Pentti Airikkala
Encyclopedia
Pentti Airikkala was one of the 'Flying Finns' who dominated world rallying in the past four decades. His career was more sporadic than many of his contemporaries, and he competed in only three 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...

 (WRC) events regularly; the two Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

n rallies (the 1000 Lakes and the Swedish Rally
Swedish Rally
The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...

) and the RAC Rally in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Airikkala was born in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, Finland
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...

. Most of his top flight competitive experience was behind the wheel of various rear wheel drive Vauxhall
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...

/Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...

s like the Chevette HS and Magnum coupé
Vauxhall Magnum
The Magnum was a car manufactured by Vauxhall Motors from 1973 to 1978. First seen at the London Motor Show in October 1973, the Magnum as was an HC Viva with a larger engine, more luxurious interior, vinyl roof, higher trim level and twin headlights...

, but his greatest success came in the twilight of his career, when he exploited his local knowledge as a longtime UK resident to win the 1989 RAC Rally in a Group A
Group A
In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed...

 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
The Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 was the range-topping version of Mitsubishi Motors' Galant model, available in the sixth , seventh and eighth generations of the vehicle...

. He is still the third oldest driver to win a WRC event.

Altogether he competed in 36 WRC events between 1973 and 1990, and a 37th in 2003, scoring 102 points and achieving a best of 9th overall in the 1981 Drivers' Championship. He also contested the British Rally Championship
British Rally Championship
The Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship is a yearly rallying series based in the United Kingdom. It comprises seven events with eight scoring opportunities throughout the British Isles. The first championship was run in 1958 and it has been licensed by the MSA Motor Sports Association since...

 in the 1970s/80s, becoming British Rally Champion in 1979. Since retiring from full-time international competition he operated a highly successful race driving school in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, where his roster of pupils included subsequent World Champions Colin McRae
Colin McRae
Colin Steele McRae, MBE was a Scottish rally driver born in Lanark.The son of five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and brother of rally driver Alister McRae, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion and, in 1995, became the first British person and the youngest to win the...

 and Richard Burns
Richard Burns
Richard Alexander Burns was an English rally driver. He was born in Reading, Berkshire. He was the 2001 World Rally Champion, having previously finished runner-up in the series in 1999 and 2000. He also helped Mitsubishi to the world manufacturers' title in 1998, and Peugeot in 2002...

.

Death

Airikkala died at Bray, Berkshire
Bray, Berkshire
Bray, sometimes known as Bray on Thames, is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It stands on the banks of the River Thames, just south-east of Maidenhead. It is famous as the village mentioned in the song The Vicar of Bray...

, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, aged 64. He had been battling illness in recent years and was admitted to hospital shortly before his death after suffering liver problems and a fall.

WRC victories

 #  Event Season Co-driver Car
1   38th Lombard RAC Rally
Rally GB
Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and was formerly a round of the MSA British Rally Championship and is based in and around the city of Cardiff in Wales...

1989
1989 World Rally Championship season
The 1989 World Rally Championship season was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season...

Ronan McNamee Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
The Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 was the range-topping version of Mitsubishi Motors' Galant model, available in the sixth , seventh and eighth generations of the vehicle...


Complete WRC results

Year Team/Entrant Car WRC Round WDC Points
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
1973 Opel Finland Opel Kadett
Opel Kadett
The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel between 1937 and 1940, and then again from 1962 until 1991 , when it was replaced by the Opel Astra.-Original model :...

MON
1973 Monte Carlo Rally
The 1973 Monte Carlo Rally was the 42nd running of the Monte Carlo Rally, one of the world's oldest and most well-known automobile rallies. Run in late January and hosted in the principality of Monaco, the 1973 rally was notable for being the first rally on the Fédération Internationale de...

SWE
1973 International Swedish Rally
The 1973 International Swedish Rally was the 24th running of the International Swedish Rally and the second round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-February around Karlstad, Sweden, the rally was the only snow and ice rally of the WRC calendar, a distinction it would...

POR
1973 Rally of Portugal
The 1973 Rally of Portugal was the 7th running of the Rallye de Portugal and the third round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-March in southern Portugal on a mixture of asphalt and gravel, the rally began with a concentration run from a number of European cities,...

KEN
1973 Safari Rally
The 1973 East African Safari Rally was the 21st running of the Safari Rally, and the fourth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-April in central Kenya, the Safari was a markedly different rally from the other dates on the WRC schedule...

MAR
1973 Rally of Morocco
The 1973 Rally of Morocco was the 16th running of the Rally of Morocco, and the fifth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-May between Morocco's two major cities, Rabat and Casablanca, the Rallye du Maroc was a very long stage rally covering more than 1200 km on both...

GRE
1973 Acropolis Rally
The 1973 Acropolis Rally was the 21st running of the Acropolis Rally, and the fifth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in late-May on the punishing hot gravel roads of central Greece, the Acropolis is a long-standing event on the WRC calendar.In 1973, and for several years...

