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Juha Kankkunen
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Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen , born in Laukaa, Finland on April 2, 1959, made his name principally as a rally car driver. Aided partly by his record of 23 career victories on individual world rallies, he went on to drive Peugeot (1986), Lancia (1987 and 1991) and Toyota (1993) cars to four World Rally Championship driver's titles. He is currently 6th in the rankings of all time individual rally victories. However, only 2004-2008 World Champion Sébastien Loeb has thus far been successful in besting his tally of driver's world titles over the course of an entire career in the sport.
Post-retirement in 2002, Kankkunen announced his intention to enter politics, echoing the career path of rallying compatriot Ari Vatanen.
Since 2007 Kankkunen holds the World Speed Record on Ice in a Bentley Continental GT.
kunen grew up on his family's farm near Jyväskylä and has since claimed to have driven both a car and a tractor by the age of seven.
From 1983 to 1985, he drove the Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo TA64, the motor which was to deliver him his first win on the Safari Rally in 1985, on his first attempt, and as a 100-1 outsider.
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Encyclopedia
Juha Matti Pellervo Kankkunen , born in Laukaa, Finland on April 2, 1959, made his name principally as a rally car driver. Aided partly by his record of 23 career victories on individual world rallies, he went on to drive Peugeot (1986), Lancia (1987 and 1991) and Toyota (1993) cars to four World Rally Championship driver's titles. He is currently 6th in the rankings of all time individual rally victories. However, only 2004-2008 World Champion Sébastien Loeb has thus far been successful in besting his tally of driver's world titles over the course of an entire career in the sport.
Post-retirement in 2002, Kankkunen announced his intention to enter politics, echoing the career path of rallying compatriot Ari Vatanen.
Since 2007 Kankkunen holds the World Speed Record on Ice in a Bentley Continental GT.
Career
Kankkunen grew up on his family's farm near Jyväskylä and has since claimed to have driven both a car and a tractor by the age of seven.
From 1983 to 1985, he drove the Toyota Celica Twincam Turbo TA64, the motor which was to deliver him his first win on the Safari Rally in 1985, on his first attempt, and as a 100-1 outsider. It was such a display of competence that was to earn him his chance to come to the fore with dominant 1985 manufacturers' and drivers' champions Peugeot for 1986, which he duly seized in world driver's championship-winning style - for all the evident distraction for fans of the macabre backdrop before them of title rival Henri Toivonen perishing aboard his Lancia while leading the Corsican round of the series in May, which in turn made for the final banishment to posterity of the Group B category.
Despite winning a second consecutive world title on switching to the Lancia team for the opening of proceedings in the promoted Group A category in 1987, Kankkunen's uneasy acceptance of team-orders designed to benefit the 'Italian hero in an Italian car', Miki Biasion (such as on his very first outing with the team, that season's Monte Carlo Rally) pre-empted a move elsewhere for 1988.
That happened with Kankkunen providing the debut for the Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 on that season's Tour de Corse, although he was to be made to wait until the 1989 Rally Australia to be able to score the first victory with this car. He duly reverted his earlier move in order to reacquaint himself with Lancia at the turn of the decade where, in 1991, he become the first man to seal a third driver's title since the World Rally Championship's 1973 inauguration.
On rejoining Toyota in 1993, on the back of a second place finish to Carlos Sainz in the series in 1992 in his last chance to drive a factory Delta Integrale before the team's voluntary withdrawal, Kankkunen stormed to a fourth world title, despite having to fare from mid-season with two substitute co-drivers after his original in-car partner, Juha Piironen suffered a stroke. Kankkunen won the 1993 Rally Argentina with his new co-driver, Nicky Grist. In the 1000 Lakes Rally of Finland, he was paired with Frenchman Denis Giraudet. Back with Grist, Kankkunen won the Rally Australia and the RAC Rally to wrap up an impressive 1993 season. With his 5 victories, and 2 others from his team mates, Toyota, with the Celica GT-Four ST185, won the 1993 manufacturers' crown, the first for a Japanese manufacturer.
