Timo Salonen | Rally Group B Shrine

INTRODUCTION

Timo Salonen (born October 8th, 1951) is a Finnish former rally driver and the 1985 world champion for Peugeot. He often stood out from other drivers because due to his unathletic shape, thick glasses and tendency to smoke in his rally car. He was also known for his relaxed attitude and for his habit of steering his rally car with one hand only. These factors led to the nickname “Löysä” (“Slack”), but still remained one of the fastest and most competitive drivers in the sport. With his seven rally wins in the Group B era (1982~1986), he is tied with Walter Röhrl for the most victories.

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

PERSONAL SUMMARY (WRC)

Personal information
Nationality	Finnish
Born	October 8th, 1951
World Rally Championship record
Active years	1974~1992, 2002
Teams	Fiat, Datsun, Nissan, Peugeot, Mazda, Mitsubishi
Rallies	95
Championships	1 (1985)
Rally wins	11
Podiums	24
Stage wins	256
Total points	524
First rally	1974 1000 Lakes Rally
First win	1977 Rally Canada
Last win	1987 Swedish Rally
Last rally	2002 Neste Rally Finland

RALLY BIOGRAPHY

(under construction)

Salonen achieved his first podium place in the World Rally Championship by driving his Fiat 131 Abarth to second place at the 1977 1000 Lakes Rally. He went on to win the next rally, the 1977 Critérium du Québec (Canada), which was only his fifth WRC event and his first outside his home country.

Salonen’s factory team career at World Championship level began with Nissan, mainly on long-distance events. In 1984, however, he achieved a string of top-ten finishes, resulting in Jean Todt inviting him to drive for Peugeot in the 1985 season.

He began 1985 by playing a supporting role to Ari Vatanen but quickly proved capable of being in a leading role, especially after Vatanen’s near-fatal accident in Argentina. Salonen set a record by winning four world rallies in a row – unmatched and unbroken until Sébastien Loeb’s six wins in a row in 2005 – and went on to win the World Championship with a record 52-point margin ahead of second-placed Stig Blomqvist.

Salonen then remained at Peugeot for the 1986 season, but his first half of the season was plagued by 4 retirements in a row (one being the withdrawal of Peugeot after the Portugal spectator incident) and finished third in the drivers’ championship, behind his new teammate Juha Kankkunen and Lancia driver Markku Alén.

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	Nissan	–	–	R	R	–	R	4	–	4	–	–	R	20

Y	Team	Event												pts
Y	Team	MC	SE	PT	KE	FR	GR	NZ	AR	FI	IT	CI	GB	pts
83	Nissan	14	–	R	R	–	R	2	–	8	–	–	R	18
84	Nissan	10	–	–	7	–	6	4	–	–	–	–	6	27
85	Peugeot	3	3	1	7	R	1	1	1	1	2	–	R	143
86	Peugeot	2	R	R	–	R	R	5	–	1	–	–	1	US-
86													pts	63