Pauli Toivonen

Pauli Toivonen (22 August 1929 in Jyväskylä, Finland - 14 February 2005) was a Finnish rally car driver. He drove for Citroën, Lancia and Porsche and had many successes to his credit. Toivonen had two sons, Harri and Henri, both also racing drivers.[1]

Toivonen (in the middle) with Rauno Aaltonen and Timo Mäkinen

Toivonen was awarded a controversial first place on the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally - the top three placing Minis of Timo Mäkinen, Rauno Aaltonen and Paddy Hopkirk and Roger Clark's 4th place Ford Cortina were disqualified. Rally officials determined the headlamp bulbs were not homologated, following a last minute rule change.[2] The winner therefore became Toivonen's Citroën DS.

As a result, Toivonen did not brag about his victory in the prestigious Monte Carlo rally because he felt he had not deserved the victory. However, when his son, Henri came in first at the same event twenty years later — this time in a convincing manner — Toivonen said, "Now the name of Toivonen has been cleared."[3] Toivonen was European Rally champion in 1968 and won four other events for Porsche in the same year.[3]

While Toivonen was mainly known for driving rally cars, he also drove for Porsche in World Sportscar Championship races and for Renault in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[4]

Notable results

Toivonen after winning the 1962 1000 Lakes Rally
Toivonen and co-driver Martti Tiukkanen on Porsche 911T at victorius 1968 Rallye Sanremo
Year Rally Finish Car Co-driver
1961 Thousand Lakes Rally 2nd Citroën DS Jaakko Kallio
1962 Thousand Lakes Rally 1st Citroën DS19 Jaakko Kallio
1963 Monte Carlo Rally 2nd Citroën DS19 A. Jarvi
1965 Thousand Lakes Rally 3rd Volkswagen 1500S Kalevi Leivo
1966 Monte Carlo Rally 1st Citroën DS21 E. Mikander
1967 Swedish Rally 6th Lancia Ahava
Tour de Corse 2nd Lancia M. Tiukkanen
Thousand Lakes Rally 7th Lancia Salonen
1968 Monte Carlo Rally 2nd Porsche 911T M. Tiukkanen
Acropolis Rally 3rd Porsche 911T M. Kolari
West German Rally 1st Porsche 911T M. Kolari
East German Rally 1st Porsche 911T M. Kolari
San Remo Rally 1st Porsche 911T M. Tiukkanen
Castrol-Danube Rally 1st Porsche 911T M. Tiukkanen
Geneva Rally 1st Porsche 911T Vihervaara
European Champion
1969 Acropolis 1st Porsche 911S M. Kolari
Sporting positions
Preceded by
G1: Sobiesław Zasada
G2: Bengt Söderström
G3: Vic Elford
European Rally Champion
1968
Succeeded by
Harry Källström

References

  1. TOIVONEN: PAULI, HENRI & HARRI FINLAND'S FASTEST FAMILY, 2012, ISBN 9783927458611
  2. "1966: Future of Monte Carlo rally in doubt". January 21, 1966. Retrieved 6 February 2020 via news.bbc.co.uk.
  3. "Pauli Toivonen and Harri Toivonen Profiles". www.thruxton.f9.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  4. "Pauli Toivonen (FIN) - All Results - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 6 February 2020.


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