Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the

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 ...

throughout the 1970s.

Career

Before WRC was established Aaltonen competed in the European Rally Championship. He won the championship in 1965, with Tony Ambrose as his co-driver. He also won the Finnish Rally Championship in 1961 and 1965. In 1966, he partnered Bob Holden in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to win the premier touring car race, the Gallaher 500, in a Mini Cooper S at Mount Panorama in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Aaltonen finished second on six occasions in the Safari Rally, which is considered one of the most difficult courses in rallying. In 1985, he was leading the rally by two hours when his engine broke down before the last few special stages. His other merits include winning the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1961, the RAC Rally in 1965, the

Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...

in 1967, the Southern Cross Rally in 1977, and a ''Coupe des Alpes'' at the Alpine Rally in 1963 and 1964. Despite now being remembered as one of the Flying Finns of rallying, Aaltonen started his career on speed boats and later moved on to motorcycles competing in

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 ...

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

and

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

. Before he became the first Finnish European Rally Champion, he was the first Finn to win a

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

competition. Aaltonen was a proponent of left-foot braking. In 2010, he was among the first four inductees into the Rally Hall of Fame, along with Erik Carlsson, Paddy Hopkirk and Timo Mäkinen. The technique of rotating a car by 360 degrees, while maintaining trajectory, was named after him.

Career results

Complete IMC results

Complete WRC results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Gallery

File:Rauno Aaltonen - 1965 Rally Finland.jpg, Aaltonen at the 1965 1000 Lakes Rally File:Mäkinen and Aaltonen - 1965 Rally Finland.jpg, Aaltonen behind Timo Mäkinen at the 1000 Lakes File:Rauno Aaltonen - 1965 Rally Finland 2.jpg, Aaltonen with co-driver Anssi Järvi File:2006FOS BMW2002tiRally.jpg, An ex-Aaltonen

BMW 2002tii The BMW 02 Series is a range of sporty compact executive cars produced by German automaker BMW between 1966 and 1977, based on a shortened version of the New Class Sedans. The first 02 Series produced was the 1600-2 (later renamed 1602) in 1966. ...

File:Rauno Aaltonen.JPG, Aaltonen pictured in 2008

References

External links

Aaltonen at RallyBase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaltonen, Rauno 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