Ari Vatanen

Ari Vatanen
Ari Vatanen
Born	Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen; April 27, 1952 (age 74); Tuupovaara, Finland
Occupation(s)	Rally driver, politician
Years active	1970–2008 (racing), 1999–2009 (politics)
Known for	1981 World Rally Championship drivers' champion; four-time Paris Dakar Rally winner; Member of the European Parliament (1999–2009)

Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen (born 27 April 1952) is a Finnish former rally driver who transitioned into politics, serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 until 2009. He secured the World Rally Championship drivers' crown in 1981 and claimed victory in the Paris Dakar Rally on four occasions, along with winning the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in 1997.

Racing career

Vatanen embarked on his rallying journey in 1970, making his World Rally Championship debut at the 1974 1000 Lakes Rally. That same year, he gained wider acclaim by winning the Nortti Rally behind the wheel of an Opel Ascona. His first international competition was the 1975 Rothmans 747 Rally held in Jamaica, where he finished twelfth alongside co-driver Gerry Phillips. By the end of that season, his impressive performance earned him a professional drive with Ford in a Ford Escort RS1800 for the RAC Rally, impressing Ford’s team manager Stuart Turner and securing a spot for the British Rally Championship campaign the following year.

During the 1976 Scottish Rally, part of the British Championship series, Vatanen’s Ford works team famously replaced a damaged differential using one borrowed from a spectator’s Ford Capri. Although he did not complete that event, he went on to win the British Rally Championship both in 1976 and again in 1980, with David Richards as his co-driver—Richards would later become Prodrive’s chairman. Between 1977 and 1980, Vatanen participated selectively in World Championship events representing Ford and later the semi-private Rothmans Rally Team after Ford withdrew. His maiden WRC victory came at the 1980 Acropolis Rally, followed by capturing the overall World Rally Championship title in 1981.

After parting ways with Richards in 1982, Terry Harryman took over as Vatanen’s co-driver. That year, Vatanen chose not to defend his world championship title and instead focused on competing in the British Championship before signing with Opel in 1983. Despite driving Opel’s less competitive two-wheel-drive Ascona and Manta models, he managed to win the Safari Rally.

In 1984, Vatanen joined Peugeot’s factory squad piloting the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16. Between mid-1984 and early 1985, he achieved an impressive streak of five consecutive world rally wins. Although considered a strong contender for the 1985 championship, multiple accidents hindered his campaign and allowed teammate Timo Salonen to take the title. A particularly severe crash during Rally Argentina resulted in life-threatening injuries and required a lengthy recovery period. Upon returning to competition in 1987, Vatanen claimed four Paris-Dakar Rally victories: three with Peugeot (1987, 1989, and 1990) and one driving for Citroën (1991). His Dakar career also involved controversy when his vehicle was stolen while leading the event in 1988.

Beyond traditional rallying, Vatanen triumphed at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb driving a highly modified Peugeot 405 T16 equipped with advanced aerodynamic features and four-wheel steering. This feat was captured in the renowned short film Climb Dance.

Vatanen remained active in WRC events until 1998. During 1989–1990, he competed sporadically for Mitsubishi Ralliart Europe, including a runner-up finish at the 1990 1000 Lakes Rally. From 1992 to 1993, he drove for Subaru World Rally Team, securing three second-place finishes before being replaced by Carlos Sainz after the ’93 season.

He returned to Ford in 1994 with a semi-private outfit and later as a factory substitute driver, achieving a podium at Rally Argentina—the same event where he had suffered his major accident nine years earlier. His later years featured occasional appearances, highlighted by a podium at the 1998 Safari Rally and participating in his milestone hundredth WRC event at that season’s final round in Great Britain.

In Dakar rallies during the early 2000s, Vatanen competed for Nissan between 2003 and 2005, finishing seventh overall in 2003. He also attempted participation with Volkswagen in 2007 but retired due to fire damage.

In September 2008, Vatanen took part in the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally—a round of the Scottish Rally Championship—reuniting with David Richards as co-driver in their original Rothmans-sponsored Ford Escort RS1800 from their early successful years together.

