 |
Harri Toivonen (born 22 October 1960) is a former rally and race car driver from Finland. He is the younger brother of the late Henri Toivonen and son of Pauli Toivonen. [1]
|
Harri Toivonen (born 22 October 1960) is a former rally and race car driver from Finland. He is the younger brother of the late Henri Toivonen and son of Pauli Toivonen. [1]
His first World Rally Championship outcome was at the 1980 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland driving a Chrysler Avenger, former car of his brother Henri.
In 1983 he drove a Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo, mainly for the Finnish Junior Rally Team. In 1986 he came to a deal with the Austin Rover works team to drive the British Rally open in an MG Metro 6R4. While competing at the Wales Rally in early May, he heard the news of his brother's accident at the Tour de Corse which cost Henri and co-driver Sergio Cresto their lives.
Harri continued competing later that year. He drove his Metro to 8th place at the 1000 Lakes Rally, but retired at the UK's RAC Rally in November. The rally his brother Henri won one year earlier.
After some unsuccessful years in rallying after 1986, he switched to circuit racing. He drove in several racing classes with some successes. He participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991 finishing 9th overall, driving a Porsche 962 for Kremer Racing with JJ Lehto and Manuel Reuter.
In 2002, Toivonen hung up his helmet as a full-time driver. In 2006, he opened an exhibition to tribute to his brother Henri at the Neste Oil Rally Finland.
Harri is now involved with Ian's Dawsons Le Mans Prototype Eco Racing Team.
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Harri Toivonen | Chrysler Avenger | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | GRC | ARG | FIN Ret | NZL | ITA | FRA | GBR | CIV | NC | 0 | |
| 1981 | Harri Toivonen | Talbot Sunbeam Lotus | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | ARG | BRA | FIN Ret | ITA | CIV | GBR | NC | 0 | |
| 1982 | David Sutton Cars Ltd. | Ford Escort RS1800 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | NZL | BRA | FIN Ret | ITA | CIV | GBR | NC | 0 | |
| 1983 | Harri Toivonen | Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | NZL | ARG | FIN Ret | ITA | CIV | NC | 0 | ||
| Mitsubishi Ralliart | GBR Ret | ||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Austin Rover WRT | MG Metro 6R4 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | NZL | ARG | FIN 8 | CIV | ITA | GBR Ret | USA | 49th | 3 |
| 1987 | Harri Toivonen | Mazda 323 4WD | MON | SWE Ret | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN Ret | CIV | ITA | GBR | NC | 0 |
| 1988 | Harri Toivonen | Lancia Delta Integrale | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN Ret | CIV | ITA | GBR | NC | 0 |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 |  Porsche Kremer Racing | Manuel Reuter  JJ Lehto | Porsche 962CK6 | C2 | 343 | 9th | 9th |
| 1992 |  British Racing Motors |  Wayne Taylor Richard Jones | BRM P351 | C1 | 20 | DNF | DNF |
| 1996 | Kremer Racing |  Christophe Bouchut Jürgen Lässig | Kremer K8 Spyder | LMP1 | 110 | DNF | DNF |
| 1997 | Pacific Racing Ltd. |  Eliseo Salazar  Jesús Pareja | BRM P301-Nissan | LMP | 6 | DNF | DNF |
| 2001 | Team Ascari |  Werner Lupberger Ben Collins | Ascari A410-Judd | LMP900 | 134 | DNF | DNF |
"The Flying Finn" is a nickname given to several Finnish athletes who were noted for their speed. Originally, it was given to several Finnish middle and long-distance runners. The term was later extended to notable Finnish racing drivers.
Henri Pauli Toivonen was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his brother, Harri, became a professional circuit racer.
Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen is a Finnish former rally driver. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1983 to 2002. He won 23 world rallies and four drivers' world championship titles, which were both once records in the series. Both Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier have since collected more world titles, but no driver was able to repeat Kankkunen's feat of becoming a world champion with three different manufacturers until Ogier matched this achievement in 2020.
Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally four times. In addition, he won the 1997 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
Patricia Ann Moss-Carlsson was one of the most successful female auto rally drivers of all time, achieving three outright wins and seven podium finishes in international rallies. She was crowned European Ladies' Rally Champion five times. Her older brother Stirling Moss was a Formula One Grand Prix star during the 1950s. From 1963 until her death in 2008, Swedish rally driver Erik Carlsson was both her driving-partner and her husband.
Henri Jacques William Pescarolo is a former racing driver from France. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record 33 times, winning on four occasions, and won a number of other major sports car events including the 24 Hours of Daytona. He also participated in 64 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium and 12 championship points. Pescarolo also drove in the Dakar Rally in the 1990s, before retiring from racing at the age of 57. In 2000 he set up his eponymous racing team, Pescarolo Sport, which competed in Le Mans until 2013. He wore a distinctive green helmet, and wears a full-face beard that partially covers burns suffered in a crash.
Leo Juhani "Leksa" Kinnunen was a Finnish racing driver, and the first Formula One driver from Finland.
Vernon John Schuppan is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.
Michèle Hélène Raymonde Mouton is a French former rally driver. Competing in the World Rally Championship for the Audi factory team, she took four victories and finished runner-up in the drivers' world championship in 1982.
Markku Allan Alén is a Finnish former rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the record for most stage wins (801) in the series, until Sébastien Loeb overtook it at the 2011 Rally Catalunya. Alén's phrase "now maximum attack" became well-known.
Sergio Cresto was the American co-driver of Henri Toivonen at the Lancia Martini team for the 1986 World Rally Championship season. He was also a former co-driver for fellow Lancia employee Attilio Bettega, who died in an accident during the 1985 Tour de Corse on May 2, 1985. His co-driver Maurizio Perissinot survived the crash uninjured. This event happened exactly one year before the accident that claimed the lives of both Sergio Cresto and his driver by then Henri Toivonen on May 2, 1986.
Stig Lennart Blomqvist is a retired Swedish rally driver. He made his international breakthrough in 1971. Driving an Audi Quattro for the Audi factory team, Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1984 and finished runner-up in 1985. He won his home event, the Swedish Rally, seven times.
Timo Mäkinen was a Finnish race car driver and one of the original "Flying Finns" of motor rallying. He is best remembered for his hat-trick of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally.
Pauli Toivonen was a Finnish rally car driver. He drove for Citroën, Lancia and Porsche and had many successes to his credit. Toivonen had two sons, Harri and Henri, both also rally drivers.
Harri "Rovis" Rovanperä is a Finnish rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship from 1993 to 2006. He drove for SEAT (1997–00), Peugeot (2001–04), Mitsubishi (2005) and Red Bull Škoda Team (2006). Rovanperä was known as a loose surface specialist. He is the father of 2022 and 2023 World Rally Drivers' Champion Kalle Rovanperä. He was married to Tiina Rovanperä.
James Steele McRae is a British former rally driver. He was highly successful in the British Rally Championship, winning the title a record five times in 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987 and 1988 which as of 2023 still stands. In the European Rally Championship for drivers, he was runner-up in 1982, while his highest placing in the World Rally Championship was fifteenth in 1983. McRae runs a plumbing business in his home town of Lanark. He and his wife Margaret had three sons, Colin, Alister and Stuart. Both Colin and Alister were World Rally Championship drivers, with Colin winning the world championship in 1995. McRae's brother-in-law Hugh "Shug" Steele is also a former rally driver.
The 1986 World Rally Championship was the 14th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Rally Championship (WRC). The season consisted of 13 rallies, including all twelve venues of the previous season as well as the addition of the Olympus Rally. This marked the return of the WRC to the United States and North America, as well as the first world rally to be held on the western side of the continent. The December rally would also be the only WRC event to feature Group B competition in the United States.
Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities.
Toivonen is a Finnish surname.
Hans Laine was a Finnish auto racer. He died during training sessions at the Nürburgring.