Hannu Mikkola | Rally Group B Shrine

INTRODUCTION

Hannu Olavi Mikkola (born May 24th 1942 in Joensuu, Finland) is a retired world champion rally driver. He was a seven time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times. In 1981, Mikkola would help Audi launch the career of their quattro four wheel drive rally car. Hannu was instrumental to the quattro’s successes up until the end of Group B in 1986. He is also known for being a self-taught rally driver with a true passion for the sport.

QUICK BROWSE CONTENT

PERSONAL SUMMARY (WRC)
RALLY BIOGRAPHY
GROUP B RESULTS (WRC)
WRC VICTORIES
AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS
GALLERY
VIDEOS
REFERENCES

PERSONAL SUMMARY (WRC)

Personal information
Nationality	Finnish
Born	May 24th 1942 Joensuu, Finland
World Rally Championship record
Active years	1973~1993
Teams	Ford, Toyota, Audi, Mazda, Subaru
Rallies	123
Championships	1 (1983)
Rally wins	18
Podiums	44
Stage wins	666
Total points	655
First rally	1973 Monte Carlo Rally
First win	1974 1000 Lakes Rally
Last win	1987 Safari Rally
Last rally	1993 1000 Lakes Rally

RALLY BIOGRAPHY

(under construction)

Mikkola’s rally career spanned 31 years, starting with a Volvo PV544 in 1963, but his most successful period was during the 1970s and 1980s. The 1970s saw Mikkola a front runner in many international events, usually in a Ford Escort becoming the first overseas driver to win the East African Safari in 1972 partnered by Gunnar Palm again in a Ford Escort and 1979 he made a serious challenge at the World Rally Championship title, ultimately finishing runner-up only one point behind champion Björn Waldegård.

Mikkola was joined by Swedish co-driver Arne Hertz in 1977 and the pair were very quickly a force to be reckoned with, winning the British Rally Championship in 1978 in an Escort.

Mikkola was runner-up again in the 1980 season with Ford, but switched to the new Audi factory team for the 1981 season, to drive the revolutionary four wheel drive Audi quattro. The partnership was successful from the outset: Mikkola led the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally, the Audi’s first event, until an accident put him out of the event. He won the next WRC event, the Swedish Rally, convincingly but the quattro had problems with reliability and despite another win on the RAC Rally, Mikkola only managed third in the driver’s championship. He won the 1000 Lakes and RAC rallies the following year, but did not improve on third position in the championship, ultimately finishing behind Opel’s Walter Röhrl and team-mate Michèle Mouton.

1983 was to be Mikkola’s year. Four wins and three second places saw him and co-driver Arne Hertz finally take the World Championship title. A second place in the championship followed in 1984, behind his team-mate Stig Blomqvist, but 1985 saw him compete in only four world rallies, with three retirements and a fourth place, and slip to 22nd in the final standings after the Audi team was overwhelmed by new Group B competition from Peugeot and Lancia. For 1986, he participated in only the first round in Monte Carlo and clinching a podium with 3rd place. Audi retired from official Group B competition after the spectator deaths incident in Portugal, preventing Mikkola from competing for the rest of the season.

PARTIAL SOURCE: Wikipedia

(possibly spell-checked, translated, and/or edited; abridged, corrected, and/or expanded)

GROUP B RESULTS (WRC)

(# = finish position / R = retired or DNF / – = did not compete)

Y	TEAM	EVENT												PTS
Y	TEAM	MC	SE	PT	KE	FR	GR	NZ	BR	FI	IT	CI	GB	PTS
82	Audi	2	16	R	–	R	R	R	R	1	2	R	1	70

Y	Team	Event												pts
Y	Team	MC	SE	PT	KE	FR	GR	NZ	AR	FI	IT	CI	GB	pts
83	Audi	4	1	1	2	R	R	R	1	1	R	2	2	135
84	Audi	3	–	1	3	–	2	3	2	R	–	2	2	116
85	Audi	–	4	–	R	–	–	–	–	R	–	–	R	10
86	Audi	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	US-
86													pts	12