Rauno Aaltonen
Rauno Aaltonen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rauno August Aaltonen January 7, 1938 Turku, Finland |
| Occupation(s) | Rally driver, motorcycle racer |
| Years active | 1960s–1970s |
| Known for | European Rally Championship (1965), Finnish Rally Championship (1961, 1965), Bathurst 500 winner (1966), World Rally Championship competitor in the 1970s, first Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle race winner |
Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), often referred to as "The Rally Professor," is a retired Finnish rally driver who competed professionally in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s.
Career
Prior to the establishment of the WRC, Aaltonen secured the European Rally Championship title in 1965 alongside co-driver Tony Ambrose and claimed the Finnish Rally Championship in both 1961 and 1965. In 1966, he teamed up with Bob Holden to triumph at the renowned Gallaher 500 touring car event held at Mount Panorama, Australia, driving a Mini Cooper S.
Aaltonen finished second six times in the demanding Safari Rally, famously leading by two hours in 1985 before suffering an engine failure close to the finish. His notable wins include the 1000 Lakes Rally (1961), RAC Rally (1965), Monte Carlo Rally (1967), Southern Cross Rally (1977), and the Coupe des Alpes at the Alpine Rally (1963 and 1964).
He began his motorsport career competing in speed boats and various motorcycle disciplines such as road racing, speedway, and motocross. Aaltonen was Finland’s first victor in a Grand Prix motorcycle race before becoming European Rally Champion. He was an early proponent of left-foot braking and was honored with induction into the Rally Hall of Fame in 2010, alongside Erik Carlsson, Paddy Hopkirk, and Timo Mäkinen.
The maneuver involving spinning a car a full 360 degrees while maintaining its path is named in his honor.
Complete IMC results
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Ford Deutschland | Ford Capri RS2600 | MON | SWE | ITA | KEN Ret |
AUT | GRE | |||
| Nissan Datsun | Datsun 240Z | GBR 7 |
|||||||||
| 1971 | Yhtymä Oy Autokeskus | Datsun 240Z | MON 5 |
SWE | ITA | ||||||
| Nissan | KEN 7 |
MAR | |||||||||
| Nissan Europe Rally Team | GBR Ret |
||||||||||
| BMW AG | BMW 2002 TI | AUT Ret |
GRE | ||||||||
| 1972 | Nissan | Datsun 240Z | MON 3 |
SWE | KEN 6 |
||||||
| Nissan Europe Rally Team | GBR 11 | ||||||||||
| Citroën Compétitions | Citroën SM | MAR Ret |
|||||||||
| Sears Roebuck Ltd | BMW 2002 TI | GRE Ret |
|||||||||
| BMW AG | BMW 3.0 CSL | AUT Ret |
ITA | USA |
Full WRC Results
... (table continues with similar format and data) ...| Year | Team | Vehicle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Nissan | Datsun 240Z | MON 18 |
SWE | POR | KEN Ret |
N/A | N/A | |||||||||
| Fiat S.p.A | Fiat 124 Abarth Spider | MOR Ret |
GRE 2 |
POL | FIN | AUT | ITA | USA | |||||||||
| Irmscher Tuning | Opel Ascona |
style="background:#EFCFFF;" |GBR |
FRA | ||||||||||||||
| 1974 | African Roadways Ltd | Datsun 1800 SSS | MON C |
SWE C |
POR | KEN 6 |
GRE C |
FIN | ITA | CAN | USA | N/A | N/A | ||||
| Fiat S.p.A. | Fiat 124 Abarth Spider |
style="background:#CFCFFF;" |1974 Rally GB |
1974 Tour de Corse |
Complete Results from the 24 Hours of Le Mans
| Year | Team Name | Co-Drivers | Automobile | Category | Number of Laps | Overall Position | Class Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Template:Country data UKTemplate:Namespace detect showall Donald Healey Motor Company | Template:Country data UKTemplate:Namespace detect showall Clive Baker | Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite | P 1.5 | 256 | DNF | DNF |
Full Bathurst 500/1000 Race Outcomes
| Year | Team Name | Co-Drivers | Vehicle Model | Class Category | Completed Laps | Overall Result | Class Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall BMC Australia | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Bob Holden | Morris Cooper S | C | 130 | 1st | 1st |
| 1991 | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Bob Holden Motors | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Bob Holden Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Dennis Rogers |
Toyota Corolla | 3 | 124 | 20th | 4th |
Full British Saloon Car Championship Results
(Legend) (Bolded race numbers denote pole positions; italicized race numbers signify fastest laps.)
| Season | Team | Vehicle | Category | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Points | Class Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Ford Köln | Ford Capri 2300 GT | D | BRH | SNE | THR | SIL | CRY | SIL | SIL 27 |
CRO | BRH | OUL | BRH | BRH | NC | 0 | NC |
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Finnish rally drivers
- Finnish motorcycle racers
- Finnish racing drivers
- 125cc World Championship riders
- 1938 births
- World Rally Championship drivers
- Living people
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- Bathurst 1000 winners
- World Sportscar Championship drivers
- European Rally Championship drivers
- Sportspeople from Turku
- Australian Endurance Championship drivers