Leo Kinnunen
Encyclopedia
Leo Juhani "Leksa" Kinnunen (born August 5, 1943 in Tampere
) is a Finnish
former car racer, the first Formula One
driver from his country. He is also remembered for his success in sportscar racing and rallying
.
Kinnunen won the Nordic Challenge Cup
in 1969, the Interserie
from 1971–1973, and helped Porsche
to take the World Sportscar Championship
for manufacturers in 1970
(drivers championships were not awarded until 1981). In 1974
, he switched to Formula One, but in addition to the problems with the underpowered Surtees
TS16, his team soon ran into financial problems. He was the last driver to compete in Formula One using an open-face helmet
.
s, but switched to four wheels after receiving his driver's license in the early 1960s. He quickly gained success in rallying, autocross
and ice racing
. He finished runner-up in the Finnish Rally Championship
and matched the points total of the winner Simo Lampinen
. Kinnunen also participated in the Finnish F3 Championship with an outdated Brabham in 1967, and a Titan which he drove to several victories in 1968, including one at Ahvenisto Race Circuit
in which he managed to beat Swedish
future Formula One star Ronnie Peterson
.
, predecessor of the popular Interserie
, with two wins and a second place at Keimola Motor Stadium
after a close battle with Jochen Rindt
. He was then invited to test a Porsche 917
at Österreichring
and made such an impression that he was hired to partner Pedro Rodriguez
in the World Sportscar Championship
. The pair surprised the racing world by winning the first race, 24 Hours of Daytona
, and went on to win the overall championship for Porsche
. For Kinnunen, however, this was unsatisfying time. The car was built for Rodriguez' measurements and driving style, and after Kinnunen managed to quickly outpace him with his own set-ups, he wasn't allowed to modify the car to suit his style anymore. His chance to shine finally came at Targa Florio
as Rodriguez was ill on the race day with the new Porsche 908/03. On the final lap of the race, Kinnunen set a time of 33'36min, breaking the old lap record by 1½ minutes. This is still the fastest ever time recorded for the track.
for Finnish
AAW Racing Team in the Interserie
. He won the championship in his debut year, despite withdrawing from the race at Norisring
after seeing his former team-mate Rodriguez crash into the barriers and lose his life. He eventually went on to win the championship three times in a row, in 1971, 1972 and 1973, with a total of 18 heat and 11 outright wins. In 1973, he also participated in the World Rally Championship
event 23rd 1000 Lakes Rally and finished third with his Porsche Carrera
, behind Timo Mäkinen
and Markku Alén
.
, which was controlling the series at the time and eventually won the World Constructors' Championship that season. After Rindt's sudden death at Monza
, the negotiations came to a halt. According to Kinnunen, Bernie Ecclestone
wanted him to drive for free. Kinnunen turned down the offer and demanded a wage for his services, as he was a professional
racer. This ended his Formula One career even before it had actually started, and he went to drive in the Interserie instead.
In 1974, Kinnunen was looking for a job and John Surtees
offered him one of his new Formula One cars, Surtees
TS16, on lease. Kinnunen accepted the offer since the Surtees TS14 had done well the previous season. After finally finding sponsorship, Kinnunen entered the series with a new team and a Cosworth
DFV V8 3.0 litre engine. Antti Aarnio-Wihuri allowed the team to use the name AAW Racing Team, which was recognized and had a good reputation in racing circles.
AAW Racing's first Grand Prix at Nivelles
turned out to be a disaster. The TS16 arrived in time for the race weekend, but Kinnunen had never even sat in the car before. It also turned out that the car had been used as a mobile testbed
by the factory, and it already had a damaged monocoque and rear suspension. On top of that, it was 80 kilos
overweight, the engine lacked power and the team was not allowed to get the top quality tires all the top teams had. When Kinnunen took the car on track, its gearbox broke after three laps. The team, consisting of only three mechanics, had no spare parts and repairing it turned out to be unsuccessful, as the gearbox broke again in qualifying, leaving Kinnunen without a recorded time and the only driver not to qualify for the race.
After Nivelles, the team concentrated on testing and fixing the car. They did not travel to Monaco
but entered the next race in Sweden
. Kinnunen managed to qualify 25th. Actually, only 24 cars were qualified for start but due his good relations within the Swedish motor sport circles Kinnunen was allowed to start the race. So was Vern Schuppan
who qualified 26th. Schuppan finished the race 12th but was disqualified from the results.
