Rauno Aaltonen

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 throughout the 1970s.

Rauno Aaltonen
Aaltonen in the late 1970s
Personal information
Nationality Finnish
Born (1938-01-07) 7 January 1938
Turku, Finland
World Rally Championship record
Active years1973–1987
Co-driver Lofty Drews
Paul Easter
Robin Turvey
Claes Billstam
Willi Peter Pitz
Wolfgang Stiller
TeamsOpel, Datsun
Rallies25
Rally wins0
Podiums6
Stage wins11
Total points65
First rally1973 Monte Carlo Rally
Last rally1987 Safari Rally

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

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 in 1967, the Southern Cross Rally in 1977, and a Coupe des Alpes at the Alpine Rally in 1963 and 1964.[1]

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, speedway and motocross. Before he became the first Finnish European Rally Champion, he was the first Finn to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing competition.

Aaltonen was a proponent of left-foot braking.[2] In 2010, he was among the first four inductees into the Rally Hall of Fame, along with Erik Carlsson, Paddy Hopkirk and Timo Mäkinen.[3]

Career Results

Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1966 BMC Australia Bob Holden Morris Cooper S C 130 1st 1st
1991 Bob Holden Motors Bob Holden
Dennis Rogers		 Toyota Corolla 3 124 20th 4th

References
  1. Pfundner, Martin (2005). Alpine Trials & Rallies: 1910 to 1973. Veloce Publishing Ltd. pp. 90–91.
  2. "Driving Legends". theitalianjob.com. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
  3. "New Inductees to Rally Hall of Fame". Neste Oil Rally Finland. 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Tom Trana		 European Rally Champion
1965		 Succeeded by
G1: Lillebror Nasenius
G2: Sobiesław Zasada
G3: Günter Klass
Preceded by
Barry Seton
Midge Bosworth		 Winner of the Bathurst 500
1966
(with Bob Holden)		 Succeeded by
Harry Firth
Fred Gibson


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