PLD
1973 Polish Rally
The 1973 Polish Rally was the 33rd running of the Rally Poland, and the seventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-July in southern Poland, this marked to only year in which Poland was part of the WRC calendar...

FIN
1973 1000 Lakes Rally
The 1973 1000 Lakes Rally was the 23rd running of the 1000 Lakes Rally , and the eighth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in early August in central Finland, this rally marked a distinct change from the previous event in the series, the 33 Rajd Polski...


RET
AUT
1973 Austrian Alpine Rally
The 1973 Austrian Alpine Rally was the 44th running of the Austrian rally, and the ninth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-September around Baden, Austria, the rally was entirely on gravel surface special stages...

ITA
1973 Sanremo Rally
The 1973 Sanremo Rally was the 15th running of the Italian rally, and the tenth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-October around Sanremo, Italy, the rally was a mixed surface rally, with some stages on tarmac and others on gravel...

USA
1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally
The 1973 Press-on-Regardless Rally was the 25th running of the American rally, and the eleventh round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run at the outset of November in the State of Michigan in the United States, the rally was run entirely on gravel.Due to a combination of...

GBR
1973 RAC Rally
The 1973 Daily Mirror RAC Rally was the 22nd running of the British rally, and the twelfth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-November in the County of Yorkshire in England, the rally was run primarily on gravel, with some sections of tarmac as well...

FRA N/A N/A
1974 Dealer Team Vauxhall Vauxhall Magnum Coupé
Vauxhall Magnum
The Magnum was a car manufactured by Vauxhall Motors from 1973 to 1978. First seen at the London Motor Show in October 1973, the Magnum as was an HC Viva with a larger engine, more luxurious interior, vinyl roof, higher trim level and twin headlights...

POR
1974 Rally Portugal
The 1974 Rally of Portugal was the 8th running of the Rallye de Portugal and was the first round of the 1974 World Rally Championship season after the oil crisis forced the cancellation of the Monte Carlo and Swedish rallies....

KEN
1974 Safari Rally
The 1974 Safari Rally was the 22nd East African Safari Rally and the second round of the shortened 1974 World Rally Championship season. It took place between April 11 and April 15, 1974. The Safari Rally didn't use special stages at this time to decide a winner...

FIN
16
ITA CAN USA N/A N/A
Center Hotels/
Clarke & Simpson
Ford Escort RS1600 GBR
RET
FRA
1975 Dealer Team Vauxhall Vauxhall Magnum Coupé
Vauxhall Magnum
The Magnum was a car manufactured by Vauxhall Motors from 1973 to 1978. First seen at the London Motor Show in October 1973, the Magnum as was an HC Viva with a larger engine, more luxurious interior, vinyl roof, higher trim level and twin headlights...

MON SWE KEN GRE MAR POR FIN
RET
ITA GBR
20
FRA N/A N/A
1976 Privateer Ford Escort RS1600 MON SWE POR KEN GRE MAR FIN
2
ITA FRA N/A N/A
Team Avon Tyres GBR
RET
1977 Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica
Toyota Celica
The Toyota Celica name has been applied to a series of coupes made by the Japanese company Toyota. The name is ultimately derived from the Latin word coelica meaning "heavenly" or "celestial"....

MON FIN SWE
RET
POR KEN NZL GRE ITA
1977 Giro d'Italia
The 1977 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 60th running of the Corsa Rosa, was held from 20 May to 12 June 1977. It was won by the Belgian Michel Pollentier....

SA PLD 0*
Dealer Team Vauxhall Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HSR
Vauxhall Chevette
The Chevette was a supermini model of car manufactured by Vauxhall in the UK from 1975 to 1984. It was Vauxhall's version of the family of small "T-Cars" from Vauxhall's parent General Motors ; the family included the Opel Kadett in Germany, the Isuzu Gemini in Japan, the Holden Gemini in...

FIN
RET
ITA CAN FRA ITA AUS ESP FRA GBR
16
CIV
1978 Dealer Team Vauxhall Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HSR
Vauxhall Chevette
The Chevette was a supermini model of car manufactured by Vauxhall in the UK from 1975 to 1984. It was Vauxhall's version of the family of small "T-Cars" from Vauxhall's parent General Motors ; the family included the Opel Kadett in Germany, the Isuzu Gemini in Japan, the Holden Gemini in...

MON FIN SWE
RET
KEN POR GRE SCO
2
PLD FIN
3
NZL CAN FRA ITA ITA
1978 Giro d'Italia
The 1978 Giro d'Italia, the 61st running of the race, was held from 20 May to 10 June 1978. It was won by the Belgian Johan de Muynck.This edition covered 3,610 km, in 20 stages, completed at an average speed of 35.56 km/h....