The AAW team knew that the car would not last the whole race, so they fueled it for only ten laps in order to make a quick press run. This compensated the overweight of their TS16 and Kinnunen managed to overtake five cars in eight laps before a spark plug problem forced him to retire. Kinnunen later told that one spark plug thread in the cylinder head had been stripped. A Ferrari mechanic loaned them a threaded insert kit to fix it but the Finns did not master the method and the plug never seated properly.
The rest of the season did not go well for the team either. They were not allowed to take part in the Dutch Grand Prix
and did not qualify for the races in France
, Great Britain
, Italy
and Austria
. Lack of funding then forced the team to retire from Formula One.
. He won both heats, and placed sixth overall in the championship just for the points from this race. Kinnunen was then hired by Martini Racing
to drive a Porsche 908
Turbo in the World Sportscar Championship in 1975. Partnered with Herbert Müller, his best result of the season was third at Nürburgring
. In 1976, he switched teams and raced a Porsche 934
Turbo with Egon Evertz. They managed to collect three podium places and the highlight of the season was a second place at Watkins Glen
. After the season the team quit in racing due to financial problems. Kinnunen quit his circuit racing career in 1977, but still raced in a few rally events in Finland, winning the 1979 Arctic Rally
. He is still active in the sport in administration and currently lives in Lieto
.
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
) is a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
former car racer, the first Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
driver from his country. He is also remembered for his success in sportscar racing and rallying
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
.
Kinnunen won the Nordic Challenge Cup
Nordic Challenge Cup
Nordic Challenge Cup was the predecessor of the popular and long-running sports car racing series Interserie, which is known as the "European Can-Am" and still exists today. NCC consisted of only three races in 1969 and was replaced by Interserie in 1970. It is now mostly remembered for the large...
in 1969, the Interserie
Interserie
Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series....
from 1971–1973, and helped Porsche
Porsche in motorsport
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted...
to take the World Sportscar Championship
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...
for manufacturers in 1970
1970 World Sportscar Championship season
The 1970 World Sportscar Championship season was the 18th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1970 International Championship for Makes and the 1970 International Cup for GT Cars, which were contested concurrently from 31 January to 11 October over a ten race...
(drivers championships were not awarded until 1981). In 1974
1974 Formula One season
The 1974 Formula One season was the 25th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over a fifteen race series which commenced on 13 January and ended on 6 October...
, he switched to Formula One, but in addition to the problems with the underpowered Surtees
Surtees
The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.-History:...
TS16, his team soon ran into financial problems. He was the last driver to compete in Formula One using an open-face helmet
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
.
Early career
Kinnunen started his racing career on motorcycleMotorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s, but switched to four wheels after receiving his driver's license in the early 1960s. He quickly gained success in rallying, autocross
Autocross
Autocross is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition and active participation. An autocross is a timed competition where drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either sealed or unsealed surfaces...
and ice racing
Ice racing
Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, All-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on carefully groomed frozen lots...
. He finished runner-up in the Finnish Rally Championship
Finnish Rally Championship
The Finnish Rally Championship is the national rally championship in Finland. The series currently has three classes; Group A , Group N and a group "n" for Group N cars with a 2000 cc engine limit...
and matched the points total of the winner Simo Lampinen
Simo Lampinen
Simo Lampinen is a Finnish former rally driver, and one of the first of the "Flying Finns" who came to dominate the sport.-Biography:...
. Kinnunen also participated in the Finnish F3 Championship with an outdated Brabham in 1967, and a Titan which he drove to several victories in 1968, including one at Ahvenisto Race Circuit
Ahvenisto Race Circuit
The Ahvenisto Race Circuit is a motorsport race track located in Hämeenlinna, Finland. The long circuit is run clockwise. The track has an elevation change of , the home straight is and the width varies from to ....
in which he managed to beat Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
future Formula One star Ronnie Peterson
Ronnie Peterson
Bengt Ronnie Peterson was a Swedish racing driver. He was a two-time runner-up in the FIA Formula One World Drivers' Championship.Peterson began his motor racing career in kart racing, traditionally the discipline where the majority of race drivers begin their careers in open-wheel racing...
.
International breakthrough
In 1969, Kinnunen had made a complete switch to circuit racing and won the Nordic Challenge CupNordic Challenge Cup
Nordic Challenge Cup was the predecessor of the popular and long-running sports car racing series Interserie, which is known as the "European Can-Am" and still exists today. NCC consisted of only three races in 1969 and was replaced by Interserie in 1970. It is now mostly remembered for the large...
, predecessor of the popular Interserie
Interserie
Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series....
, with two wins and a second place at Keimola Motor Stadium
Keimola Motor Stadium
The Keimola Motor Stadium was a dedicated race track located in Vantaa, Finland. It was founded by Finnish racing driver Curt Lincoln after the closure of the Eläintarha track in 1963. Construction started in 1965 and the track was opened on 12 June 1966. The track was long, consisting of eight...
after a close battle with Jochen Rindt
Jochen Rindt
Karl Jochen Rindt was a German racing driver who represented Austria during his career. He is the only driver to posthumously win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship , after being killed in practice for the Italian Grand Prix...
. He was then invited to test a Porsche 917
Porsche 917
The Porsche 917 is a racecar that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. Powered by the Type 912 flat-12 engine of 4.5, 4.9, or 5 litres, the 917/30 variant was capable of a 0- time of 2.3 seconds, 0– in 5.3 seconds, and a top speed of over .There are 6...
at Österreichring
Österreichring
The Red Bull Ring is an Austrian race circuit in Spielberg, Styria.The race circuit was founded as Österreichring and hosted the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from to . It was later shortened, rebuilt and renamed the A1-Ring, it hosted the Austrian Grand Prix again from...
and made such an impression that he was hired to partner Pedro Rodriguez
Pedro Rodriguez (racing driver)
Pedro Rodríguez was a Mexican Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was born in Mexico City and was the older brother of Ricardo Rodríguez.-Career:...
in the World Sportscar Championship
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...
. The pair surprised the racing world by winning the first race, 24 Hours of Daytona
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...
, and went on to win the overall championship for Porsche
Porsche in motorsport
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted...
. For Kinnunen, however, this was unsatisfying time. The car was built for Rodriguez' measurements and driving style, and after Kinnunen managed to quickly outpace him with his own set-ups, he wasn't allowed to modify the car to suit his style anymore. His chance to shine finally came at Targa Florio
Targa Florio
The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973...
as Rodriguez was ill on the race day with the new Porsche 908/03. On the final lap of the race, Kinnunen set a time of 33'36min, breaking the old lap record by 1½ minutes. This is still the fastest ever time recorded for the track.
Interserie
Kinnunen then moved on to drive Porsche 917Porsche 917
The Porsche 917 is a racecar that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. Powered by the Type 912 flat-12 engine of 4.5, 4.9, or 5 litres, the 917/30 variant was capable of a 0- time of 2.3 seconds, 0– in 5.3 seconds, and a top speed of over .There are 6...
for Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
AAW Racing Team in the Interserie
Interserie
Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series....
. He won the championship in his debut year, despite withdrawing from the race at Norisring
Norisring
The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, on the former Nazi party rally grounds site of the NSDAP party conventions. As the city's German name Nürnberg would lead to confusion with the already famous Nürburgring, the old name Noris was chosen for the simple track which is nowadays approx...
after seeing his former team-mate Rodriguez crash into the barriers and lose his life. He eventually went on to win the championship three times in a row, in 1971, 1972 and 1973, with a total of 18 heat and 11 outright wins. In 1973, he also participated in the World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
event 23rd 1000 Lakes Rally and finished third with his Porsche Carrera
Porsche Carrera
Carrera is a trademarked name exclusively used by Porsche for its models to honor the company's success in the Carrera Panamericana race.The following vehicles have been called Carrera:* Porsche 356* Porsche 904* Porsche 911...
, behind Timo Mäkinen
Timo Mäkinen
Timo Mäkinen was one of the original "Flying Finns" of motor rallying. He is most famous for his hat-tricks of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally-Career:...
and Markku Alén
Markku Alén
Markku Allan Alén is a Finnish former rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the record for most stage wins in the series until 2011...
.
Formula One
Kinnunen was close to moving to Formula One already for the 1971 season. With the help of Jochen Rindt he was negotiating for a race seat with Team LotusTeam Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
, which was controlling the series at the time and eventually won the World Constructors' Championship that season. After Rindt's sudden death at Monza
1970 Italian Grand Prix
The 1970 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 6, 1970. The race was marred by the death of Jochen Rindt, who died during the qualifying session on September 5...
, the negotiations came to a halt. According to Kinnunen, Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
wanted him to drive for free. Kinnunen turned down the offer and demanded a wage for his services, as he was a professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
racer. This ended his Formula One career even before it had actually started, and he went to drive in the Interserie instead.
In 1974, Kinnunen was looking for a job and John Surtees
John Surtees
John Surtees, OBE is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels...
offered him one of his new Formula One cars, Surtees
Surtees
The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.-History:...
TS16, on lease. Kinnunen accepted the offer since the Surtees TS14 had done well the previous season. After finally finding sponsorship, Kinnunen entered the series with a new team and a Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
DFV V8 3.0 litre engine. Antti Aarnio-Wihuri allowed the team to use the name AAW Racing Team, which was recognized and had a good reputation in racing circles.
AAW Racing's first Grand Prix at Nivelles
1974 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1974 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nivelles on May 12, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Clay Regazzoni - 1:09.82*Fastest lap: Denny Hulme - 1:11.31 on lap 37-Standings after the race:...
turned out to be a disaster. The TS16 arrived in time for the race weekend, but Kinnunen had never even sat in the car before. It also turned out that the car had been used as a mobile testbed
Testbed
A testbed is a platform for experimentation of large development projects. Testbeds allow for rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies.The term is used across many disciplines to describe a development environment that is...
by the factory, and it already had a damaged monocoque and rear suspension. On top of that, it was 80 kilos
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
overweight, the engine lacked power and the team was not allowed to get the top quality tires all the top teams had. When Kinnunen took the car on track, its gearbox broke after three laps. The team, consisting of only three mechanics, had no spare parts and repairing it turned out to be unsuccessful, as the gearbox broke again in qualifying, leaving Kinnunen without a recorded time and the only driver not to qualify for the race.
After Nivelles, the team concentrated on testing and fixing the car. They did not travel to Monaco
1974 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1974 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 26, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:26.3*Fastest lap: Ronnie Peterson - 1:27.9 on lap 57-Standings after the race:...
but entered the next race in Sweden
1974 Swedish Grand Prix
The 1974 Swedish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Scandinavian Raceway on June 9, 1974.The race was totally dominated by the two Tyrrell-Cosworth 007s of Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler. Depailler took pole position, however Scheckter beat him by 0.380 sec in the race, to score...
. Kinnunen managed to qualify 25th. Actually, only 24 cars were qualified for start but due his good relations within the Swedish motor sport circles Kinnunen was allowed to start the race. So was Vern Schuppan
Vern Schuppan
Vernon "Vern" Schuppan is a racing driver from Whyalla, South Australia. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.-Formula One:...
who qualified 26th. Schuppan finished the race 12th but was disqualified from the results.
The AAW team knew that the car would not last the whole race, so they fueled it for only ten laps in order to make a quick press run. This compensated the overweight of their TS16 and Kinnunen managed to overtake five cars in eight laps before a spark plug problem forced him to retire. Kinnunen later told that one spark plug thread in the cylinder head had been stripped. A Ferrari mechanic loaned them a threaded insert kit to fix it but the Finns did not master the method and the plug never seated properly.
The rest of the season did not go well for the team either. They were not allowed to take part in the Dutch Grand Prix
1974 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1974 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Zandvoort on June 23, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:18.31*Fastest lap: Ronnie Peterson - 1:21.44 on lap 63...
and did not qualify for the races in France
1974 French Grand Prix
The 1974 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon on July 7, 1974.- Race summary :To honor the 80th birthday of the ACF, a parade of vintage cars was organized with a selection of great drivers from the 20s and 30s up to the present day. The race itself was largely uneventful...
, Great Britain
1974 British Grand Prix
The 1974 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on 20 July 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:19.7*Fastest lap: Niki Lauda - 1:21.1 on lap 25...
, Italy
1974 Italian Grand Prix
The 1974 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 8, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:33.16*Fastest lap: Carlos Pace - 1:34.2 on lap 46...
and Austria
1974 Austrian Grand Prix
The 1974 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on August 18, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:35.40*Fastest lap: Clay Regazzoni - 1:37.22 on lap 46-Standings after the race:...
