Ahvenisto Race Circuit () is a

motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

circuit located in

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

, Finland. The circuit is long. It features a total elevation change of , its main straight is in length and its width varies between . Its elevation changes, short or sometimes inexistent run-off areas, and numerous fast bends have led to some to suggest that it is the hardest and most dangerous race track in Finland, or even one of the most challenging in the world.

History

The construction of Ahvenisto Race Circuit was finished on July 15, 1967. The same year, "I Hämeenlinnan ajot 1967" became the first international event to be held at the circuit. The

Formula Two Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...

race was won by

Jochen Rindt Karl Jochen Rindt (; 18 April 1942 – 5 September 1970) was a racing driver, who competed under the Austrian flag in Formula One from to . Rindt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Lotus, and remains the only driver to ...

in a

Brabham BT23 The Brabham BT23 was a formula racing car built by Brabham in 1967. Development The BT23 was designed as a Formula 2 racing car and most of the vehicles of this type were also used in this racing series. There was also a Tasman version and some ...

ahead of

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...

's Brabham BT23C and

Jim Clark James Clark (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the ...

Lotus 48 The Lotus 48 was a Formula 2 racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Phillippe and powered by a Cosworth Cosworth#The FVA series, FVA Internal combustion engine, engine. It won three races in the hands of Jim Clark but was generally u ...

. The

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

race saw a battle between Finnish and Swedish drivers, with Sweden's Freddy Kottulinsky taking the win. Other notable entrants included

Leo Kinnunen Leo Juhani "Leksa" Kinnunen (5 August 1943 – 26 July 2017) was a Finnish racing driver, and the first Formula One driver from Finland. Kinnunen won the Nordic Challenge Cup in 1969, the Interserie from 1971–1973, and helped Porsche to take ...

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Superswede", Peterson twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in an ...

and

Reine Wisell Reine Tore Leif Wisell (30 September 1941 – 20 March 2022) was a Swedish racing driver. He participated in 23 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 4 October 1970. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 13 championshi ...

I Hämeenlinnan ajot 1967

Sports car and single-seater racing is however, not the only form of motorsport that Ahvenisto has hosted over the years. Notably, the 1960s and 1970s saw

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

events such as the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

Formula 750 Formula 750 was a FIM motorcycle road racing series based on a 750 cubic centimeter engine capacity. History The series began in 1971 as a collaboration between the American Motorcyclist Association and the Auto Cycle Union. The FIM adopte ...

held at the circuit, and between 1980 and 1999 a total of 18 FIA

European Rallycross Championship The European Rallycross Championship (former abbreviation ERC, now Euro RX or ERX) is a rallycross competition held in Europe, organised under the auspices of the FIA. History The predecessor championship began in 1973 as the Embassy/ERA Europ ...

events were organized on a modified, mixed-surface version of the circuit, with some of the run-offs converted into gravel sections. On 6 May 1984, what remains today the most severe helicopter accident in the history of Finland occurred at the track during a race. The pilot lost control of his helicopter while landing and crashed into an audience area, resulting in five spectators dead and 26 injured. The track reached its crowd record in 1985, when over 40,000 people arrived to watch ''Tähtien kisat'' ("The Race of Stars"), in which both

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

and

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

stars from around the world, including

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Piquet won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , , and , and won 23 ...

Keke Rosberg Keijo Erik "Keke" Rosberg (; born 6 December 1948) is a Finnish former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Rosberg won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won five Grand ...

Timo Salonen Timo Salonen (born 8 October 1951) is a Finnish former rally driver who won the 1985 World Rally Championship season for Peugeot. It was commented of him that he stood out from other drivers, because he was overweight, wore thick glasses and sm ...

and Michele Mouton, gathered at Ahvenisto to race in identical and near-standard

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

cars. Currently, the track mostly hosts races in national and

Nordic Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, the northern European countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and their North Atlantic territories * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern ...

championships and cups, including Finnish Touring Car Championship, NEZ Racing Championship, Nordic Supercar, Finnish Rallycross Championship and Historic Race Finland.

Lap records

While the official lap record stands at 1:13.226 and was achieved by Marko Nevalainen in a

car on September 16, 2000, the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

managed an unofficial lap record of 1:11.000 during his 1984 show run in a Williams FW08C Formula 1 car. Meanwhile, two-time Formula One world champion

Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with M ...

briefly held the lap record for the

Porsche Carrera Cup Porsche Carrera Cup (sometimes abbreviated PCC) is a number of one-make racing by Porsche premier series competed with, initially Porsche 911 Carrera Cup, then later Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The cars are specifically built by Porsche for on ...

class, recording a time of 1:19.905 during his visit to Ahvenisto on May 29, 2004 in a

Porsche 911 GT3 The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance homologation model of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is a range of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS. The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national ...

, but was surpassed by a 1:18.923 from Fredrik Ros the following year. As of June 2015, the fastest official race lap records at the Ahvenisto Race Circuit are listed as:

References

External links

*
Fansite
{{Formula 750 circuits Motorsport venues in Finland Sports venues completed in 1967 1967 establishments in Finland