Tommi Ahvala

Last updated
Tommi Ahvala
Nationality Flag of Finland.svg Finnish
Born (1971-11-13) November 13, 1971 (age 48)
Helsinki, Finland
Current teamRetired
Website Tommi Ahvala Supertrial site

Tommi Ahvala, (born November 13, 1971) is a Finnish former world champion motorcycle trials rider. He won the 1992 World Motorcycle Trials Championship and the 1993 Indoor Trials World Championship.

Contents

Biography

Born in Helsinki, Finland, Ahvala began practicing trial as a hobby at the age of six in his backyard. [1] He participated in the first competition at the age of 10. When he was 15 he began to compete internationally and he participated in the World Trial Championship for the first time in 1988. He was not yet an adult, so when competing in Finland he had to use a 125-cc motorcycle, and when abroad a 250 cc one. He was granted a special driving permission at the age of 17.

In 1989 Ahvala finished in sixth place at the World Championship, 4th in 1990, and 2nd in 1991. He also won the gold medal in 1990 and 1991 in the Finnish Championship, which he then left due to lack of time. In 1992 Ahvala won the World Motorcycle Trials Championship. The following year he won the indoor title.

In 1995 he was the first foreigner to win the Italian Trials Championship.

In 1998, he was hired by the Spanish motorcycle manufacturer Gas Gas to compete in the United States. He competed in the A.M.A. National Championship in 1998 and 1999, winning the 1999 title. Afterwards, he began teaching in a series of trials schools, in an effort to raise the level of competitiveness, as well as the level of public awareness of the sport in the United States.

Finland printed a postage stamp in Ahvala's honor in 1995.

International Trials Championship Career

[2]

YearClassMachineRd
1
Rd
2
Rd
3
Rd
4
Rd
5
Rd
6
Rd
7
Rd
8
Rd
9
Rd
10
Rd
11
Rd
12
PointsPosNotes
1988FIM World Championship Aprilia SPA
-
GBR
-
IRL
-
LUX
13
GER
-
AUT
11
FRA
13
BEL
11
ITA
14
SWE
11
FIN
4
POL
13
39 13th
1989FIM World Championship Aprilia GBR
7
IRL
9
ITA
13
USA
4
CAN
7
FRA
8
SWI
6
SPA
6
AUT
4
CZE
6
GER
2
LUX
7
1186th
1990FIM World Championship Aprilia IRL
3
GBR
3
USA
3
CAN
3
BEL
4
GER
4
SWE
4
FIN
6
SPA
2
ITA
5
POL
3
SWI
3
1674th
1991FIM World Championship Aprilia LUX
5
GBR
4
IRL
2
BEL
2
FRA
7
SPA
4
POL
2
AUT
4
ITA
2
FIN
1
SWE
4
CZE
1
1802nd
1992FIM World Championship Aprilia SPA
1
BEL
2
GBR
3
IRL
2
FRA
1
AND
11
CZE
2
POL
2
GER
2
ITA
2
CAN
1
USA
2
1991stWorld Champion
1993FIM World Championship Aprilia LUX
3
BEL
2
GER
7
CZE
3
POL
6
ITA
6
FRA
3
AND
1
SPA
7
SWE
3
FIN
4
GBR
4
1613rd
1994FIM World Championship Fantic IRL
2
GBR
6
BEL
1
GER
13
CZE
2
FRA
4
USA
3
SPA
2
ITA
5
SWI
2
1402nd
1995FIM World Championship Fantic LUX
1
GBR
3
IRL
4
BEL
7
POL
4
ITA
6
SPA
3
FRA
3
AND
9
FIN
4
1303rd
1996FIM World Championship Fantic SPA
9
GBR
9
IRL
-
USA
14
CAN
6
FRA
11
ITA
10
GER
5
CZE
6
BEL
7
678th


Honors


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References

  1. CycleConnections, Interview with Tommi Ahvala, year 2005 Archived 2010-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "FIM Trials Championships". trialonline.org. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  3. List of awards Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine