Toni Markus Vilander (born 25 July 1980) is a Finnish professional racing driver who currently drives for the

Risi Competizione Risi Competizione is an Italo- American auto racing Ferrari factory-backed team formed by Giuseppe Risi in 1997. Initially, the team had a partnership with Doyle Racing using the name Doyle-Risi Racing, but soon Giuseppe Risi took full control of ...

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

team in various categories of

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

. After a single-seater career which reached the level of the

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecc ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Vilander switched to GT racing. He has had numerous successes with

AF Corse AF Corse is an Italian auto racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in Piacenza. Strongly linked to the Maserati and Ferrari brands, AF Corse currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Chal ...

, winning the and

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

races in the LMGTE Pro class, as well as the FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and also the GT2 class championship of the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Career

Born in

Kankaanpää Kankaanpää () is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. Kankaanpää was founded in 1865, became a township in 1967 and finally a town in 1972. It is located in the crossroads of Häm ...

, Vilander started racing karts at the age of five, winning the Junior A class of the Finnish Karting Championship in 1995, and both the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

championships in 1999. He then upgraded to

open-wheel cars An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

in 2001. By 2004, he was competing in Italian Formula 3 with the Coloni team, and upgraded to Italian Formula 3000 in 2005, as well as competing in the Italian GT series. However, trouble was brewing in the Coloni GP2 team, as lead driver

Gianmaria Bruni Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni (born 30 May 1981) is an Italian Porsche factory auto racing driver who drove in the 2004 Formula One World Championship for Minardi. He is a GP2 Series race winner and is now racing in the FIA World Endurance Championsh ...

had a row and left mid-season. Vilander got the call-up from Coloni to be Bruni's temporary substitute and competed in the Italian and Belgian rounds of the championship. He proved a competent midfield runner, finishing 15th, 8th, 14th and 13th in the four races in which he took part. For the season-closing double-header in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, Coloni chose to replace Vilander with

Ferdinando Monfardini Ferdinando Monfardini (born 20 November 1984 in Isola della Scala) is an Italian race car driver. He raced in the 2005 and 2006 GP2 Series seasons, having previously raced in the Formula 3000 series which it replaced. Career Monfardini started ...

, and Toni went back to his normal drives. Vilander finished 25th overall in the series' inaugural year with no points, but was more successful in Italian Formula 3000, where he finished fourth with 23 points, and more successful still in Italian GT2, where he was crowned champion with his co-driver Alessandro Pier Guidi, scoring a total of 182 points. In January 2006, Vilander, Pier Guidi and

Giambattista Giannoccaro Giambattista Giannoccaro (born 22 October 1960 in Fasano, Italy) is an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur. He owns his own racing team, Scuderia Playteam, which he has competed for. He is an Italian GT Championship, Italian GT Champion and Sp ...

won the GT2 class of the

Mil Milhas Brasil The Mil Milhas Brasil (also known as the Mil Milhas Brasileiras or 1000 Miles of Brazil in Portuguese) is a sports car endurance race held annually in Brazil since 1956. The Mil Milhas has been held nearly every year since its inception and is ...

race and were placed fourth overall, driving a

Ferrari 360 The Ferrari 360 (Type F131) is a two-seater mid-engine rear-wheel drive sports car manufactured by Ferrari from 1999 until 2004. It succeeded the Ferrari F355 and was replaced by the Ferrari F430 in 2004. Development history Ferrari partnered ...

. Using that same car, he went on to win that year's GT2 class of the Italian GT Championship. He also won the GT1 class of the 2006

Italian GT Championship The Italian GT Championship (''Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo'') is an Italian sports car series founded in 2003 and organized by the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) and the Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana (CSAI). It replaced a ...

with Giannoccaro, driving a

Maserati MC12 The Maserati MC12 (''Tipo M144S'') is a limited production two-seater sports car produced by Italian car maker Maserati from 2004 to 2005, to allow a racing variant to compete in the FIA GT Championship. The car entered production in 2004, with ...

. For one race, he made a guest appearance in the

. Continuing his sportscar success, Vilander won the GT2 class of the 2007 FIA GT Championship with teammate Dirk Müller. In

he teamed up with

and retained his title. He also competed in the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

alongside

Jaime Melo Jaime Melo Jr. (born 24 April 1980) is a Brazilian professional racing driver best known for his success in grand tourers as Ferrari driver. In 2006, he won the FIA GT Championship in the GT2 class driving for AF Corse, and the following year, h ...

in a Ferrari 458 Italia GTC for

Vilander has competed in six

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with the Monaco Grand ...

races from 2008 onwards, driving Ferraris for the

team. In

, he shared a

Ferrari 430 The Ferrari F430 (Type F131) is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 2004 until 2009 as a successor to the Ferrari 360. The car is an update to the 360 with exterior and performance changes. It was unveiled a ...

with

Thomas Biagi Thomas Biagi (born 7 May 1976, in Bologna), is an Italian professional racing driver. Biagi started his career in open wheel racing, single seaters, driving in Formula Alfa Boxer and Italian Formula Three Championship, where he was 5th best in 19 ...

and Christian Montanari in the GT2 class but failed to finish. Two years later, he returned to La Sarthe to drive a

Ferrari 458 Italia The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is an Italian mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The 458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turi ...

with

Jean Alesi Jean Robert Alesi (; born Giovanni Roberto Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Alesi won the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix with Ferrari. Born and raised in Avignon, Alesi started karting a ...

and

Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo "Giano" Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fisichella won three Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Bo ...

, finishing 16th overall and fourth in the GT2 class. In

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

he again drove a 458 with Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni in the new GTE-Pro category, improving to 13th overall and second in class having held the class lead for much of the 24 hours. For the 2012 race, the trio returned and won the class convincingly (finishing 17th overall) despite the car having to be completely rebuilt for the race following Fisichella's crash in practice, missing qualifying and starting from the back of the grid as a result. In , he again drove a 458 for AF Corse, this time with

Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese racing driver and motorsport executive, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, Toyota and in Super Formula for KC Motorgroup, KCMG. Kobayashi competed in Formula One from to . In end ...

and

Olivier Beretta Olivier Henri Aldo Léopold Beretta (born 23 November 1969) is a professional racing driver from Monaco who raced in Formula One in 1994 for the Larrousse team, partnering Érik Comas. He participated in 10 Grands Prix, debuting on 27 March 199 ...

, finishing fifth in the GTE-Pro class. He was reunited with Bruni and Fisichella once more for the race, and the trio took another class victory. Vilander made his début in the

FIA GT1 World Championship The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. I ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, again driving a Ferrari 458 Italia for AF Corse alongside Filip Salaquarda. The duo took two victories—one at the Slovakiaring and the other at the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

—and Vilander finished ninth in the drivers' standings after missing the final round of the season. He did not return to the series in 2013 due to his increased World Endurance Championship commitments for the team. Vilander has competed in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

since the series was launched in

, having made sporadic appearances in the interim

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

series which preceded it. In 2012 he shared a Ferrari 458 Italia with Bruni and Fisichella in AF Corse's lead entry for three of the championship's eight rounds, winning at Le Mans and in

, assisting the team to win the LMGTE Pro Trophy. For the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

season, he was switched to the team's second entry full-time, with

and

. For the final race in

, he was swapped with Fisichella in the lead entry due to the latter's disappointing performances, and duly won the class with Bruni to narrowly retain AF Corse's class championship over the works

Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston ...

team. With Kobayashi returning to

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 ...

, Vilander remains with the lead AF Corse team in

with Bruni, and has won the races at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

and Le Mans (the latter also with Fisichella) to lead the GTE manufacturers' championship and the newly introduced GTE drivers' championship after three races. In 2016 Vilander will team up with

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

.http://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/imsa-toni-vilander-teams-up-with-giancarlo-fisichella-at-risi-ferrari-_2_2_1746_23116.html On 5 February 2017, Vilander won the 2017 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour at the

Mount Panorama Circuit Mount Panorama Circuit, officially Mount Panorama/Wahluu via dual naming, is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race ...

in Bathurst,

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 ...

for Australian team Maranello Motorsport driving with multiple

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...

winners

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing car driver in the Supercars Championship, Repco Supercars Championship racing for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Superca ...

and

Jamie Whincup Jamie David Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Ho ...

in a Ferrari 488 GT3 to become the second Finnish driver to win the

Bathurst 12 Hour The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual endurance race for Group GT3, GT and Production car racing, production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, in Bathurst, New South ...

after

Mika Salo Mika Juhani Salo (born 30 November 1966) is a Finnish former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999, when he stood in for the injured Michael Schumach ...

had won the event in

. Despite it being his first drive at Bathurst, Vilander impressed when claimed the Allan Simonsen Trophy for pole position and in a brilliant drive also set the fastest lap of the race.

Racing record

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete FIA GT Championship results

Complete GT1 World Championship results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

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

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vilander, Toni 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Kankaanpää Finnish racing drivers Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers GP2 Series drivers Auto GP drivers Italian Formula Three Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers FIA GT Championship drivers American Le Mans Series drivers European Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers FIA GT1 World Championship drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers GT World Challenge America drivers Scuderia Coloni drivers AF Corse drivers Karting World Championship drivers Extreme Speed Motorsports drivers SMP Racing drivers Piquet GP drivers Team Astromega drivers RP Motorsport drivers Ferrari Competizioni GT drivers DragonSpeed drivers