Personal life

Originating from the countryside of Tuupovaara in Eastern Finland, Vatanen spent his early years there. He is married to Rita and together they have four children: Kim (1972–2024), Ria (born 1980), Tua (born 1982), and Max (born 1990). The family owns residences in both Finland and France. Kim was involved in managing the career of present-day WRC competitor Sébastien Ogier, while Max competed in the 2016 British Rally Championship driving a Ford Fiesta R5 prepared by M-Sport.

In 1993, Vatanen relocated to southern France, where he purchased a farm and established a winery.

He is proficient in Finnish, English, and French.

Political career

Vatanen entered politics in 1999 when he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for Finland’s conservative National Coalition Party. His parliamentary work concentrated on issues such as automobile taxation, traffic regulations, development assistance, and agricultural matters.

He secured re-election in 2004 representing France's conservative Union for a Popular Movement. Although he stood again in 2009 as a National Coalition candidate, he did not win a seat.

In July 2009, Vatanen declared his intention to run for the presidency of the FIA, challenging incumbent Max Mosley; however, in October he was defeated by former Peugeot team principal and Ferrari executive Jean Todt.

Additionally, Vatanen is among the endorsers of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism.

WRC victories

No.	Rally	Year	Co-driver	Vehicle
1	Acropolis Rally	1980	David Richards	Ford Escort RS1800
2	Acropolis Rally	1981
3	Rallye do Brasil
4	1000 Lakes Rally
5	Safari Rally	1983	Terry Harryman	Opel Ascona 400
6	1000 Lakes Rally	1984		Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
7	Rallye Sanremo
8	RAC Rally
9	Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo	1985
10	Swedish Rally	1985

Complete WRC results

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	13	14	WDC	Points
1974	Ari Vatanen	Opel Ascona 19	MON C	SWE C	POR	KEN	GRE C	FIN Ret	ITA	CAN	USA	GBR	FRA			N/A	N/A
1975	Ford World Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1600	MON	SWE	KEN	GRC	MOR	POR	FIN Ret	ITA	FRA				N/A	N/A
1975	Ford World Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800								GBR Ret
1976	Ford World Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800	MON	SWE	POR	KEN	GRC	MOR	FIN Ret	ITA	FRA	GBR Ret		N/A	N/A
1977	Ford World Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800	MON	SWE	POR Ret	KEN Ret	NZL 2	GRC Ret	FIN Ret	CAN Ret	ITA Ret	FRA	GBR Ret	NC	0
1978	Ford World Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800	MON	SWE 5	KEN	POR Ret	GRC	FIN Ret	CAN	ITA	CIV	FRA		8th	11
1978	Marlboro	Ford Escort RS1800								GBR DSQ
Note: For brevity, detailed event-by-event results are omitted; emphasis is placed on principal victories and team affiliations.

Full Dakar Rally results

Year	Category	Manufacturer	Final Position	Stages Completed
1987	Car	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Peugeot	1st	3
1988			Disqualified	4
1989			1st	7
1990			1st	7
1991		Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Citroën	1st	5
1992			7th place	7
1993			8th place	2
1994	did not participate
1995	Car	Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Citroën	Did Not Finish	3
1996	Car		4th place	7
1997–2002	did not participate
2003	Car	Template:Country data JPN Template:Namespace detect showall Nissan	7th place	4
2004			Did Not Finish	1
2005			39th place	0
2006	did not participate
2007	Car	Germany Volkswagen	Did Not Finish	0

Complete European Touring Car Championship results

(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (Bold indicates pole position; italics denote fastest lap)

Year	Team	Vehicle	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	DC	Points
1977	Template:Country data FRG Template:Namespace detect showall KWS Freizeit Team	Ford Escort RS2000	Autodromo Nazionale Monza#MNZ	Salzburgring#SAL	Mugello Circuit#MUG	Autodromo di Pergusa#PER	Masaryk Circuit#BRN	"Retired"					NC ! 0
1982	Template:Country data FRG Template:Namespace detect showall Eichberg Racing	Ford Capri III 3.0S								12th place				NC ! 0

External links