mikkola's successes in a Ford Escort TC. In 1968, Castrol produced a film titled Flying Finns, documenting the duel between Mäkinen and Mikkola. The 1969 rally saw the circuit and street stages, which favoured faster sports cars and factory team drivers, dropped from the programme.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1970sEdit
The 1970 1000 Lakes had a record 52 stages, which totaled 460 competitive kilometres.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> An estimated audience of 350,000–500,000 spectators watched Mikkola match Mäkinen's feat of three wins in a row.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, the event suffered a drop in the number of foreign entries, which the international press attributed to the difficulty of defeating the Finns on their own roads.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1971, the rally was won by a Swedish driver for the third time; Stig Blomqvist finished well ahead of Tapio Rainio and Markku Alén.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 1972 event increased the length of special stages to almost 700 km.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The traditional Harju hill stage was left out of the route as Jyväskylä had banned racing in the city area.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The 1000 Lakes was not among the five European rallies guaranteed a spot in the inaugural World Rally Championship calendar.<ref name="KSML 3 Aug 1972">Template:Cite news</ref> It competed for the remaining three Europe-based entries with the Coupe des Alpes (Alpine Rally), Österreichische Alpenfahrt (Austrian Alpine Rally), Rally Poland and Rallye de Portugal.<ref name="KSML 3 Aug 1972"/> The number of rallies in the 1973 season was eventually expanded to 13 and only Coupe des Alpes was dropped. The 1973 1000 Lakes Rally ended with Ford's Timo Mäkinen becoming the first driver to win the event four times, and the first Finn to win a WRC round. Alén finished second in a Volvo and future Formula One driver Leo Kinnunen third in a Porsche.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The world championship status had brought back a strong international field of about 50 teams from 13 different countries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 1974 event was marred by the first fatal accident for a competitor in the World Rally Championship, after co-driver Seppo Jämsä died of injuries sustained in a crash in Ouninpohja.<ref name="KSML 28 Aug 1983">Template:Cite news</ref>
The rally route became a secret again in 1975, and pre-event practice was heavily limited.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mikkola drove to a record fifth victory and Toyota became the first Japanese manufacturer to win the event. The 1977 and 1978 rallies were, in addition to the WRC, part of the FIA Cup for Rally Drivers, the predecessor to the drivers' world championship. In 1978, the course stretched to Kuopio and as a result 25 of the 45 special stages were new.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 1979 1000 Lakes raised the highest number of accepted entries to 150, and all 134 competitors could start the rally.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> World championship points were now awarded for drivers as well as for manufacturers. Fiat's Alén collected most by taking his third win in the event, ahead of Ari Vatanen and eventual champion Björn Waldegård.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1980sEdit
For the 1980 season, the 1000 Lakes Rally lost its status as a world championship event for manufacturers,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> running for the first and last time only as a world drivers' championship event. The rally saw the return of the short Harju asphalt stage held in the center of Jyväskylä.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although the rally became the first in the world to issue action and safety instructions in 1980,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> several serious accidents marred the event in the early 1980s. At the 1981 rally, Austrian driver Franz Wittmann lost control of his Audi Quattro after the finish line of the fourth stage and crashed into five end-of-stage officials.<ref name="KSML 29 Aug 1981">Template:Cite news</ref> Raul Falin, the chairman of AKK-Motorsport, died of his injuries soon after reaching the hospital.<ref name="KSML 29 Aug 1981"/> In 1983, Pekka Mällinen slid off the road on a fast curve, rolled twice and crashed into a thick pine tree.<ref name="KSML 28 Aug 1983"/> The accident killed his co-driver Reijo Nygren.<ref name="KSML 28 Aug 1983"/> At the 1984 rally, British driver Julian Roderick lost control of his car on a popular spectator area in the Humalamäki jumpers.<ref name="KSML 25 Aug 1984">Template:Cite news</ref> He rolled his car several times and hit a wall of people who had been spectating in a forbidden area.<ref name="KSML 25 Aug 1984"/> Along with Roderick and his co-driver, nine spectators suffered non-critical injuries.<ref name="KSML 25 Aug 1984"/>
Although the 1000 Lakes continued to be dominated by Nordic drivers, David Richards became the third British co-driver to celebrate the win in 1981. In 1982, the pre-rally scrutineering was moved to the newly built Jyväskylän jäähalli (Jyväskylä Ice Hall).<ref name="KSML 27 Aug 1982">Template:Cite news</ref> All over 150 contestants passed the inspection.<ref name="KSML 27 Aug 1982"/> King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden arrived to follow the event and a record 450 reporters were present.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Dominant Audi took a one-two with its factory drivers Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist, with team orders keeping them in their positions for the last half of the race.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=TV198219>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The 1983 rally featured a field of 180 cars, over a hundred of which failed to make it to the finish.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mikkola edged out Blomqvist to extend the event record to a still-standing seven wins. Mikkola's time on the Template:Convert Ouninpohja stage was 11:56; 52 seconds faster than his time just four years ago.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1984, over half a million spectators were expected and about 5,000 marshals were appointed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Vatanen won the event and Peugeot continued their success in the last two Group B years, as Timo Salonen drove to victory in 1985 and 1986.
