Toni Gardemeister

WRC driver
Name = Toni Gardemeister


Caption = Gardemeister at the 2005 Cyprus Rally.
Nationality = flagicon|FIN Finnish
Years = 1996 - present
Teams = SEAT, Mitsubishi, Škoda, Ford, Suzuki
Races = 104
Championships = 0
Wins = 0
Podiums = 6
Stagewins = 16
Points = 121
First race = 1996 Neste Rally Finland

Toni Gardemeister (born 31 March , 1975 in Kouvola, Finland), is a professional rally driver in the World Rally Championship. After previously competing for SEAT's, Mitsubishi's, Škoda's and Ford's factory teams, as well as for privateer teams, he joined the Suzuki World Rally Team for the 2008 season.

Career

From the outset of his career Gardemeister had shown himself as a driver of some provenance. He won the Finnish Rally Championship Group a (under 2000 cc) title in 1997 behind the wheel of a Nissan Sunny and was driving for the Spanish car firm SEAT for limited outings in 1998 with the Ibiza. He was to become a world championship mainstay by the year 2000 in that firm's Cordoba WRC as team-mate to ex-world champion Didier Auriol.

With SEAT's surprise withdrawal from the 'works' scene for 2001 came a handful of privateer opportunities in a Peugeot 206, in which Gardemeister scored drivers' points on both the Monte Carlo Rally and the Swedish Rally. These performances attracted the attention of Škoda to whom he then moved. He was to drive the Octavia throughout 2002 and 2003, reuniting with Auriol, as well as the Fabia in 2004.

Toni has had some success in the WRC scene. Impressive drives include 3rd place in New Zealand in 1999, and 4th place on the 2000 Monte Carlo Rally, both with SEAT. He has particularly impressed for Ford throughout 2005, putting together a string of podiums and other points-paying positions in rallies. 2nd at Monte Carlo on his debut and a 3rd in Sweden a month later were complimented by another second place, this time on the Acropolis Rally in the Spring of that year.

Finishing second once more on the Rally of France in Corsica to the all-conquering Sebastien Loeb was thought to have aided Gardemeister's claim to a race seat with Ford for 2006. However, with Marcus Grönholm already signed to drive the 2006-specification Ford Focus WRC, the news in November 2005 that Mikko Hirvonen had been signed to drive the second car in 2006 meant that Gardemeister would have to find a drive elsewhere.

Driving for Astra Racing, in a Peugeot 307 WRC, with co-driver Jakke Honkanen, Gardemeister finished 3rd in the Monte Carlo Rally, the first race in the 2006 WRC season. He went on to compete in three more world rallies driving a Citroën Xsara WRC, finishing twice fourth and once fifth. In 2007, Gardemeister competed in five world rallies with a Mitsubishi Lancer WRC and in one with a Citroën Xsara WRC. His best result was sixth in Sweden and Sardinia.

He drives for the Suzuki World Rally Team with co-driver Tomi Tuominen in the 2008 World Rally Championship season. [ [http://www.crash.net/motorsport/wrc/news/158198-0/official:_suzuki_names_drivers_for_'08.html WRC: Official: Suzuki names drivers for '08., motorsport news, results, features, teams, drivers, updates ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.tonigardemeister.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.wrc.com/page/DriversDetail/0,,10111~605441,00.html Profile at WRC.com]
* [http://www.juwra.com/gardemeister_toni.html Statistics] at [http://www.juwra.com/ WRC Archive]