- Rally Finland
-
The current service park area at Paviljonki, Jyväskylä.
Jari-Matti Latvala, winner of the Neste Oil Rally Finland 2010, driving his car in Muurame shakedown.
Richard Burns with a Subaru Impreza WRC at the 2001 event.
Armin Schwarz in 2001.
Osmo Kalpala servicing his Donau (DKW) during the 1956 rally.The Neste Oil Rally Finland (formerly known as 1000 Lakes Rally) is a rally event driven in the Jyväskylä area in Central Finland. It is the biggest annually organised public event in the Nordic countries, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year.
Rally Finland is known as the "Gravel Grand Prix", since it is the highest-speed rally in the championship.[1] The most famous special stage is Ouninpohja, with its spectacular high speed jumps.[2] The rally has also been known for being very difficult for non-Nordic drivers. Only four drivers outside Finland and Sweden have won the rally. The WRC teams voted Neste Rally Finland "Rally of the Year" in 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Contents
History
The rally has been held since 1951, first as a national competition, then from 1959 on as a European Rally Championship event and since the introduction of the World Rally Championship in 1973, as Finland's WRC event. The rally is known colloquially in Finland as Jyväskylän Suurajot (the "Jyväskylä Great Race"). The international name "Rally of the Thousand Lakes" was introduced in 1954. The rally was renamed in 1994 when Neste Oil became the main sponsor.
Ouninpohja
Ouninpohja is one of the most famous stages in the WRC, well-known for its high speed, sweeping corners, blind crests and big jumps. At one famous jump located 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) 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 57 meters (187 ft) in the air at a speed of 171 kilometres per hour (106 mph).[3] In 2005, Gigi Galli did even better with 58 metres, jumping flat-out with a Mitsubishi Lancer WRC.[4]
The Ouninpohja stage was split in two parts for the 2005 and 2006 events, since Petter Solberg exceeded the FIA's maximum average speed (130 km/h) there in 2004. The rule was changed for 2007 so Ouninpohja returned as a 33 km (21 mi) version, although there were three chicanes added. However, in 2008 event only part of the stage was used in Kakaristo stage. In 2009 the stage is completely out of the route. Jarmo Mahonen, managing director of the rally organiser AKK, 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."[5]
Winners
Season Driver Co-driver Vehicle Event report 2011 
Sébastien Loeb
Daniel ElenaCitroën DS3 WRC Report 2010 
Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka AnttilaFord Focus RS WRC 09 Report 2009 Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo LehtinenFord Focus RS WRC 09 Report 2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel ElenaCitroën C4 WRC Report 2007 Marcus Grönholm Timo RautiainenFord Focus RS WRC 07 Report 2006 Marcus Grönholm Timo RautiainenFord Focus RS WRC 06 Report 2005 Marcus Grönholm Timo RautiainenPeugeot 307 WRC Report 2004 Marcus Grönholm Timo RautiainenPeugeot 307 WRC Report 2003 
Markko Märtin
Michael ParkFord Focus RS WRC 03 Report 2002 Marcus Grönholm Timo RautiainenPeugeot 206 WRC Report 2001 Marcus Grönholm Timo RautiainenPeugeot 206 WRC Report 2000 Marcus Grönholm Timo RautiainenPeugeot 206 WRC Report 1999 Juha Kankkunen Juha RepoSubaru Impreza WRC 99 Report 1998 Tommi Mäkinen Risto MannisenmäkiMitsubishi Lancer Evolution V Report 1997 Tommi Mäkinen Seppo HarjanneMitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV Report 1996 Tommi Mäkinen Seppo HarjanneMitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Report 1995[6] Tommi Mäkinen Seppo HarjanneMitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Report 1994 Tommi Mäkinen Seppo HarjanneFord Escort RS Cosworth 1993 Juha Kankkunen Denis GiraudetToyota Celica Turbo 4WD 1992 Didier Auriol Bernard OccelliLancia Delta HF Integrale 1991 Juha Kankkunen Juha PiironenLancia Delta Integrale 16V 1990 