The 1985 event marked the first time the drivers' world championship had been decided in Finland; Salonen captured the title with three rallies to go.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1986, the route was modified to bring the average speeds closer to the FISA limit of 110 km/h.<ref name="KSML 8 Sept 1986">Template:Cite news</ref> The top drivers exceeded the limit almost regularly, but FISA had given the organisers a 10 percent flexibility.<ref name="KSML 8 Sept 1986"/> Combined with their dislike for the slower Group A cars, drivers were highly critical of the organisers for artificially slowing the rally in 1987.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A record 214 drivers signed up for the 1988 event and 200 were qualified to start by the organisers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Albert II, Prince of Monaco arrived to follow the event and was scheduled to drive a few stages in an ex-Alén Lancia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In one of the tightest duels in the event's history, Toyota's Juha Kankkunen led Lancia's Markku Alén by just two seconds after 33 of the 39 stages.<ref name="KSML 29 Aug 1988">Template:Cite news</ref> Kankkunen's engine failed on the next stage,<ref name="KSML 29 Aug 1988"/> and Alén became the first driver to win the same WRC round six times. As a taste of what was to come, only two Finnish drivers made it into top ten.<ref name="KSML 29 Aug 1988"/> In 1989, Mikael Ericsson of Sweden drove to victory as the first non-Finn in 18 years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1990sEdit
The 40th anniversary event in 1990 featured a route stretching to Tampere and gathered a large audience, roughly estimated at 450,000–500,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Toyota's Spanish driver Carlos Sainz became the first competitor outside Finland and Sweden to win the rally.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He had been slightly injured earlier during the week, when he crashed during a night-time practice run in the Vesala stage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Sainz's feat was soon repeated; Didier Auriol, who had become the first Frenchman on the podium in his debut in 1988,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> beat his Lancia teammate Kankkunen to the win in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kankkunen took his second win in three years in 1993. In 1994, the rally was renamed to Neste 1000 Lakes Rally as Neste became the title sponsor.<ref name="NORF 2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A new super special stage was built at a slope of the Himos ski centre in Jämsä and it quickly proved popular among spectators.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Due to the WRC round rotation from 1994 to 1996, the 1995 Rally Finland was only part of the 2-litre World Cup (better known as Formula 2). As a result, audience numbers dropped.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The event was also overshadowed by a fatal accident.<ref name="KSML 27 Aug 1995">Template:Cite news</ref> During the rainy and windy Hassi stage, a 20-year-old spectator did not hear the zero car driven by Bruno Thiry coming.<ref name="KSML 27 Aug 1995"/> Although Thiry was able to dodge into a ditch, his car bounced back on the road and hit the woman at Template:Convert.<ref name="KSML 27 Aug 1995"/> She flew Template:Convert down the road and succumbed to her injuries within minutes.<ref name="KSML 27 Aug 1995"/> Next year in Harju, Danish driver Karsten Richardt carried far too much speed into a right-hander.<ref name="KSML 25 Aug 1996 p. 16">Template:Cite news</ref> After hitting a bump and getting airborne, he missed the curve and went straight, hitting a road sign and a concrete barrier.<ref name="KSML 25 Aug 1996 p. 16"/> Uncontrollably airborne, his car eventually plunged into the crowd Template:Convert off the course.<ref name="KSML 25 Aug 1996 p. 16"/> 29 spectators were brought to the hospital.<ref name="KSML 25 Aug 1996 p. 1">Template:Cite news</ref> 45-year-old Belgian tourist Ludo Briers was operated on within 38 minutes, but his injuries soon proved fatal.