AUS ESP CIV FRA GBR
RET
10th 10*
1979 Dealer Team Vauxhall Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HSR
Vauxhall Chevette
The Chevette was a supermini model of car manufactured by Vauxhall in the UK from 1975 to 1984. It was Vauxhall's version of the family of small "T-Cars" from Vauxhall's parent General Motors ; the family included the Opel Kadett in Germany, the Isuzu Gemini in Japan, the Holden Gemini in...

MON SWE
3
POR KEN GRE NZL
RET
FIN
RET
CAN ITA FRA GBR
7
CIV 15th 16
1980
1980 World Rally Championship season
The 1980 World Rally Championship season was the eighth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 12 rallies...

Dealer Team Vauxhall Vauxhall Chevette 2300 HSR
Vauxhall Chevette
The Chevette was a supermini model of car manufactured by Vauxhall in the UK from 1975 to 1984. It was Vauxhall's version of the family of small "T-Cars" from Vauxhall's parent General Motors ; the family included the Opel Kadett in Germany, the Isuzu Gemini in Japan, the Holden Gemini in...

MON SWE
6
POR KEN GRE ARG FIN
RET
GBR
RET
CIV 36th 6
Masport Ford Escort RS2000 NZL
RET
ITA FRA
1981
1981 World Rally Championship season
The 1981 World Rally Championship season was the ninth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 12 rallies...

Rothman's Rally Team Ford Escort RS1800 MON SWE
3
POR KEN FRA GRE ARG BRA FIN
5
ITA CIV GBR
4
9th 30
1982
1982 World Rally Championship season
The 1982 World Rally Championship season was the tenth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 12 rallies. By this time, the schedule format had become generally stable, with only one or two changes to venues year to year...

Team Ralliart
Ralliart
Ralliart was the high-performance and motorsports division of Mitsubishi Motors. It was responsible for development and preparation of the company's rally racing and off-road racing vehicles, as well as the development of high-performance models and parts available to the public...

Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo
Mitsubishi Lancer
The Mitsubishi Lancer is a family car built by Mitsubishi Motors. It has been known as the Colt Lancer, Dodge/Plymouth Colt, Chrysler Valiant Lancer, Chrysler Lancer, Eagle Summit, Hindustan Lancer, Soueast Lioncel, Mitsubishi Carisma, and Mitsubishi Mirage in various countries at different times,...

MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE NZL BRA FIN
3
ITA CIV GBR
RET
15th 12
1983 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...

Lancia Rallye 037
Lancia 037
The Lancia Rally 037 was a mid-engine rally car built by Lancia in the early 1980s purely for the FIA Group B World Rally Championship. Driven by Markku Alén, Attilio Bettega, and Walter Röhrl, the car won Lancia the manufacturers' world championship in the 1983 season...

MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE NZL FIN
5
ITA CIV GBR 21st 8
1984
1984 World Rally Championship season
The 1984 World Rally Championship season was the 12th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 12 rallies following the same schedule as the previous season. Stig Blomqvist beat the defending world champion and Audi teammate Hannu...

Team Nissan Europe Nissan 240RS MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN
RET
ITA CIV GBR 0
1985
1985 World Rally Championship season
The 1985 World Rally Championship season was the 13th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 12 rallies following the same schedule as the previous season. Peugeot Sport's Timo Salonen beat Audi Sport's Stig Blomqvist and Walter...

British Telecom Mobile Phone Vauxhall Astra GTE MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN ITA CIV GBR
RET
0
1986
1986 World Rally Championship season
The 1986 World Rally Championship season was the 14th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, including all twelve venues of the previous season as well as the addition of the Olympus Rally...

British Telecom Mobile Phone Vauxhall Astra GTE MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN CIV ITA GBR
16
USA 0
1987
1987 World Rally Championship season
The 1987 World Rally Championship season was the 15th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies in the same venues of the previous season...

GM Dealersport Opel Kadett GSi MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE USA NZL ARG FIN CIV ITA GBR
RET
0
1988
1988 World Rally Championship season
The 1988 World Rally Championship season was the 16th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship...

Safety Devices Lancia Delta Integrale MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE USA NZL ARG FIN CIV ITA GBR
4
30th 10
1989
1989 World Rally Championship season
The 1989 World Rally Championship season was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season...

Mitsubishi Ralliart Europe Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
The Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 was the range-topping version of Mitsubishi Motors' Galant model, available in the sixth , seventh and eighth generations of the vehicle...

SWE MON POR KEN FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN AUS CIV ITA GBR
1
0
1990
1990 World Rally Championship season
The 1990 World Rally Championship season was the 18th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 12 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Carlos Sainz in a Toyota Celica GT-Four, ahead of Didier Auriol and Juha Kankkunen...

Q8 Team Ford Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4×4 MON POR KEN FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN
RET
AUS ITA
11
CIV GBR
RET
0
2003 Fairfield Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI MON SWE TUR NZL ARG GRE CYP GER FIN AUS ITA FRA GBR
RET
0

External links

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