. Lack of funding then forced the team to retire from Formula One.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 1974 Formula One season The 1974 Formula One season was the 25th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over a fifteen race series which commenced on 13 January and ended on 6 October... |
AAW Racing Team | Surtees Surtees The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.-History:... TS16 |
Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
ARG 1974 Argentine Grand Prix The 1974 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held in Buenos Aires on January 13, 1974.-Start-of-season preliminaries:It had been one of the most frantic close seasons ever with only Ronnie Peterson, Denny Hulme, Carlos Reutemann and James Hunt remaining with their teams. Emerson Fittipaldi... |
BRA 1974 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1974 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Interlagos on January 27, 1974.- Race summary :Emerson Fittipaldi took pole position for his home race from Carlos Reutemann. The start of the race was delayed as the track had to be swept clear of broken glass from over-exuberant... |
RSA 1974 South African Grand Prix The 1974 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 30 March 1974.- Race summary :It was initially uncertain that the South African Grand Prix would go ahead due to the power crisis, but it did so, albeit belatedly in March... |
ESP 1974 Spanish Grand Prix The 1974 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jarama on April 28, 1974.- Race summary :With James Hunt's Hesketh having won the International Trophy, the season was one of the most open ever, with four different drivers from different teams having won the first four races and a... |
BEL 1974 Belgian Grand Prix The 1974 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nivelles on May 12, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Clay Regazzoni - 1:09.82*Fastest lap: Denny Hulme - 1:11.31 on lap 37-Standings after the race:... DNQ |
MON 1974 Monaco Grand Prix The 1974 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 26, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:26.3*Fastest lap: Ronnie Peterson - 1:27.9 on lap 57-Standings after the race:... |
SWE 1974 Swedish Grand Prix The 1974 Swedish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Scandinavian Raceway on June 9, 1974.The race was totally dominated by the two Tyrrell-Cosworth 007s of Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler. Depailler took pole position, however Scheckter beat him by 0.380 sec in the race, to score... Ret |
NED 1974 Dutch Grand Prix The 1974 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Zandvoort on June 23, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:18.31*Fastest lap: Ronnie Peterson - 1:21.44 on lap 63... |
FRA 1974 French Grand Prix The 1974 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon on July 7, 1974.- Race summary :To honor the 80th birthday of the ACF, a parade of vintage cars was organized with a selection of great drivers from the 20s and 30s up to the present day. The race itself was largely uneventful... DNQ |
GBR 1974 British Grand Prix The 1974 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on 20 July 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:19.7*Fastest lap: Niki Lauda - 1:21.1 on lap 25... DNQ |
GER 1974 German Grand Prix The 1974 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring on August 4, 1974. It was the 36th German Grand Prix and the 33rd to be held at the Nürburgring complex of circuits. The race was won by Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni driving a Ferrari 312B3... |
AUT 1974 Austrian Grand Prix The 1974 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on August 18, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:35.40*Fastest lap: Clay Regazzoni - 1:37.22 on lap 46-Standings after the race:... DNQ |
ITA 1974 Italian Grand Prix The 1974 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 8, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:33.16*Fastest lap: Carlos Pace - 1:34.2 on lap 46... DNQ |
CAN 1974 Canadian Grand Prix The 1974 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on September 22, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Emerson Fittipaldi - 1:13.188*Fastest lap: Niki Lauda - 1:13.659 on lap 60*First race: Penske... |
USA 1974 United States Grand Prix The 1974 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 6, 1974, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
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Late career
After a short run in Formula One, Kinnunen went back to the Interserie for the series' last event in HockenheimHockenheimring
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it biennially hosts the Formula One German Grand Prix...
. He won both heats, and placed sixth overall in the championship just for the points from this race. Kinnunen was then hired by Martini Racing
Martini Racing
Martini Racing is the name under which various motor racing teams raced when sponsored by the Martini & Rossi distillery that produces Martini vermouth. Martini's sponsorship program began in 1968...
to drive a Porsche 908
Porsche 908
The Porsche 908 was a racing car from Porsche, introduced in 1968 to continue the Porsche 906/Porsche 910/Porsche 907 series of models designed under Ferdinand Piech....
Turbo in the World Sportscar Championship in 1975. Partnered with Herbert Müller, his best result of the season was third at Nürburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
. In 1976, he switched teams and raced a Porsche 934
Porsche 934
The Porsche 934 was a racing version of the Porsche 911 Turbo, prepared to FIA Group 4 rules, similar to the Porsche 935 which was prepared to FIA Group 5 rules.-History:...
Turbo with Egon Evertz. They managed to collect three podium places and the highlight of the season was a second place at Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...
. After the season the team quit in racing due to financial problems. Kinnunen quit his circuit racing career in 1977, but still raced in a few rally events in Finland, winning the 1979 Arctic Rally
Arctic Rally
Arctic Rally, currently Arctic Lapland Rally and also known as Tunturiralli, is an annual rally competition held on ice and snow covered roads in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland. It has been organized continuously since 1966...
. He is still active in the sport in administration and currently lives in Lieto
Lieto
Lieto is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
.
Trivia
- Kinnunen was asked to drive in the film Le MansLe Mans (film)Le Mans is a 1971 action film directed by Lee H. Katzin. Starring Steve McQueen, it features footage from the actual 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race....
personally by actor and racing enthusiast Steve McQueenSteve McQueenTerrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
, who himself drove for Porsche in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Kinnunen's contract with Porsche did not allow the performance and he was replaced by David PiperDavid Piper-References:...
, who was severely injured during the filming of the film.