![]() Per Eklund in February 2015 | |
Personal information | |
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Nationality | ![]() |
Born | Eda, Sweden | 21 June 1946
World Rally Championship record | |
Active years | 1973–1997 |
Co-driver | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Teams | Saab, Toyota, Nissan, Austin Rover, Subaru |
Rallies | 83 |
Championships | 0 |
Rally wins | 1 |
Podiums | 13 |
Stage wins | 73 |
Total points | 270 |
First rally | 1973 Swedish Rally |
First win | 1976 Swedish Rally |
Last rally | 1997 RAC Rally |
FIA World Rallycross Championship | |
Years active | 2014–2015 |
Former teams | Eklund Motorsport |
Starts | 2 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Best finish | 35th in 2015 |
FIA ERX Supercar Championship | |
Years active | 2011, 2013–2014 |
Former teams | Eklund Motorsport |
Starts | 4 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Best finish | 22nd in 2011 |
FIA ERX Division 1 (1997–2010) Championship | |
Years active | 1997–2010 |
Former teams | Eklund Motorsport Clarion Team Europe |
Starts | 131 |
Championships | 1 (1999) |
Wins | 12 |
Podiums | 42 |
FIA ERX Division 2 (1982–1996) Championship | |
Years active | 1990–1991, 1993–1996 |
Former teams | Clarion Team Europe |
Starts | 47 |
Wins | 2 |
Podiums | 17 |
Best finish | 4th in 1995 |
FIA European Rallycross Cup | |
Years active | 1976–1978 |
Former teams | Saab |
Starts | 7 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 1 |
Best finish | 10th in 1976 |
Per Torsten Eklund (born 21 June 1946) is a Swedish Rally and Rallycross driver. His nickname is "Pekka". In rallying he never made it to the very top but he has been very successful in his later rallycross career.
After his education as a driving instructor, together with later teammate Stig Blomqvist at the Kvinnersta Folkhögskola outside of Örebro, Eklund was a Saab factory driver from 1970 till 1979. In 1982, however, the year after Saab discontinued its official rallying involvement, he achieved the brand's last top position in a World Championship event, finishing fourth in the Swedish Rally driving a privately entered, Clarion-sponsored Saab 99 Turbo. He was always proud of that result, since the competition consisted mostly of four-wheel-drive cars, and the event was run in snow. This signified the end of the rally era at Saab, even though Eklund went on to drive an officially-entered Saab 900 Turbo in the British round of the 1997 World Rally Championship. He was Swedish Champion in 1978, beating his team mate Stig Blomqvist. In 1982 Eklund finished 5th overall of the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers.
In 1971 Eklund started driving Rallycross at Valkenswaard in The Netherlands, and some months later he won the first ever Swedish Rallycross event at Hedemora, on 17 October 1971. He first drove a Saab 96 V4, in the early years of the Embassy/ERA European Rallycross Championship as teammate to his compatriot Stig Blomqvist. He was always prominent, became 7th overall respectively 4th overall in the first and second European Championship series of 1973 and 1974, but his greatest successes have been in later times. From the early 1990s till 2009, his last full season, he was one of the fastest competitors of the FIA European Championship for Rallycross Drivers. In 1999 Eklund claimed his first and only European title for Drivers of the Division 1, nowadays known as the SuperCars category.
Eklund joined Toyota Team Europe in 1980, and gave the 2nd generation Celica's one of its best WRC result by finished second in the 1981 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire. He drove the Group B Celica Twincam Turbo TA64 in selected 1983 and 1984 World Rally Championship events. Eklund also rallied Group A Corolla AE86 and Celica Supra 2800 GT in the British Rally Championship.
En får ente ge sej (Värmland dialect for "One must not give up") is Eklund's motto and the title of his biography. By Per Eklund & Anders Tunberg, 210 pages, Sportförlaget 1998, ISBN 91-88540-95-2
Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | ERC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Saab | Saab 96 V4 Turbo | AUT1 4 | GER1 6 | FIN 9 | SWE | BEL 6 | AUT2 | NED | GBR1 | GER2 | GBR2 | 10th | 24 | |
1977 | Saab | Saab 96 V4 Turbo | AUT1 | NED1 6 | ITA | SWE1 | FIN | BEL1 | SWE2 | NED2 | BEL2 | GER | AUT2 | 24th | 6 |
1978 | Per Eklund | Porsche Carrera 3.0 | AUT | ITA | SWE 9 | FIN 3 | BEL | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | 27th | 14 | ||
Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ERX | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Clarion Team Europe | MG Metro 6R4 | AUT | SWE 6 | FIN | IRE | FRA | BEL | NED | NOR | GER | GBR | 21st | 11 | ||
1991 | Clarion Team Europe | MG Metro 6R4 | POR | AUT | FIN | FRA | IRE | SWE 2 | BEL | NED | NOR NC | GBR | GER | 20th | 17 | |
1993 | Clarion Team Europe | Subaru Legacy Turbo | AUT (6) | POR 4 | FRA 4 | IRE (6) | SWE 4 | FIN 2 | BEL 3 | NED (NC) | NOR 3 | GER 1 | 4th | 106 | ||
1994 | Clarion Team Europe | Subaru Impreza | AUT 2 | POR 7 | FRA 3 | IRE 5 | GBR 4 | SWE (NC) | FIN 3 | BEL 7 | NED (NC) | NOR (7) | GER 6 | 6th | 93 | |
1995 | Clarion Team Europe | Subaru Impreza | AUT 2 | POR (NC) | FRA 5 | SWE 3 | GBR (7) | IRE (8) | BEL 4 | NED 5 | NOR 2 | FIN (6) | CZE 2 | GER 3 | 4th | 118 |
1996 | Clarion Team Europe | Subaru Impreza | AUT 1 | POR (9) | FRA 4 | SWE (6) | IRE (7) | GBR 2 | BEL 3 | NED 5 | NOR (6) | CZE 3 | GER (6) | 5th | 104 | |
Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | ERX | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Clarion Team Europe | Saab 900 Turbo | AUT 3 | FRA (6) | POR (6) | GBR 3 | SWE 4 | FIN (9) | BEL 5 | NOR 4 | CZE 2 | GER 5 | 6th | 97 | |
1998 | Clarion Team Europe | Saab 900 Turbo | AUT 2 | POR 1 | FRA (6) | SWE (4) | GBR 1 | FIN 3 | BEL (8) | NOR 2 | GER 3 | CZE 3 | 2nd | 119 | |
1999 | Clarion Team Europe | Saab 9-3 T16 | CZE 1 | FRA 3 | POR 2 | SWE (3) | FIN 2 | BEL 2 | NED 2 | NOR 1 | GER (NC) | 1st | 123 | ||
2000 | Clarion Team Europe | Saab 9-3 T16 | POR 1 | FRA 3 | CZE 1 | SWE DNS | BEL 3 | NED 3 | NOR 7 | POL (DSQ) | GER 2 | 3rd | 102 | ||
2001 | Clarion Team Europe | Saab 9-3 T16 | FRA (11) | POR 3 | AUT 2 | CZE 2 | SWE DNS | BEL 4 | NED (9) | NOR (6) | POL 2 | GER 1 | 3rd | 99 | |
2002 | Clarion Team Europe | Saab 9-3 T16 | POR (5) | FRA 4 | AUT 1 | CZE 4 | SWE 4 | BEL 1 | NED (7) | NOR 3 | POL 5 | GER 1 | 2nd | 126 | |
2003 | Clarion Team Europe | Saab 9-3 T16 | POR 3 | FRA (5) | AUT 2 | CZE 1 | SWE 2 | BEL 2 | NED 7 | NOR 5 | POL (7) | GER 2 | 2nd | 125 | |
2004 | Clarion Team Europe | Saab 9-3 T16 | POR 6 | FRA 1 | CZE 5 | AUT 4 | NOR (8) | SWE 7 | BEL 7 | NED (10) | POL 3 | GER 8 | 5th | 100 | |
2005 | Clarion Team Europe | Saab 9-3 T16 | FRA (9) | POR 7 | AUT 7 | CZE 5 | NOR 8 | SWE 3 | BEL 4 | NED (12) | POL 4 | GER 7 | 6th | 92 | |
2006 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 T16 | POR 8 | FRA (12) | CZE 12 | AUT 12 | SWE 7 | HUN 7 | BEL 7 | NED 8 | NOR 8 | POL 11 | GER (NC) | 9th | 73 |
2007 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 T16 | POR 4 | FRA 4 | HUN 6 | AUT 9 | SWE (11) | NOR (14) | BEL 14 | NED 14 | POL 4 | CZE 6 | 8th | 75 | |
2008 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 T16 | POR 6 | FRA 14 | HUN (15) | AUT 9 | NOR 13 | SWE 9 | BEL 12 | NED (NC) | CZE 10 | POL NC | GER 6 | 10th | 57 |
2009 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 T16 | GBR 10 | POR 12 | FRA (NC) | HUN 10 | AUT NC | SWE 13 | BEL DNS | GER 12 | POL 14 | CZE NC | 14th | 31 | |
2010 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 T16 | POR | FRA | GBR | HUN | SWE 14 | FIN 15 | BEL | GER | POL 10 | CZE 15 | 22nd | 14 | |
*Division 2 was rebranded as Division 1 in 1997.
Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ERX | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 | GBR | POR | FRA | NOR | SWE 24 | BEL | NED | AUT | POL | CZE 7 | 22nd | 10 |
2013 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 | GBR | POR | HUN | FIN | NOR | SWE | FRA | AUT | GER 22 | 45th | 0 | |
2014 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 | GBR | NOR | BEL | GER 22 | ITA | 37th | 0 | |||||
Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | WRX | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 | POR | GBR | NOR | FIN | SWE | BEL | CAN | FRA | GER 30 | ITA | TUR | ARG | 57th | 0 | |
2015 | Eklund Motorsport | Saab 9-3 | POR | HOC | BEL | GBR | GER | SWE 24 | CAN | NOR | FRA | ESP | TUR | ITA | ARG | 35th | 0 |
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