Famous Finnish Rally Drivers

Vote for Your Favourite Finnish Rally Drivers

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 1 
Kalle Rovanperä
(Finnish Professional Rally Driver)
Kalle Rovanperä
1
Birthdate: October 1, 2000
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Jyväskylä, Finland
 2 
Henri Toivonen
(Finnish Rally Driver Who Became the Youngest Driver Ever to Become the World Rally Champion)
Henri Toivonen
2
Birthdate: August 25, 1956
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Jyväskylä, Finland
Died: May 2, 1986

Henri Toivonen was a Finnish rally driver who became the youngest driver ever to become the World Rally Champion in 1980. The record was later broken by his countryman Jari-Matti Latvala in 2008. Henri Toivonen is also known as the son of Pauli Toivonen, who won the 1968 European Rally Championship title.

 3 
Tommi Mäkinen
(One of the Most Successful World Rally Championship Drivers of All Time)
Tommi Mäkinen
1
Birthdate: June 26, 1964
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Puuppola, Finland

Tommi Mäkinen is a Finnish former racing driver. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful World Rally Championship (WRC) drivers of all time; he won four World Rally Championship titles during his career. After retiring as a driver, Tommi Mäkinen established himself as a racing executive.

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 4 
Ari Vatanen
(Finnish Rally Driver Turned Politician)
Ari Vatanen
1
Birthdate: April 27, 1952
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tuupovaara, Finland

Ari Vatanen is a rally driver-turned-politician who won the drivers' title at the 1981 World Rally Championship as well as the prestigious Paris Dakar Rally on four occasions. He also won the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in 1997. Since 2013, Ari Vatanen has been serving as the president of the Autosport Union in Estonia.

 5 
Keke Rosberg
(Former Finnish Racing Driver Who Won the 1982 'F1 World Championship')
Keke Rosberg
3
Birthdate: December 6, 1948
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Solna Municipality Solna, Sweden

Keke Rosberg is a Finnish retired racing driver best known for winning the Formula One World Championship in 1982. Rosberg was the first Finnish champion in the history of the Formula One World Championship. Keke Rosberg has also achieved popularity as the father of the 2016 F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg.

 6 
Marcus Grönholm
(One of the Most Successful 'World Rallycross Championship' Drivers of All Time)
Marcus Grönholm
5
Birthdate: February 5, 1968
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Kauniainen, Finland

Marcus Grönholm is a Finnish retired rally and rallycross driver. With 34 rally wins and two championships under his belt, Marcus Grönholm is considered one of the most successful World Rallycross Championship (WRC) drivers of all time.

 7 
Juha Kankkunen
(Finnish Retired Rally Driver Who Won Four 'Drivers' World Championship' Titles)
Juha Kankkunen
1
Birthdate: April 2, 1959
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Laukaa, Finland

Juha Kankkunen is a Finnish retired rally driver. He is best known for winning four drivers' world championship titles and 23 world rallies during his illustrious career. A successful driver, Juha Kankkunen competed for popular teams like Toyota, Peugeot, Ford, Subaru, and Hyundai.  

 8 
Heikki Kovalainen
(Finnish Racing Driver, Who Competed in the Formula 1 Between 2007 and 2013)
Heikki Kovalainen
4
Birthdate: October 19, 1981
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Suomussalmi, Finland

Finnish F-1 racing driver, who has driven for teams such as Caterham-Renault, Lotus F1, and McLaren. He was the 100th driver to win a F-1 Grand Prix. Though he has competed in the Australian and Brazilian Grand Prix, he scored his only win at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2008.

 9 
Hannu Mikkola
(Finnish Rally Driver)
Hannu Mikkola
0
Birthdate: May 24, 1942
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Joensuu, Finland
Died: February 25, 2021
Hannu Mikkola was a Finnish rally driver. A seven-time champion of the 1000 Lakes Rally, Mikkola also won the Great Britain's RAC Rally on four occasions. In 2011, he was made an inductee of the Rally Hall of Fame.
 10 
Jari-Matti Latvala
(Finnish Professional Rally Driver)
Jari-Matti Latvala
3
Birthdate: April 3, 1985
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Töysä, Finland

Jari-Matti Latvala is a Finnish rally driver. Best known for his aggressive driving style, which often draws comparison to the late Colin McRae, Jari-Matti Latvala is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC) to not have won a championship.

 11 
Markku Alen
(Finnish Retired Rally and Race Car Driver)
Markku Alen
1
Birthdate: February 15, 1951
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland

Markku Alen is a Finnish retired rally and race car driver. He had an impressive record in the World Rally Championship, although he never won the championship itself. Markku Alen is credited with coining and popularizing the phrase, now maximum attack.  

 12 
Mikko Hirvonen
(Former Finnish Rally Driver, Who Has Had 15 Wins in the World Rally Championship)
Mikko Hirvonen
0
Birthdate: July 31, 1980
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Kannonkoski, Finland

Legendary Finnish rally driver Mikko Hirvonen had an illustrious 13-year World Rally career. The Scandinavian racing sensation has scored 15 wins and 69 podium finishes in the World Rally Championship, and been a 4-time runner-up. He is known for his successful stints with co-drivers Jarmo Lehtinen and Miikka Anttila.

 13 
Timo Makinen
(Finnish Rally Driver)
Timo Makinen
1
Birthdate: March 18, 1938
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland
Died: May 4, 2017
 14 
Timo Salonen
(Finnish Retired Rally Driver)
Timo Salonen
0
Birthdate: October 8, 1951
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland

Timo Salonen is a Finnish retired rally driver best known for winning the 1985 World Rally Championship for Peugeot. Salonen was initially written off by the media and the experts as he was overweight, smoked heavily, and wore thick glasses. However, Timo Salonen proved his critics wrong by becoming the most successful driver of World Rally Championship's Group B era.

 15 
Harri Toivonen
(Finland’s Former Rally and Race Car Driver)
Harri Toivonen
1
Birthdate: October 22, 1960
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland
 16 
Pentti Airikkala
(Finnish Rally Driver)
Pentti Airikkala
1
Birthdate: September 4, 1945
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland
Died: September 30, 2009