Carlos Sainz Luis MoyaToyota Celica GT-Four 1989 
Mikael Ericsson Claes BillstamMitsubishi Galant VR-4 1988 Markku Alén Ilkka KivimäkiLancia Delta Integrale 1987 Markku Alén Ilkka KivimäkiLancia Delta HF 4WD 1986 Timo Salonen Seppo HarjannePeugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 1985 Timo Salonen Seppo HarjannePeugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 1984 Ari Vatanen Terry HarrymanPeugeot 205 Turbo 16 1983 Hannu Mikkola Arne HertzAudi Quattro A2 1982 Hannu Mikkola Arne HertzAudi Quattro 1981 Ari Vatanen David RichardsFord Escort RS1800 1980 Markku Alén Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth 1979 Markku Alén Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth 1978 Markku Alén Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth 1977 Kyösti Hämäläinen Martti TiukkanenFord Escort RS1800 1976 Markku Alén Ilkka KivimäkiFiat 131 Abarth 1975 Hannu Mikkola Atso AhoToyota Corolla 1974 Hannu Mikkola John DavenportFord Escort RS1600 1973 Timo Mäkinen Henry LiddonFord Escort RS1600 Report 1972 Simo Lampinen Klaus SohlbergSaab 96 V4 1971 Stig Blomqvist Arne HertzSaab 96 V4 1970 Hannu Mikkola Gunnar PalmFord Escort TC 1969 Hannu Mikkola Anssi JärviFord Escort TC 1968 Hannu Mikkola Anssi JärviFord Escort TC 1967 Timo Mäkinen Pekka KeskitaloMini Cooper S 1966 Timo Mäkinen Pekka KeskitaloMini Cooper S 1965 Timo Mäkinen Pekka KeskitaloMini Cooper S 1964 Simo Lampinen Jyrki AhavaSaab 96 Sport 1963 Simo Lampinen Jyrki AhavaSaab 96 Sport 1962 Pauli Toivonen Jaakko KallioCitroën DS19 1961 Rauno Aaltonen Väinö NurmimaaMercedes-Benz 220 SE 1960 Carl-Otto Bremer Juhani LampiSaab 96 1959 Gunnar Callbo Väinö NurmimaaVolvo PV 544 1958 Osmo Kalpala Eino KalpalaAlfa Romeo Giulietta TI 1957 Erik Carlsson Mario PavoniSaab 93 1956 Osmo Kalpala Eino KalpalaDKW Donau 1955 Eino Elo Kai NuortilaPeugeot 403 1954 Osmo Kalpala Eino KalpalaDyna Panhard 1953 Vilho Hietanen Olof HixénAllard 1952 Eino Elo Kai NuortilaPeugeot 203 1951 Arvo Karlsson Vilho MattilaAustin Atlantic Notes and references
- ^ "Countdown to Neste Oil Rally Finland". wrc.com. http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=101&id=5567. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ "WRC: Five of the best stages - #5 Ouninpohja". autosport.com. http://www.autosport.com/features/article.php/id/2001. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ "The Challenge of Ouninpohja". Subaru World Rally Team. http://www.swrt.com/championship/event_overview.html?id=845. Retrieved 2008-08-14.[dead link]
- ^ "Youtube video". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptzoX9ptVag&fmt18. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "Finland axes Ouninpohja stage". Eurosport. http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/22012008/23/finland-axes-ouninpohja-stage.html. Retrieved 2008-08-14.[dead link]
- ^ Due to the WRC round rotation, this rally counted only for the 2-litre World Cup.
External links
Rallies in the World Rally Championship Current (2011) Previous (2010) Sweden • Mexico • Jordan • Turkey • New Zealand • Portugal • Bulgaria • Finland • Deutschland • Japan • France • Catalunya • Great BritainFormer Austria • Brazil • Critérium du Québec • China • Corsica • Côte d'Ivoire • Cyprus • Indonesia • Ireland • Monte Carlo • Morocco • Norway • Olympus • Poland • Press-on-Regardless • Rideau Lakes • Safari • SanremoCategories:
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