<ref name="KSML 25 Aug 1996 p. 1"/> Before being hit, Briers had pushed one spectator to safety and protected another with his body.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In a subdued celebration, drivers from Central Finland manned the podium; Tommi Mäkinen took his third win in a row, ahead of Kankkunen and Jarmo Kytölehto.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1997, AKK Sports, the marketing company of AKK-Motorsport, took over as the organiser and the WRC teams awarded the event for its safety efforts.<ref name="NORF 3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A new super special stage was built at Hippos, along with a VIP village for 1,600 people.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the following year, teams voted the event as the Rally of the Year.<ref name="NORF 3"/> On his way to a record third consecutive title, Mäkinen set a record with his fifth Rally Finland win in a row.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Entry lists included ice hockey star and auto racing enthusiast Teemu Selänne, who finished 33rd in 1997 and 24th in 1998.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The event also attracted environmental criticism throughout the decade; protests gathered about a hundred participants in 1997 and two hundred in 1998.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In a 1997 study by the University of Jyväskylä, partly funded by AKK, Jyväskylä and Rally Finland, the environmental impact was estimated to be small; the noise from the rally cars, helicopters and speakers was considered the biggest harm.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1999, Harju was dropped from the route and extra points were awarded to the three fastest drivers of the Ruuhimäki stage, which was televised live by Yle to millions around the world.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2000sEdit
After years of rumours of the rally moving from Jyväskylä to Southern Finland for better accommodations, Tampere announced its intention to host the event after 1999.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jyväskylä retained the event but the headquarters were relocated to the large newly built Paviljonki congress and trade fair centre.<ref name="KSML 16 Aug 2000">Template:Cite news</ref> Previously, Laajavuori had served as the competition centre for 30 years.<ref name="KSML 16 Aug 2000"/> The Hippos super special was dropped in favour of a similar stage at the Killeri harness racing track by the lake Killerjärvi, where the audience had better visibility of the competing cars.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 50th running of the Rally Finland in 2000 was won by Peugeot's Marcus Grönholm, who would go on to dominate the event. In 2002, Englishman Richard Burns challenged teammate Grönholm to become the third non-Nordic competitor to win the rally, but broke his car on a jump in Ouninpohja while leading the event.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The next foreign winner was Ford's Estonian driver Markko Märtin in the following year. For the first time in the history of the event, no Finnish driver made it onto the podium.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Rally Finland was chosen the "Rally of the Year" for the third year in a row in 2004.<ref name="Uuteen aikaan">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Despite Lahti entering the race,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a unanimous decision was made to keep Jyväskylä as the rally headquarters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2005, Grönholm set the still-standing record for the highest average speed in a world rally; Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the 2007 Rally Finland, Grönholm equalled Mikkola's win record and became the first driver to win the same WRC event seven times.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At the 2008 rally, Sébastien Loeb added his name to the list of non-Nordic winners. This also marked Citroën's first win since 1962.
