To a rally purist, there are few other words that stir the soul more than group b. Plastic models, rally raid, pikes peak, automobile, car and driver, courses. The vatanen name will return to the world rally championship this season after aris son max was listed among the 12strong field for the new drive dmack fiesta cup. You can enjoy actionpacked highlights of his wrc career on. List of famous rally drivers with their biographies that include trivia, interesting facts, timeline and life history. As visitor numbers increased to 29,700 over the weekend 29,100 in 2014, so did the anticipation on saturday. Tatu vatanen driver rita vatanen codriver great britain 1980. The prerunner to this car was actually a 205t16 long wheel. The 1995 rac rally was a straight race between colin mcrae and carlos sainz for the drivers championship. I participated in the dakar with nissan in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and with vw in 2007. But 30 years ago, peugeots main man was the legendary ari vatanen. Ari vatanen making a phone call next to his peugeot 205 t16 pikes.
Timo salonen born october 8, 1951 is a finnish former rally driver who won the 1985 world rally championship season for peugeot. Take a moment out of your day to be inspired by a rally great. Works rally cars with a lessglorious history have sold for. Rally legend ari vatanen takes a bmw m4 gts for a spin. Some new information from wrc corsica 1986 accident posted in the nostalgia forum. B group lancia delta s4 driven by henri toivonen and sergio cresto never finished days special stage 2. Since returning to rally raid racing in 2015, peugeot has made its mark in the history of the dakar rally and achieved another two wins. In 1984, vatanen signed to drive the peugeot 205 t16 for peugeots factory team. This vintage video shows rally legend ari vatanen and codriver terry harryman during the 1983 manx rally which took place on the isle of man. The t16s went on to win the world rally championship in 1985 and 1986. David richards former codriver, cofounder of prodrive, former team principal of the subaru world rally team phil short former team manager of the mitsubishi ralliart 19952000 sven smeets former codriver, former team manager of the citroen sport 20082011 and volkswagen motorsport 20122016, director of the volkswagen. I thought i had retired from rally driving at the end of 1998, as i was preparing for the 1999 euelections. Ari vatanen i thought i had retired from rally driving at the end of 1998, as i was preparing for the 1999 euelections.
More than thirty codrivers have been sharing ari vatanens world wide rally adventures among them his dear wife rita. I still havent sussed the sun strip transparency so that needs sorting and i cant get the light covers correct for the spot lights as it crashes when i add them so they will be in a later revision. Here is an onboard ride with rally legend ari vatanen from back in 1983. The flying finn, who won the 1981 fia world rally drivers championship, was reunited with david richards, his original codriver, and vle 756x, the ford escort rs in which they won the championship 25 years ago. Citroen total world rally team the 10 best rally cars of all time.
The rally was won by his team mate, henri toivonen. Wrc group b peugeot 205t16 supercar ari vatanen, timo salonen, bruno saby, juha kankkunen. Rally legend ari vatanen steals the show at race retro. Despite driving ford escorts, opel asconas and even subaru. Rallying legend ari vatanen headed a starstudded cast at rallyday on july 22.
The finn would win the event by less than two minutes from swede stig blomqvist. With two wins on the bounce peugeot skipped the ivory coast rally to test in. It also won the drivers championship in 1979 under the driving of ari vatanen. In the gp b heydays, the peugeot 205t16 was the best of the bunch it had however one eery habit. Ari vatanens son max joins new world rally championship. Vatanen is driving an opel manta wrc which took him to the second place. Vatanen is the 1981 world rally champion and the first rider to four times become the winner of the dakar rally marathon in the most prestigious car class 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991. Ari pieti uolevi vatanen pronunciation help info born 27 april 1952 is a finnish. Release dates 1 also known as aka 0 release dates finland 1987. In this video, he reflects on his experiences and offers his.
