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.
 Aaltonen in the late 1970s | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Finnish |
| Born | 7 January 1938 Turku, Finland |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 1973–1987 |
| Co-driver |  Lofty Drews Paul Easter Robin Turvey Claes Billstam Willi Peter Pitz Wolfgang Stiller |
| Teams | Opel, Datsun |
| Rallies | 25 |
| Rally wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 6 |
| Stage wins | 11 |
| Total points | 65 |
| First rally | 1973 Monte Carlo Rally |
| Last rally | 1987 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]
Technique of rotating a car by 360 degrees, while maintaining trajectory, was named after him.
Career results
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Donald Healey Motor Company |
Clive Baker |
Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite | P 1.5 | 256 | DNF | DNF |
Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 |
Complete British Saloon Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Ford Köln | Ford Capri 2300 GT | D | BRH | SNE | THR | SIL | CRY | SIL | SIL 27 |
CRO | BRH | OUL | BRH | BRH | NC | 0 | NC |
Source:[4] | ||||||||||||||||||
Gallery
Aaltonen at the 1965 1000 Lakes Rally
Aaltonen behind Timo Mäkinen at the 1000 Lakes
Aaltonen with co-driver Anssi Järvi
An ex-Aaltonen BMW 2002tii
Aaltonen pictured in 2008
References
- Pfundner, Martin (2005). Alpine Trials & Rallies: 1910 to 1973. Veloce Publishing Ltd. pp. 90–91.
- "Driving Legends". theitalianjob.com. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
- "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.
- de Jong, Frank. "British Saloon Car Championship". History of Touring Car Racing 1952-1993. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
