Juha Kankkunen was born in Laukaa, Central
Finland in April 1959. He is an accomplished Finnish
rally driver, holding a 19-year
World Rally Championship career that began in 1983. Inside this length, he achieved 23 world rallies and 4 drivers’ world championship titles. He is the only driver to become world champ with three different teams. He is referred to as the Flying Finn for holding a 205mph world speed record on ice in his Bentley Super
Sports Convertible car on the Gulf of Bothnia in 2007. He has established a driving academy in his name, teaching participants on ways to control a car running at high speed on ice-covered racing circuits.
Early Life and Career. Juha grew up on their family farm in Laukaa, Central Finland. His father was a car rally and ice racing enthusiast who taught him how to drive on an ice racing track. He began to drive at seven, and owned his first car when he was barely 12 years old. He debuted in rallying when he was 19 in 1978, and competed in his first World Rally Championship at the Lakes Rally in Finland, where he finished 14th in a Ford Escort RS 2000 car. Coached by his father’s friend, Timo Mackinen, he gained more experience by competing in local
car racing contests.
Rallying Career. With an impressive performance in local events for the Toyota Finland team, Juha was signed by
Toyota Team Europe in 1983 up to 1985. Before joining
Peugeot in 1986, he placed 7th at the
RAC Rally in Great Britain, 5th in one of four WRC events at home in 1984 but emerged champion at the Safari Rally in 1985 to become the first driver to win an event on first attempt. He was signed by Peugeot in 1986 to win the Swedish Rally, Acropolis Rally, and the Rally New Zealand, all in his Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 car. He won the season-ending Olympus Rally to become the youngest champion—at 27—in the history of the series. With the
Lancia team in 1987, he drove the Lancia Delta HF 4WD to victory in the Olympus Rally and the season-ending RAC Rally. He was bestowed the International Rally Driver Award at the Auto Sport Awards ceremony for the season. He returned to Toyota Team Europe to finish 5th in his first event in 1988 before retiring due to car engine troubles in three consecutive competitions. He subsequently joined the
Ford Motor Company team in 1997-98, and the
Subaru team in 1999-2000 to register wins in Finland and Argentina, his first in more than five years. His win in Finland over team mate Richard Burns appeared as his last and final victory in the WRC. After retiring in 2004, he ran for but lost an elective seat in the European Parliament. In 2007 he set up the
Juha Driving Academy in Finland to teach students the art of rally racing techniques, and rally driving in arctic conditions. In 2010, he joined the Rally Finland to show his support to the 60th anniversary of the event, finishing 8th, beating many younger WRC regular drivers.
Private Life. Juha currently resides in Monaco but he finds time to visit their family farm in Laukaa that encloses a large farm house and vast tracts of land. He owns several cars including six Ferraris in F40 and 288 GTO models, and the four cars that he drove to win the world racing titles. Since he and his wife filed for dissolution of their marriage in 2008, Juha has involved himself in the management of his driving academy in Finland and other business interests.
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