This is the rothmans rally team livery for the ford escort mk2 from the lombard rac rally in 1981. Since 20, ari vatanen has been the president of the estonian autosport union. You can bid on the peugeot 205 t16 group b rally car driven by. This 205t16 evolution 1, in the hands of ari vatanen won the 1984 lakes rally. With peugeot set to return to the dakar rally, we look at the career of one of the marques heroes. Ari vatanen, the 1981 world champion, negotiates his peugeot 205 around an icy bend at the international swedish rally, the second round of the 1985 world rally championship. Introduction ari pieti uolevi vatanen born 27th of april 1952 in tuupovaara is a finnish rally driver turned politician and member of the european parliament for 19992009. Ari vatanen making a phone call next to his peugeot 205 t16 pikes peak at the. Ari vatanens rac rally car from 1979 with the earlier rothmans livery. Race the first days stages of the 1983 rothmans manx international with renowned wrc pilot, finlands ari vatanen and codriver terry harryman reading the pace notes. You can be a group b rally driver with this peugeot 205 t16. Ari vatanen peugeot 405t16gr car forums and automotive chat.
Equipes ford, opel, peugeot, subaru, bmw, mitsubishi. If airborne, the transversal location of the angine enhanced a tendency of the car to raise or drop its nose and vice versa for the tail that was. The great ari vatanens romance with the t16 ended after his horrific high speed somersault in the rally argentina of 1985 an event that sent the driver into a desperate spate of physical and mental illness his countrymen timo salonen and juha kankunen stepped into the breach and continued to dominate the sport. This kit is particulary special, it is the car of my alltime favourite rally driver ari vatanen. List of world rally championship drivers wikipedia. Before stage, henri gave little interview with bad flu that its madness to drive these cars in these roads and for so long. The 10 best rally cars of all time bleacher report. Another reason it is special is because ari and i are in contact and in august i will get to meet the man in person. This is an incomplete list of drivers who have entered a world rally championship event.
Ari vatanen gives a bmw m4 gts the hurryup on wet roads he knows well in the south of france and tells us about rallying, politics, flying and life. To see what the little pug could do in group b trim, check out the video with ari vatanen at the wheel below. Whilst there were celebrations galore at this years race retro at stoneleigh park, it was rally legend ari vatanen who stole the show, spending hour after hour chatting to thousands of fans and signing autographs and memorabilia. Peugeot 205 t16 evolution 1 chassis c7 supercar nostalgia. List of famous rally drivers biographies, timelines. It was the equivalent to the space race of rallying where manufacturers relen ari vatanens 1985 peugeot 205 t16 midengined rally monster is on sale for some lucky group b fanatics fantasies. Apr 28, 2020 ari pieti uolevi vatanen born 27 april 1952 is a finnish rally driver turned politician and a member of the european parliament from 1999 to 2009. Ari pieti uolevi vatanen born 27 april 1952 is a finnish rally driver turned. Ari vatanen is a rally legend, and a favourite here at. Ari vatanen peugeot 205t16 wrc group b supercar youtube.
Although it took three attempts for peugeots number one driver, ari vatanen. It was commented of him that he stood out from other drivers, because he was overweight, wore thick glasses and smoked heavily, but still remained one of the fastest and most competitive drivers in the sport. Ari vatanen blew the lancia 037s and audi quattros into the weeds, setting fastest times on 31 of the 50 special stages, and winning the event outright. Active drivers listed in bold in the tables are those who have entered a. Id rather have tens of codrivers and only one wife than the other way around, he says. Rally racing is a form of auto racing in which automobiles are driven over public roads under normal traffic conditions as contrasted to other car races that are run on a circuit. Vatanen won the world rally championship drivers title in 1981 and the paris dakar rally four times. Some new information from wrc corsica 1986 accident the. Statistically the greatest driver the world championship has ever seen. This car was driven by ari vatanen and codriven by david richards to victories in the acropolis rally, rally of brazil and rally finland during the 1981 world rally championship and also went on to win the 1981 drivers championship.
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