Timo Mäkinen

Timo Mäkinen

Timo Mäkinen and Paul Easter (1966)
Personal information
Nationality	Finnish
Born	18 March 1938 Helsinki, Finland
World Rally Championship record
Active years	1973–1981, 1994
Teams	Ford, Toyota, Peugeot
Rallies	39
Championships	0
Rally wins	4
Podiums	7
Stage wins	73
Total points	7
First rally	1973 Monte Carlo Rally
First win	1973 1000 Lakes Rally
Last win	1975 Wales Rally GB
Last rally	1994 Monte Carlo Rally

Timo Mäkinen (born 18 March 1938 in Helsinki, Finland) is one of the original "Flying Finns" of motor rallying. He is most famous for his hat-tricks of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally.

Career

Mäkinen at the 1965 1000 Lakes

Mäkinen's start in international rallying came in the 1959 1000 Lakes Rally (now Rally Finland), in a Triumph TR3. He later drove works Austin-Healeys and Minis. In the big Healey, he finished fifth in the RAC Rally in 1963. Mäkinen drove Minis during most of 1964 but came second in the RAC Rally in a Healey, at the end of that year. He returned to the Mini Cooper S in 1965, winning the Monte Carlo Rally and the 1000 Lakes, and capturing a Coupe des Alpes at the Alpine Rally.^[1] He came second in the 1965 RAC Rally, again in a Healey.

In 1967, Timo Mäkinen drove his Mini at a high speed through the famous Ouninpohja stage of the 1000 Lakes with the car's bonnet open. Leather straps holding the bonnet were not thoroughly tightened, and they opened after a few rough bounces. He tried to put his head out of the side window but his helmet was too big and he could only stick his head halfway out. So he had to skid the car sideways continuously to see the road ahead. Even so Mäkinen was third fastest on that special stage and he also won the rally overall, for the third year in a row.

In 1975, Mäkinen won the RAC for the third time in a row, at the wheel of a Ford Escort RS1800, preceded only by Erik Carlsson (Saab 96) in that feat. Mäkinen won the Finnish Rally Championship three times, the ice track championship six times and the saloon car race championship three times.

In 1969, Mäkinen competed in the very first Round Britain Powerboat Race, which he won. In 1994, Mäkinen made a brief return as Mini celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1964 Monte Carlo win by Paddy Hopkirk, who also participated in the event. Mäkinen retired on the second stage with a fuel system problem. In 2010, he was among the first four inductees into the Rally Hall of Fame, along with Carlsson, Hopkirk and Rauno Aaltonen.^[2]

Complete WRC results

Year	Entrant	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Points
1973	Ford Motor Company Ltd	Ford Escort RS1600	MON 11	SWE	POR	KEN Ret				FIN 1	AUT	ITA	USA	GBR 1	FRA	N/A	N/A
	Automobiles Peugeot	Peugeot 504					MOR Ret	GRE	POL
1974	Automobiles Peugeot	Peugeot 504	MON C	SWE C	POR	KEN Ret	GRE C									N/A	N/A
	Ford Motor Company Ltd	Ford Escort RS1600						FIN 2	ITA	CAN	USA	GBR 1	FRA
1975	Automobiles Peugeot	Peugeot 504	MON	SWE	KEN Ret	GRE	MOR 4	POR								N/A	N/A
	Ford Motor Company Ltd	Ford Escort RS1800							FIN 3	ITA Ret	FRA	GBR 1
1976	Ford Motor Company Ltd	Ford Escort RS1800	MON Ret	SWE	POR			MOR Ret	FIN 4	ITA		GBR Ret				N/A	N/A
	Automobiles Peugeot	Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé				KEN Ret	GRE
		Peugeot 104 ZS									FRA Ret
1977	Fiat S.p.A.	Fiat 131 Abarth	MON	SWE Ret	POR				FIN Ret	CAN Ret	ITA		GBR 11			NC	0
	Automobiles Peugeot	Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé				KEN Ret	NZL	GRE
		Peugeot 104 ZS										FRA Ret
1978	Automobiles Peugeot	Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé	MON	SWE	KEN Ret						CIV 2	FRA	GBR			NC	0
		Peugeot 104 ZS				POR 7	GRE	FIN	CAN	ITA
1979	Marshalls	Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé	MON	SWE	POR	KEN Ret	GRE	NZL						CIV Ret		NC	0
	Toyota Team Europe	Toyota Celica 2000 GT							FIN Ret	CAN	ITA	FRA	GBR
1980	BMW France	BMW 320i	MON 14	SWE	POR	KEN										35th	7
	Automobiles Peugeot	Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé					GRE 10	ARG Ret						CIV Ret
	Timo Mäkinen Racing	Triumph TR7 V8							FIN 22	NZL	ITA	FRA
	Rothmans Rally Team	Ford Escort RS1800											GBR 6
1981	Marshalls	Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé	MON	SWE	POR	KEN Ret	FRA	GRE	ARG	BRA	FIN	ITA	CIV	GBR		NC	0
1994	Timo Mäkinen	Rover Mini Cooper	MON Ret	POR	KEN	FRA	GRE	ARG	NZL	FIN	ITA	GBR				NC	0

International wins

• 1964 Tulip Rally (Mini Cooper S)
• 1965 Monte Carlo Rally (Mini Cooper S)
• 1965 1000 Lakes Rally (Mini Cooper S)
• 1966 1000 Lakes Rally (Mini Cooper S)
• 1966 Three Cities Rally (Mini Cooper S)
• 1967 1000 Lakes Rally (Mini Cooper S)
• 1972 Hong Kong Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
• 1973 Arctic Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
• 1973 1000 Lakes Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
• 1973 RAC Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
• 1974 RAC Rally (Ford Escort RS1600)
• 1974 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (Ford Escort RS1600)
• 1975 RAC Rally (Ford Escort RS1800)
• 1976 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (Peugeot 504 V6)

References

1. Pfundner, Martin (2005). Alpine Trials & Rallies: 1910 to 1973. Veloce Publishing Ltd. pp. 90–91.
2. "New Inductees to Rally Hall of Fame". Neste Oil Rally Finland. 9 February 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2012.

External links

• Picture of Mäkinen driving his Mini with open bonnet (Helsingin Sanomat)