Markku Allan Alén (born 15 February 1951) is a Finnish former rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the record for most stage wins (801) in the series, until Sébastien Loeb overtook it at the 2011 Rally Catalunya. Alén's phrase "now maximum attack" became well known.

Alén never won the world championship itself, despite being for a long time the driver with the most wins to his credit. However, he did win the FIA Cup for Drivers in 1978, the precursor to the World Championship for Drivers established in 1979. In 1986, he was the world champion for eleven days, until Peugeot's appeal went through and the results of Rallye Sanremo, which Alén had won, were annulled.

Career

Early Alén's interest in motorsport came from his father, who was the 1963 Finnish champion in ice racing. Alén started his rallying career in 1969 driving a Renault 8 Gordini, and finished ninth at the 1000 Lakes Rally at his first attempt. After getting a contract with the Finnish Volvo importer to drive the Volvo 142, he finished third at the 1000 Lakes in 1971 and 1972. At his World Rally Championship debut at the 1973 1000 Lakes Rally, he took second place behind Timo Mäkinen.

Fiat (1974–81)

Alén's performances at his home event caught the attention of both Fiat and Ford. With Ford's Escort RS 1600, he established his reputation as a hard-charger on the 1973 RAC Rally by finishing third, despite rolling his car on the first day and dropping to 178th place. This resulted in a "dream contract" with Fiat, with a very large salary. Alén also became the first rally driver to be assigned a personal fitness program.

In 1974 and 1975, Alén drove the Fiat 124 Abarth Rallye, achieving several podiums and then his debut WRC win at the 1975 Rally Portugal. During the 1976 season, Fiat debuted the new Fiat 131 Abarth, which would prove to be a big improvement over its predecessor. Alén won the 1976 1000 Lakes and the 1977 Rally Portugal, and helped Fiat to their first manufacturers' title in 1977.

Then in 1978, Alén took the car to two wins and five consecutive podiums. In the Rallye Sanremo, he debuted in Alitalia Fiat's Lancia Stratos HF and won his third world rally of the season. These performances brought him the FIA Cup for Drivers title, well ahead of main rivals Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Hannu Mikkola, and Fiat their second manufacturers' title. Alén continued with Fiat for the next three years, taking a win each season.

Lancia (1982–89) After Fiat wound up their works rally team, Alén moved to the related Lancia team. In 1982 he debuted the marque's first of two Group B category homologated models, the Lancia 037, a rear-wheel drive car which was, in consequence, a particular performer on the championship's asphalt rounds. Alén's several wins with it in 1983 helped Lancia narrowly pip Audi and their four-wheel drive long wheelbase Quattro to that year's constructors' championship. Indeed, it was Alén who was responsible for the car's final victory, on the 1984 Tour de Corse, in a year in which Audi retook both of the title honours, before it was replaced by the four-wheel drive Lancia Delta S4 from the final round, in Great Britain, of the 1985 season.

Having become unequivocal team leader in the aftermath of teammate Henri Toivonen's death in Corsica the following year, Alén narrowly lost the 1986 World Rally Championship to rival driver, Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 pilot Juha Kankkunen. Late in the season, Alén had been victorious on the Rallye Sanremo only after Kankkunen's Peugeot team was excluded by the organisers on a controversial technicality. Peugeot subsequently appealed the exclusion to the FISA, which eventually annulled the results of the rally, stripping Alén of the World Championship title which he had held for just eleven days, which led to Alén famously boycotting the 1987 Monte Carlo Rally.

Alén remained at Lancia after the abolition of Group B at the end of 1986, and adapted successfully to the replacement Group A formula. He won three events in the Lancia Delta HF 4WD in 1987, but lost his chance to take second place in the world driver's championship after rolling his car in front of the TV cameras on the 1987 RAC Rally. He won another three events the following year, culminating in an emotional first victory in the RAC, an event he had been trying to win for fifteen years. It was to be his last world championship victory.

Later career

In 1990, Alén moved to the burgeoning Prodrive-run Subaru World Rally Team, and was responsible for many of the Subaru Legacy's early successes, including fourth in the 1990 1000 Lakes Rally, and a third and two fourth places the following season. For 1992 he moved to the Toyota team, but found himself playing very much a supporting role to Carlos Sainz. The 1993 season found Alén without a full-time position, and he drove for Toyota and Subaru early in the season, taking second place for Toyota in the Safari Rally and fourth for Subaru in Portugal. Along with fellow veteran and 1981 World Champion Ari Vatanen, he drove the Subaru Impreza on its debut event, the 1000 Lakes Rally. Unfortunately for Alén, he crashed on the first stage of the event. This effectively marked the end of his career as a top-line rally driver.

Alén drove two races of the International Touring Car Championship of 1995 for Alfa Romeo, driving the same number of races in DTM earlier that year. He also drove in Trophy Andros in 1996 and 1997. To celebrate his 50th birthday in 2001, he entered that year's Neste Rally Finland in August, finishing in a respectable 16th place overall with a Ford Focus WRC. He has also participated in the Paris-Dakar rally twice in the truck class, one of which was for Iveco in 2006 alongside team-mate Miki Biasion. He competed in the event in a car for the manufacturer Izusu team in 2007. His son Anton Alén, drove a Super 2000 class Fiat Punto in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge series.

In March 2010, Luca di Montezemolo hired Alén as a Ferrari test driver. He started with snow tests on the Ferrari 458 Italia.