In 1994, Kankkunen won the Rally TAP Portugal with ST185, and finished 2nd in Rally Australia on the first appearance of ST205.
Sadly for Kankkunen, this relationship also went somewhat awry eventually, for with the Finn still at the team during 1995 World Rally Championship Toyota were found guilty of the implementation of illegal turbo restrictor bypasses on their Toyota Celica ST205 cars. At the discretion of the FIA's Max Mosley Toyota were subject to a public humiliation, and duly banned from the World Championship until 1997. Part of the Finn's rehabilitation from this episode came in the shape of Ford Motor Company, who took him on to replace a disappointing Armin Schwarz mid-way through 1997. He stayed, clocking up many podium finishes in the newly-refettled M-Sport outfit's Escort WRC until the end of 1998, when Kankkunen left, understandably - given previous experiences - unwilling to chance possible subordinate status to new superstar signing Colin McRae.
Kankkunen has driven for, in addition to the aforementioned teams, Subaru World Rally Team and Hyundai. His tenure at the former included a brace of victories in 1999 in the Impreza WRC, his first since the last of his championship-winning years albeit minus the same final result. At the Rally Argentina, he was to famously - and controversially - upstage victor-elect Richard Burns to win amid a team-order wrangle, triggering the singular remark from Burns's co-driver Robert Reid, that "wherever there's a Finn, there's a shark."
Accompanying achievements include winning the 4-wheel class at the Dakar Rally in 1988. He also won the 1988 and 1991 Race of Champions.
Kankkunen, a Flying Finn himself, was one of the shareholders in the Flying Finn airline.
World Speed Record on Ice
In early 2007 Kankkunen set a new World Speed Record on Ice in a Bentley Continental GT on the frozen Baltic sea near Oulu. He averaged in both directions on the "flying kilometer", reaching a maximum speed of . Previously the record was held by a Bugatti EB110 Supersport.
The Bentley was largely standard except a roll-cage, some aerodynamic improvements and low-temperature fuel and calibration. Tires were from Nokian Tyres with spikes. Apparently there was some technical support by Nokian and Bentley Motors.
WRC Victories
| Number | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
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| 1 | 33rd Marlboro Safari Rally | 1985 | Fred Gallagher | Toyota Celica TCT | | 2 | 17ème Rallye Côte d'Ivoire | 1985 | Fred Gallagher | Toyota Celica TCT | | 3 | 36th International Swedish Rally | 1986 | Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | | 4 | | 1986 | Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | | 5 | 16th AWA Clarion Rally of New Zealand | 1986 | Juha Piironen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | | 6 | 22nd Olympus Rally | 1987 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta HF 4WD | | 7 | 36th Lombard RAC Rally | 1987 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta HF 4WD | | 8 | 2nd Commonwealth Bank Rally Australia | 1989 | Juha Piironen | Toyota Celica GT-Four | | 9 | 3rd Commonwealth Bank Rally Australia | 1990 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | | 10 | 39th Martini Safari Rally Kenya | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | | 11 | | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | | 12 | 41st 1000 Lakes Rally | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | | 13 | 4th Commonwealth Bank Rally Australia | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | | 14 | 47th Lombard RAC Rally | 1991 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | | 15 | 26° Rallye de Portugal | 1992 | Juha Piironen | Lancia Delta HF Integrale | | 16 | 41st Trustbank Safari Rally | 1993 | Juha Piironen | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | | 17 | 13° Rally Argentina | 1993 | Nicky Grist | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | | 18 | 43rd 1000 Lakes Rally | 1993 | Denis Giraudet | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | | 19 | 6th Telecom Rally Australia | 1993 | Nicky Grist | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | | 20 | 49th Network Q RAC Rally | 1993 | Nicky Grist | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | | 21 | 28° TAP Rallye de Portugal | 1994 | Nicky Grist | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | | 22 | 19° Rally Argentina | 1999 | Juha Repo | Subaru Impreza WRC | | 23 | 49th Neste Rally Finland | 1999 | Juha Repo | Subaru Impreza WRC |
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