Autosportfoto

Rally Finland Exclusive Images 1000 Lakes Rally Group B Pure Sound

Neste Oil Rally Finland 2013 芬兰拉力赛 Rally Finland the 1000 Lakes Rally Jyväskylän Suurajot Jyväskylä Grand Prix For the 1980 season, the 1000 Lakes Rally lost its status as a world championship event for manufacturers, 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. Although the rally became the first in the world to issue action and safety instructions in 1980, 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. Raul Falin, the chairman of AKK-Motorsport, died of his injuries soon after reaching the hospital. In 1983, Pekka Mällinen slid off the road on a fast curve, rolled twice and crashed into a thick pine tree. The accident killed his co-driver Reijo Nygren. At the 1984 rally, British driver Julian Roderick lost control of his car on a popular spectator area in the Humalamäki jumpers. He rolled his car several times and hit a wall of people who had been spectating in a forbidden area. Along with Roderick and his co-driver, nine spectators suffered non-critical injuries. The Audi Quattro S1 used by Hannu Mikkola during tests for the 1985 rally 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). All over 150 contestants passed the inspection. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden arrived to follow the event and a record 450 reporters were present. Audi took a one-two with its factory drivers Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist. The 1983 rally featured a field of 180 cars, over a hundred of which failed to make it to the finish. Mikkola edged out Blomqvist to extend the event record to a still-standing seven wins. Mikkola's time on the 24.5-kilometre Ouninpohja stage was 11:56; 52 seconds faster than his time just four years ago. In 1984, over half a million spectators were expected and about 5,000 marshals were appointed. 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.In 1986, the route was modified to bring the average speeds closer to the FISA limit of 110 km/h. The top drivers exceeded the limit almost regularly, but FISA had given the organizers a 10 percent flexibility. Combined with their dislike for the slower Group A cars, drivers were highly critical of the organizers for artificially slowing the rally in 1987. A record 214 drivers signed up for the 1988 event and 200 were qualified to start by the organizers. Albert II, Prince of Monaco arrived to follow the event and was scheduled to drive a few stages in an ex-Alén Lancia. 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. Kankkunen's engine failed on the next stage, 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. In 1989, Mikael Ericsson of Sweden drove to victory as the first non-Finn in 18 years