Complete WRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 WDC Points 1973 Oy Volvo-Auto Ab Volvo 142 MON SWE POR KEN MOR GRE POL FIN2 AUT ITA USA FRA N/A N/A Motorcraft Ford Escort RS1600 GBR3 1974 Fiat S.p.A. Fiat 124 Abarth Spider POR3 KEN FIN3 ITARet CANRet USA2 FRARet N/A N/A Ford Motor Company Ltd Ford Escort RS1600 GBRRet 1975 Fiat S.p.A. Fiat 124 Abarth Spider MON3 SWE6 KEN GRE MOR POR1 ITARet FRA GBRRet N/A N/A Datsun Datsun Violet 160J FINRet 1976 Fiat S.p.A. Fiat 124 Abarth Spider MON6 SWE POR KEN GRE N/A N/A Fiat 131 Abarth MOR12 ITARet FRA GBRRet Autonovo Oy FIN1 1977 Fiat S.p.A. Fiat 131 Abarth MON54 SWERet POR1 KEN NZL3 GRERet CANRet ITA FRA GBRRet NC 0 Autonovo Oy FINRet 1978 Alitalia Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth MON SWE3 KEN POR1 GRE2 FIN1 CAN2 1st 52 Lancia Stratos HF ITA1 CIV FRA GBRRet 1979 Alitalia Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth MON3 SWE4 POR KEN3 GRE NZL FIN1 CAN ITA6 FRA 3rd 68 Lancia GB Lancia Stratos HF GBR5 CIV 1980 Fiat Italia Fiat 131 Abarth MONRet SWE POR2 KEN GRE3 ARGRet 6th 47 Fiat Rally / ASA FIN1 NZL 4 Rombi Corse ITARet FRA GBR CIV 1981 Fiat Auto Torino Fiat 131 Abarth MON7 SWE POR1 KEN FRA GRE2 ARG BRA FIN2 ITA9 CIV 4th 56 Team Chardonnet Lancia Stratos HF GBRRet 1982 Martini Lancia Lancia Rally 037 MON SWE POR KEN FRA9 GRERet NZL BRA FINRet ITARet CIV GBR4 21st 12 1983 Martini Lancia Lancia Rally 037 MON2 SWE POR4 KEN FRA1 GRE2 NZL ARG5 FIN3 ITA1 CIV GBR 3rd 100 1984 Martini Lancia Lancia Rally 037 Evolution 2 MON8 SWE POR2 KEN4 FRA1 GRE3 NZL2 ARG FIN2 ITARet CIV GBR 3rd 90 1985 Martini Lancia Lancia Rally 037 Evolution 2 MON SWE POR KENRet FRARet GRE NZL ARG FIN3 ITA4 CIV 7th 37 Lancia Delta S4 GBR2 1986 Martini Lancia Lancia Delta S4 MONRet SWE2 PORRet FRARet GRERet NZL2 ARG2 FIN3 CIV ITA1 GBR2 USA1 2nd 104 Martini Lancia Lancia Rally 037 Evolution 2 KEN3 1987 Martini Lancia Lancia Delta HF 4WD MON SWE5 POR1 KEN FRA GRE1 USA3 NZL ARG FIN1 CIV ITARet GBR5 3rd 88 1988 Martini Lancia Lancia Delta HF 4WD MON SWE1 2nd 86 Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale POR6 KEN FRA GRE4 USA NZL ARG FIN1 CIV ITA4 GBR1 1989 Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale SWE MON POR2 KEN FRA GRE NZL ARG FINRet AUS3 ITA CIV GBR 9th 27 1990 Subaru Technica International Subaru Legacy RS MON POR KENRet FRA GRERet NZL ARG FIN4 AUS ITARet CIV GBRRet 20th 10 1991 Subaru Rally Team Europe Subaru Legacy RS MON SWE3 POR5 KEN FRA GRERet NZL4 ARG FINRet AUS4 ITA CIV ESP GBRRet 8th 40 1992 Marlboro Toyota Team Europe Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD MONRet POR4 GRERet NZL ARG FIN3 AUS ITA CIV ESP GBR4 5th 50 Toyota Team Sweden Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 SWE4 Toyota Team Kenya Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD KEN5 FRA 1993 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Legacy RS MON SWE POR4 11th 25 Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD KEN2 FRA GRE ARG NZL 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza 555 FINRet AUS ITA ESP GBR 2001 Blue Rose Team Ford Focus WRC MON SWE POR ESP ARG CYP GRE KEN FIN16 NZL ITA FRA AUS GBR NC 0

WRC wins  #  Event Season Co-driver Car 1 9º Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto 1975 Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye 2 26th 1000 Lakes Rally 1976 Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye 3 11º Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto 1977 Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye 4 28th 1000 Lakes Rally 1978 Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye 5 12º Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto 1978 Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye 6 20º Rallye Sanremo 1978 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Stratos HF 7 29th 1000 Lakes Rally 1979 Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye 8 30th 1000 Lakes Rally 1980 Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye 9 15º Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto 1981 Ilkka Kivimäki Fiat Abarth 131 Rallye 10 27éme Tour De Corse – Rallye de France 1983 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Rally 037 11 25º Rallye Sanremo 1983 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Rally 037 12 28ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 1984 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Rally 037 13 21st Olympus Rally 1986 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Delta S4 14 21º Rallye de Portugal Vinho do Porto 1987 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Delta HF 4WD 15 34th Acropolis Rally 1987 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Delta HF 4WD 16 37th 1000 Lakes Rally 1987 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Delta HF 4WD 17 38th International Swedish Rally 1988 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Delta HF 4WD 18 38th 1000 Lakes Rally 1988 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Delta Integrale 19 37th Lombard RAC Rally 1988 Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia Delta Integrale

24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1980 Scuderia Lancia Corse Gianfranco Brancatelli Piercarlo Ghinzani Lancia Montecarlo Turbo Gr. 5SP 2.0 26 DNF DNF

References

External links

Profile at RallyBase