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.
Career Before the 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.
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. In 2010, he was among the first four inductees into the Rally Hall of Fame, along with Erik Carlsson, Paddy Hopkirk and Timo Mäkinen.
The technique of rotating a car by 360 degrees, while maintaining trajectory, was named after him.
Career results
Complete IMC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1970 Ford Deutschland Ford Capri RS2600 MON SWE ITA KENRet AUT GRE Nissan Datsun Datsun 240Z GBR7 1971 Yhtymä Oy Autokeskus Datsun 240Z MON5 SWE ITA Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. KEN7 MAR Nissan Europe Rally Team GBRRet BMW AG BMW 2002 TI AUTRet GRE FRA 1972 Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Datsun 240Z MON3 SWE KEN6 Nissan Europe Rally Team GBR11 Citroën Compétitions Citroën SM MARRet Sears Roebuck Ltd BMW 2002 TI GRERet BMW AG BMW 3.0 CSL AUTRet ITA USA
Complete WRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Points 1973 Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Datsun 240Z MON18 SWE POR KENRet N/A N/A Fiat S.p.A Fiat 124 Abarth Spider MORRet GRE2 POL FIN AUT ITA USA Irmscher Tuning Opel Ascona GBRRet FRA 1974 African Roadways Ltd Datsun 1800 SSS POR KEN6 FIN ITA CAN USA N/A N/A Fiat S.p.A Fiat 124 Abarth Spider GBR12 FRA 1975 Opel Euro Händler Team Opel Ascona MON SWE KENRet GRCRet MORRet POR4 FIN ITARet FRA N/A N/A Opel Kadett GT/E GBRRet 1976 Opel Euro Händler Team Opel Kadett GT/E MON SWE POR KENRet GRC MOR FIN ITA FRA GBRRet N/A N/A 1977 D.T. Dobie & Co (EA) Ltd Datsun 160J MON SWE POR KEN2 NZL GRC FIN CAN ITA FRA GBR N/A N/A 1978 D.T. Dobie & Co (EA) Ltd Datsun 160J MON SWE KEN3 POR GRC FIN CAN ITA CIV FRA GBR N/A N/A 1979 D.T. Dobie / Team Datsun Datsun 160J MON SWE POR KEN5 GRC NZL FIN CAN ITA FRA GBR CIV 28th 8 1980 D.T. Dobie / Team Datsun Datsun 160J MON SWE POR KEN2 GRC ARG FIN NZL ITA FRA GBR CIV 16th 15 1981 D.T. Dobie / Team Datsun Datsun 160J MON13 SWE POR 19th 15 Datsun Violet GT KEN2 FRA GRC ARG BRA FIN ITA CIV GBR 1982 Rothmans Opel Rally Team Opel Ascona 400 MON SWE POR KENRet FRA GRC NZL BRA FIN ITA CIV GBR NC 0 1983 Rothmans Opel Rally Team Opel Ascona 400 MON SWE POR KENRet FRA GRC NZL ARG FIN ITA CIV GBR NC 0 1984 Opel Euro Team Opel Ascona 400 MON SWE POR KEN2 FRA GRC NZL ARG FIN ITA CIV GBR 15th 15 1985 Opel Euro Team Opel Ascona 400 MON SWE POR KEN4 FRA GRC NZL ARG FIN ITA CIV GBR 22nd 10 1987 GM Euro Sport Opel Kadett GSi MON SWE POR KEN9 FRA GRC USA NZL ARG FIN CIV ITA GBR 58th 2
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLaps1964 Donald Healey Motor Company Clive BakerAustin-Healey Sebring SpriteP 1.5256DNFDNF
Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 1966 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 Pts Class 1970 Ford Köln Ford Capri 2300 GT BRH SNE THR SIL CRY SIL SILovr:27cls:8 CRO BRH OUL BRH BRH NC 0 NC
Gallery
References
External links
Aaltonen at RallyBase