Jari Nurminen is a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 racing driver from Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

.

Formula cars

Nurminen began his racing career racing Formula Vee

Formula Vee

Formula Vee is a popular open wheel, single seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford or Formula BMW....

 cars in his native Finland. In 1983 he finished 3rd in the Finnish Formula Three Championship and competed in four races of the German Formula Three Championship

German Formula Three Championship

The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany's national Formula Three series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault and championships such as GP2...

. In 1984 and 1985 he finished fifth in German F3 in back-to-back years, capturing his first win in 1985. In 1986 he competed in a full season of International Formula 3000 with the EuroVenturini team but only managed to qualify for one of the eleven races, the season opener at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...

 and also did some tests for the Arrows

Arrows

Arrows Grand Prix International was a British Formula One team active from to . For a period of time, it was also known as Footwork.-Origins :...

 Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 team. Despite the disastrous 1986 campaign

1986 Formula 3000 season

The 1986 International Formula 3000 season was contested over an eleven-round series. A total of 28 different teams, 71 different drivers, 7 different chassis and 2 different engines competed.-Calendar:Note:...

, Nurminen returned to the team and series in 1987. After failing to qualify for three of the first four races he switched teams to GA Motorsports where he successfully qualified for four of the next six races, scoring a best finish of 15th at Österreichring

Österreichring

The Red Bull Ring is an Austrian race circuit in Spielberg, Styria.The race circuit was founded as Österreichring and hosted the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from to . It was later shortened, rebuilt and renamed the A1-Ring, it hosted the Austrian Grand Prix again from...

. He returned to the series in 1988

1988 Formula 3000 season

The 1988 International Formula 3000 season was contested over 11 rounds. 24 different teams, 69 different drivers, 5 different chassis and 2 different engines competed.-Calendar:Note:Race 5, 6 and 7 stopped and re-started.-Driver:...

 and drove a full season for Colt Racing. He successfully qualified for all but two of the races and finished 7th at the Birmingham Superprix

Birmingham Superprix

The Halfords Birmingham Superprix was a motor racing meeting held on a street circuit at the heart of Birmingham, England, from 1986 to 1990. Until 1990 the principal event was a round of the European Formula 3000 Championship, but support races included BTCC and Formula Ford 1600 rounds, as well...

, just one spot out of the points.

Sports cars

In 1989 he moved to sports car racing

Sports car racing

Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....

 in the World Sports-Prototype Championship, making 10 starts in 1989 and 1990. Nurminen was out of racing until 1997 when he competed in three FIA GT Championship

FIA GT Championship

The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South...

 races and the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans

1997 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 65th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 14 and 15 1997.-Pre-race:The Dunlop chicane was modified slightly in order to slow speeds again but also accommodate larger gravel traps as runoff area for the protection of motorcycle riders using the Bugatti...

 in the Chamberlain Engineering Chrysler Viper GTS-R

Chrysler Viper GTS-R

The Chrysler Viper GTS-R was a successful racing variant of the Dodge Viper developed in conjunction with Chrysler of North America, Oreca of France, and Reynard Motorsport of the United Kingdom. Officially unveiled at the 1995 Pebble Beach Concours, it has won numerous championships and famous...

 which finished sixth in class and 15th overall in an attrition-filled race. From 2002 to 2005 Nurminen drove in a number of low-profile Finnish series such as the Yaris Cup and Legends Trophy. From 2006 to 2008 he competed in the Scandinavian Ferrari Challenge

Ferrari Challenge

The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque motorsport championship that was created in 1993 for owners of the 348 Berlinetta who wanted to become involved in racing. It now encompasses three official championships in the United States, Italy, and Europe. Competitors from each series are brought...

 series, winning the title in 2007. In 2009 he brought his Ferrari F430 Challenge

Ferrari F430 Challenge

The Ferrari F430 Challenge is a production-based race car built by Ferrari. The car is directly based on the standard F430 and uses the same 4.3L V8 engine...

 to the Finnish GT3 Championship where he finished fifth in points in 2009 and fourth in 2010.