Rauno Aaltonen

Rauno Aaltonen

Aaltonen in the late 1970s
Personal information
Nationality	Finnish
Born	(1938-01-07) 7 January 1938 (age 87) Turku, Finland
World Rally Championship record
Active years	1973 – 1987
Co-driver	Paul Easter John Davenport Robin Turvey Wolfgang Stiller Edgar Herrmann Claes Billstam Willi-Peter Pitz Lofty Drews Kevin Gormley
Teams	Datsun, Fiat, Opel
Rallies	26
Rally wins	0
Podiums	6
Stage wins	11
Total points	65
First rally	1973 Monte Carlo Rally
Last rally	1987 Safari Rally

Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s.

Career

Before WRC was established Aaltonen competed in the European Rally Championship. He won the championship in 1965, with Tony Ambrose as his co-driver. He also won the Finnish Rally Championship in 1961 and 1965. In 1966, he partnered Bob Holden in Australia to win the premier touring car race, the Gallaher 500, in a Mini Cooper S at Mount Panorama in New South Wales.

Aaltonen in 2025

Aaltonen finished second on six occasions in the Safari Rally, which is considered one of the most difficult courses in rallying. In 1985, he was leading the rally by two hours when his engine broke down before the last few special stages. His other merits include winning the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1961, the RAC Rally in 1965, the Monte Carlo Rally in 1967, the Southern Cross Rally in 1977, and a Coupe des Alpes at the Alpine Rally in 1963 and 1964. ^[1]

Despite now being remembered as one of the Flying Finns of rallying, Aaltonen started his career on speed boats and later moved on to motorcycles competing in road racing, speedway and motocross. Before he became the first Finnish European Rally Champion, he was the first Finn to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing competition.

Aaltonen was a proponent of left-foot braking. ^[2] In 2010, he was among the first four inductees into the Rally Hall of Fame, along with Erik Carlsson, Paddy Hopkirk and Timo Mäkinen. ^[3]

The technique of rotating a car by 360 degrees, while maintaining trajectory, was named after him.

Career results

Complete IMC results

Year	Entrant	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1970	Ford Deutschland	Ford Capri RS2600	MON	SWE	ITA	KEN Ret	AUT	GRE
	Nissan Datsun	Datsun 240Z							GBR 7
1971	Yhtymä Oy Autokeskus	Datsun 240Z	MON 5	SWE	ITA
	Nissan Motor Company Ltd					KEN 7	MAR
	Nissan Europe Rally Team									GBR Ret
	BMW AG	BMW 2002 TI						AUT Ret	GRE
1972	Nissan Motor Company Ltd	Datsun 240Z	MON 3	SWE	KEN 6
	Nissan Europe Rally Team										GBR 11
	Citroën Compétitions	Citroën SM				MAR Ret
	Sears Roebuck Ltd	BMW 2002 TI					GRE Ret
	BMW AG	BMW 3.0 CSL						AUT Ret	ITA	USA

Complete WRC results

Year	Entrant	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Points
1973	Nissan Motor Company Ltd	Datsun 240Z	MON 18	SWE	POR	KEN Ret										N/A	N/A
	Fiat S.p.A	Fiat 124 Abarth Spider					MOR Ret	GRE 2	POL	FIN	AUT	ITA	USA
	Irmscher Tuning	Opel Ascona												GBR Ret	FRA
1974	African Roadways Ltd	Datsun 1800 SSS	MON C	SWE C	POR	KEN 6	GRE C	FIN	ITA	CAN	USA					N/A	N/A
	Fiat S.p.A	Fiat 124 Abarth Spider										GBR 12	FRA
1975	Opel Euro Händler Team	Opel Ascona	MON	SWE	KEN Ret	GRC Ret	MOR Ret	POR 4	FIN	ITA Ret	FRA					N/A	N/A
		Opel Kadett GT/E										GBR Ret
1976	Opel Euro Händler Team	Opel Kadett GT/E	MON	SWE	POR	KEN Ret	GRC	MOR	FIN	ITA	FRA	GBR Ret				N/A	N/A
1977	D.T. Dobie & Co (EA) Ltd	Datsun 160J	MON	SWE	POR	KEN 2	NZL	GRC	FIN	CAN	ITA	FRA	GBR			N/A	N/A
1978	D.T. Dobie & Co (EA) Ltd	Datsun 160J	MON	SWE	KEN 3	POR	GRC	FIN	CAN	ITA	CIV	FRA	GBR			N/A	N/A
1979	D.T. Dobie / Team Datsun	Datsun 160J	MON	SWE	POR	KEN 5	GRC	NZL	FIN	CAN	ITA	FRA	GBR	CIV		28th	8
1980	D.T. Dobie / Team Datsun	Datsun 160J	MON	SWE	POR	KEN 2	GRC	ARG	FIN	NZL	ITA	FRA	GBR	CIV		16th	15
1981	D.T. Dobie / Team Datsun	Datsun 160J	MON 13	SWE	POR											19th	15
		Datsun Violet GT				KEN 2	FRA	GRC	ARG	BRA	FIN	ITA	CIV	GBR
1982	Rothmans Opel Rally Team	Opel Ascona 400	MON	SWE	POR	KEN Ret	FRA	GRC	NZL	BRA	FIN	ITA	CIV	GBR		NC	0
1983	Rothmans Opel Rally Team	Opel Ascona 400	MON	SWE	POR	KEN Ret	FRA	GRC	NZL	ARG	FIN	ITA	CIV	GBR		NC	0
1984	Opel Euro Team	Opel Ascona 400	MON	SWE	POR	KEN 2	FRA	GRC	NZL	ARG	FIN	ITA	CIV	GBR		15th	15
1985	Opel Euro Team	Opel Ascona 400	MON	SWE	POR	KEN 4	FRA	GRC	NZL	ARG	FIN	ITA	CIV	GBR		22nd	10
1987	GM Euro Sport	Opel Kadett GSi	MON	SWE	POR	KEN 9	FRA	GRC	USA	NZL	ARG	FIN	CIV	ITA	GBR	58th	2

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1964	Donald Healey Motor Company	Clive Baker	Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite	P 1.5	256	DNF	DNF

Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
1966	BMC Australia	Bob Holden	Morris Cooper S	C	130	1st	1st
1991	Bob Holden Motors	Bob Holden Dennis Rogers	Toyota Corolla	3	124	20th	4th

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos.	Pts	Class
1970	Ford Köln	Ford Capri 2300 GT	D	BRH	SNE	THR	SIL	CRY	SIL	SIL 27	CRO	BRH	OUL	BRH	BRH	NC	0	NC
Source: [4]

Gallery

• 
  Aaltonen at the 1965 1000 Lakes Rally
• 
  Aaltonen behind Timo Mäkinen at the 1000 Lakes
• 
  Aaltonen with co-driver Anssi Järvi
• 
  An ex-Aaltonen BMW 2002tii
• 
  Aaltonen pictured in 2008

References

1. Pfundner, Martin (2005). Alpine Trials & Rallies: 1910 to 1973. Veloce Publishing Ltd. pp. 90–91.
2. "Driving Legends". theitalianjob.com. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
3. "New Inductees to Rally Hall of Fame". Neste Oil Rally Finland . 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
4. de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 12 October 2022.

External links

• Aaltonen at RallyBase

Sporting positions
Preceded by Tom Trana	European Rally Champion 1965	Succeeded by G1: Lillebror Nasenius G2: Sobiesław Zasada G3: Günter Klass
Preceded by Barry Seton Midge Bosworth	Winner of the Bathurst 500 1966 (with Bob Holden)	Succeeded by Harry Firth Fred Gibson