As the World Rally Championship reintroduced round rotation in 2009, Rally Finland signed a five-year contract with WRC promoter International Sportsworld Communicators (ISC), insuring that the event stays in the calendar annually.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 2010 event saw a major change; the rally was run in two days instead of three and finished on Saturday.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ford's Finns Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala took their debut home wins in 2009 and 2010, respectively. At the 2011 Rally Finland, Loeb made history by becoming the first non-Finn to win the event twice.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The event expanded to Lahti in the south and brought classic rally cars to the route, as some of the stages were also part of the Lahti Historic Rally.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
CharacteristicsEdit
Geographic featuresEdit
Rally Finland is known for its smooth and wide gravel roads, numerous big jumps (or yumps) and blind crests.<ref name="WRC.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
It is the highest-speed rally in the World Rally Championship, having averaged 125.4 km/h in 2015. Of the nine fastest-ever WRC rallies by average speed, eight are editions of the Rally Finland.<ref name="WRC.com"/> As a result, it has become known as the "Grand Prix of rallying", "Finnish Grand Prix" and "Gravel Grand Prix".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The high number of jumps led to the nickname "The Rally of the Thousand Jumps".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Formula One world champion Kimi Räikkönen said that the event "is probably the closest to asphalt driving as you can get on gravel."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the roads are considered the best in the world championship.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As the high-speed corners are often surrounded by trees, carefully crafted pacenotes and correct racing lines are necessary to survive the event; small errors easily lead to big crashes.<ref name="WRC.com"/>
PopularityEdit
Although Rally Finland has traditionally been a difficult event for non-Nordic competitors, it is popular among drivers as well as fans. The rally attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators each year,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and only Monte Carlo Rally and Wales Rally GB have ever attracted more starters.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Along with the Wales Rally GB, it is the only event to have featured in all but one WRC season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The WRC teams voted Rally Finland the "Rally of the Year" in 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004.<ref name="Uuteen aikaan"/> The official website of the World Rally Championship lists the event as one of the "undoubted highlights" of a season.<ref name="WRC.com"/>
Ouninpohja stageEdit
The most famous competitive section of the rally is Ouninpohja. Well known for its high-speed jumps and sweeping corners, it ranks among the most prestigious special stages in the world. At one jump located Template:Convert from the start line, close to a landmark yellow house, spectators measure the length of the jumps and mark the distance by the roadside. In 2003, Markko Märtin set the record for the longest jump, travelling Template:Convert in the air at a speed of Template:Convert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
The Ouninpohja stage was split into two parts for the 2005 and 2006 events, as Petter Solberg had exceeded the FIA's maximum average speed (130 km/h) in 2004.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The rule was changed for 2007 and Ouninpohja returned as a Template:Convert version, although the organisers added three chicanes. However, the stage was left out of the route in 2008. Jarmo Mahonen, managing director of AKK Sports, stated that "the matter was discussed with the FIA already last year, and at the time we were able to keep Ouninpohja as a part of our route. This year we have to leave it out for safety reasons."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2012, the Ouninpohja stage returned and also served as the power stage.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The stage ranges from 97 m to a maximum of 180 m in elevation.
WinnersEdit
Multiple winnersEdit
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break
| Wins | Driver | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Template:Flagicon Hannu Mikkola | 1968–1970, 1974–1975, 1982–1983 |
| Template:Flagicon Marcus Grönholm | 2000–2002, 2004–2007 | |
| 6 | Template:Flagicon Markku Alén | 1976, 1978–1980, 1987–1988 |
| 5 | Template:Flagicon Tommi Mäkinen | 1994–1998 |
| 4 | Template:Flagicon Timo Mäkinen | 1965–1967, 1973 |
| 3 | Template:Flagicon Osmo Kalpala | 1954, 1956, 1958 |
| Template:Flagicon Simo Lampinen | 1963–1964, 1972 | |
| Template:Flagicon Juha Kankkunen | 1991, 1993, 1999 | |
| Template:Flagicon Sébastien Loeb | 2008, 2011–2012 | |
| Template:Flagicon Jari-Matti Latvala | 2010, 2014–2015 | |
| Template:Flagicon Ott Tänak | 2018–2019, 2022 | |
| 2 | Template:Flagicon Eino Elo | 1952, 1955 |
| Template:Flagicon Ari Vatanen | 1981, 1984 | |
| Template:Flagicon Timo Salonen | 1985–1986 | |
| Template:Flagicon Sébastien Ogier | 2013, 2024 | |
| Template:Flagicon Elfyn Evans | 2021, 2023 |
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
External linksEdit
- Template:Official website
- Rally Finland at eWRC-results