The title "Flying Finns" has been applied to many Finnish sports figures over the years, often in ski jumping and track events.
But it is in the sport of rallying that the Finns truly excel, as
rally drivers from Finland have dominated the International rally scene for
over four decades.
This site is dedicated to those men who have been - and continue to be - the best rally drivers in the world. Finnish drivers have won the
world Rally
Driving Championship 12 times since the title was instituted in 1979.
Stuart Turner, when he was Competitions Manager at BMC, was the first
to employ Finnish drivers for International rally competition when he
hired Rauno Aaltonen and Timo Mäkinen to
drive for BMC in the early
1960s.Of course it includes many of the top Finnish drivers
of the era including Simo Lampinen in a Saab, Leo Kinnunen in a
Porsche, Atso Aho in a Mini, Marietta Aaltonen (Rauno''s sister), Pentti
Airikkala in an Isuzu and Pauli Toivonen in a Porsche.
The film - and other great rally films of the 1950s through 1980s - has
been shown on the SPEED Channel as part of the Legends of Motorsport
series. Another program on the Legends of
Motorsport
series called "Local Heroes" covers the 1984 1000 Lakes, and
features Mikkola in an Audi Quattro along with Audi teammates Michele
Mouton and Stig Blomqvist.Several top Formula 1 drivers have also come from Finland, most notably
Mika Häkkinen who was World Champion in 1998 and 1999 driving a McLaren
Mercedes. Others include Keke Rosberg (1982 World Champion), J. J.
Lehto (Jyrki Järvilehto)
race
in an Audi R8>, Mika Salo, and recent F1 phenom Kimi Raikkonen. Finnish
racing fans often fill a couple dozen charter flights to the F1 races.
More summaries about the Flying Finns - Driving in their Blood